TORONTO, June 6, 2007 -- York University is the new, permanent home to the archives of the Mariposa Folk Festival – one of the longest running and most important music festivals in Canadian history.
“We are thrilled with the treasure trove of historical artifacts that the Mariposa archives offer,” said Michael Moir, head archivist at York University. “Students and faculty will be able to do a wide variety of interdisciplinary research with this high-quality, very relevant material.”
York University acquired the records to this premier international folk festival following a search of more than a decade by the Mariposa board of directors that resulted in a donation-in-kind through the York University Foundation. The Mariposa archives will now occupy a vibrant and public home within York University’s Scott Library where they will be available to the public and used by a variety of disciplines for research.
“We now hope that others will be inspired to donate valuable Mariposa memorabilia to this collection with the confidence that they will be well-preserved and put to valuable scholarly use,” said Chris Lusty, president of the Mariposa Folk Festival. “We are pleased that York University will not only provide the necessary physical setting to house the artifacts but also public access for this great historical collection.”
Until recently the Mariposa collection – conservatively valued at more than $1.5 million – was locked away in storage in a downtown Toronto basement. A properly-maintained environment was vital to protect the material. York will provide that and more as it makes the included recordings, primary documents, images and other memorabilia available for education and research.
“This truly is a gift that will keep on giving long into the future for the entire York community and beyond,” said Phillip Silver, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at York. “This material can be seen as one of the greatest collections of Canadian folk music in existence and we are proud to play a role in breathing new life back into this important element of Canada's cultural history.”
The Mariposa Folk Festival, an annual event that began in Orillia, Ontario, in 1961 helped to launch the careers of Canada’s most notable recording artists including Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and Murray McLauchlan.
The wide range of material in the collection, including a large quantity of sound recordings and publicity documents submitted to the festival's organizers annually, offers astounding research potential for the study of folk music in North America during the second half of the twentieth century.
“Gifts such as the Mariposa collection help to fortify York’s growing strength in the area of research. We recently launched ‘York to the Power of 50’ to celebrate nearly 50 years of exponential growth and dynamic achievement as we approach York’s 50th anniversary in 2009. To date we have $125 million in commitments towards our $200 million campaign goal. This gift helps to support York’s vision to become a leading international centre for interdisciplinary research and teaching, ” said Paul Marcus, president and CEO of the York University Foundation.
The Mariposa archives will be available as a fully-accessible reference collection at Scott Library in September, in time for the fall semester at York. York University’s Keele Campus will also be the new home of The Archives of Ontario beginning in the spring of 2009.
About York U
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Contact:
Keith Marnoch
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100 ext. 22091
