Local musician recognized for celebrating local stories and ‘ordinary’ heroes

Singing about everything from meatpacking to Malala Yousafzai, Edmonton’s Maria Dunn is determined to bring messages of love and social justice to the world.

Dunn is a singer-songwriter who is often compared to the likes of Woody Guthrie thanks to her folk spirit and music. Best known for portraying themes of social awareness and activism in her songs, Dunn’s music has been inspired by the lives and resilience of everyday people; Afghani activist Malala Yousafzai and Albertan indigenous leader Dorothy MacDonald-Hyde are just a few examples. On January 26, Dunn was recognized for her latest album Gathering with an Edmonton Music Prize, which was followed with a Juno nomination in the Traditional Roots Album of the Year the following week.

Dunn explains that a lot of her song-writing comes as a reaction to current events. “Things that inspire me are very often… peoples’ response in love to something that happens in the world,” she says.

She describes reading an article about a firebombing that took place in a mosque in Peterborough and how the community came together to support the Muslims impacted by the attack. “I finished reading the article and I’m all teared up, and then part of me thinks ‘Oh that would make a good song.’ So it’s very much an emotional response, I think, to love.”

The Edmonton Music Prize, funded by the Edmonton Arts Council and administered by Alberta Music, celebrates local musicians and provides financial support for their next project. The awards ceremony was held at the Garneau Theatre. Dunn says she is always impressed by how Edmonton supports its local artists.

“I think it’s a real testament to how great the Edmonton Arts Council is,” Dunn begins. “As well as Alberta Music, and also our city here in Edmonton, that we, and the City Council, really believe that art makes an important contribution to the life of the city, and to actually put their money where their mouth is, and offer this kind of an award that can help those of us as artists, working full-time in the arts.”

Dunn hopes to put the prize money towards one of the many projects she is currently working on. From a series of concerts in New York state with two other “social justice songwriters,” as Dunn calls them, to a tour of folk clubs in the UK, to developing several multimedia shows, Dunn has many projects on the go.

Her multimedia shows, working in collaboration with other artists, explore topics ranging from the life of workers in the meatpacking industry in Edmonton to a musical profile of Dorothy MacDonald-Hyde of the Fort McKay First Nation.

“It’s all very glamorous to write songs about meatpacking,” Dunn says, laughing. “But I think telling the story of Fort McKay and of Dorothy MacDonald-Hyde’s contribution and advocacy for her community, which is just downstream from Fort McMurray is really an important and timely story, for all of us here in Canada.”

Dunn says that she is in the “paperwork, travel, planning phase” right now and is still trying to organize all of her upcoming projects.

“It’s a busy year ahead. And I probably won’t have the kind of solitude and creative time until November to kind of focus on some new song-writing, although things always pop up as you go. But sometimes it’s hard to set aside the time for that sort of particular space,” she says.

Despite not having the time to dedicate to her songwriting right now, Dunn is excited about the upcoming year and opportunity to continue doing the work in the arts she’s dedicated her life to.

“I’m juggling a whole bunch of projects in the air,” she says, “but it’s a wonderful feeling to have.”