boppin’ with Mr. Mynah: 

Text by Alexander Forbes,

Paintings by Tricia Sellmer

Poems by Alexander Forbes

Music by Henry Small & The Shiftless Rounders

Read by Tina Moore

Gallery Catalogue

Fort Nelson, BC: Phoenix Theatre /Arts Centre, 2007

During the exhibition - which was carried to Fort Nelson in a tube on a Greyhound (Tricia Sellmer’s remarkable solution to shipping exhibits to remote northern communities) - listening stations with headphones were set up in the lobby of this fabulous gallery, theatre, and concert hall complex. While some visitors toured the gallery, many were seen in the lobby, listening to Henry and Tina - and otherwise  boppin’ to Mr. Mynah.

“deliciously unique . . . one of a kind”

Fort Nelson News

“boppin’ with Mr. Mynah, with Forbes’ words, Sellmer’s paintings, Small’s music and Moore’s voice, is pure innovation and represents four great western Canadian artists teaming up to bring the arts together, roll them into a tube, and ship them to the north.” 

Rebecca Jacobson, from “A Few Words After the Show”

“This summer saw Fort Nelson come alive with art - from a tube centered on the theme of the mischievous mynah bird whom Forbes brought to life through his jazzy five-part poem. . . . What Forbes and Sellmer have done will leave an impression in this area, and many artists will follow in their footsteps using exhibition in a tube. They have opened up a whole new horizon for both artists and galleries in the North.”

exhibition curator Seanah Roper, in The Omega

(Thompson Rivers University)

Listen to a sample from boppin' with Mr. Mynah

This jazz poem has been recorded by Henry Small and Tina Moore, in a forthcoming second Small World album of their collaborations with Alexander Forbes. (This upcoming album will also include many additional poems from the other gallery catalogues included on this site).