L’HIRONDELLE, Cheryl

Canada

Cheryl L'Hirondelle, Forty Blocks 1994 video still

Forty Blocks (1994, 6:57)
Thursday August 24, 7:30 pm
291 Lake Shore Boulevard East (just west of Parliament St.)
Presented in partnership with Art Spin and Waterfront Toronto in conjunction with Desire Lines

Saturday June 10, 7:30 pm
Guild Park and Gardens
Presented in partnership with (Un)settled

Forty Blocks is a music video which chronicles a Métis woman’s journey from a home, where as a child she was abused, across town to her Kokom’s house where she was never allowed to go. The journey and the song it inspires are healing, as she reclaims her connection to her culture, her blood and the earth. “this dance on earth, my lifelong search, a right to passage within the arms of my Kokom.”

Cheryl L’Hirondelle (aka Waynohtêw, Cheryl Koprek) is a nomadic mixed-blood multi and interdisciplinary artist, singer/songwriter and curator. Her creative practice is an investigation of the junction of a Cree worldview (nêhiyawin) in contemporary time and space. In 2004, L’Hirondelle was one of the first Aboriginal artists from this land now known as Canada to be invited to present her new media work at DAK’ART Lab, as part of the 6th Edition of the Dakar Biennale for Contemporary African Art, Dakar, Senegal. In both 2005 & 2006, L’Hirondelle was the recipient of the imagineNATIVE New Media Award for her online net.art projects: treatycard, 17:TELL and wêpinâsowina. Her 2008 interdisciplinary project nikamon ohci askiy (songs because of the land), was recognized as an honoree in the Net.Art category of the 13th Annual Webby Awards.

http://www.cheryllhirondelle.com/

Canada

Cheryl L'Hirondelle, êkâya-pâhkaci (don’t freeze up) FADO/7a*11d 2008 PHOTO Henry Chan

Cheryl L’Hirondelle
êkâya-pâhkaci (don’t freeze up)
Thursday October 16 8 pm
Toronto Free Gallery

Presented by FADO Performance Art Centre as part of the IDea series in conjunction with the 2008 imagineNATIVE Film + New Media Festival.

Cheryl L’Hirondelle’s êkâya-pâhkaci [ee-guy-uh-puck-a-chee] (don’t freeze up) operates through an intersection of nomadic site-specificity, visual patterning, language, narrative, movement and rhythm. In this work, Cheryl stages a performance presented under an adaptable traveling tent from where she relates and offers information to the audience using her body, voice and graffiti/tagging. The audience, by proximity and in accepting her invitation to witness her activities, “comes in from the cold” and becomes part of her “camp.”

Cheryl L’Hirondelle (aka Waynohtêw, Cheryl Koprek) is an Alberta-born half-breed (Métis/Cree-non status/treaty, French, German, Polish) artist and musician. Her creative practice is an investigation of the junction of a Cree worldview (nêhiyawin) in contemporary time and space. Since the early ’80s, L’Hirondelle has created, performed and presented work in a variety of artistic disciplines, including: music, performance art, theatre, performance poetry, storytelling, installation and new media. In the early ’90s, she began a parallel career as an arts consultant and programmer, cultural strategist/activist, and director/producer of both independent works and projects within national artist-run networks.

Andrew James Paterson’s eyewitness account
Critical essay by Warren Arcand
FADO artist page for êkâya-pâhkaci

Logo: FADO       Logo: ImagineNative: Original. Indigenous.

http://www.cheryllhirondelle.com/

Canada

Cheryl L'Hirondelle awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya / climbing the iron mountains 7a*11d 2004 PHOTO Shannon Cochrane

awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya / climbing the iron mountains
Friday October 22 7 pm
Meet at the Kensington Market parking garage on Baldwin St.

Monday October 25 7 pm
Meet in the Eaton Centre parking garage, Yonge St side: top floor of the garage beside the Thrifty Car Rental location.

Wednesday October 27  7 pm
Meet in the parking garage at the corner of Dundas St W & Centre St, using the stairwell at the SW corner of the building.

Friday October 29 3:30 pm
Meet in the inner courtyard of 401 Richmond St W (outside stairwell).

Because broadcasting are a key aspect of Cheryl l’Hirondelle’s building infiltrations, she encourages audience members to bring portable radios to the performance so that they can tune in to her broadcast.

“I intend on infiltrating highrises [any office building, apartment/condo, hotel, or school, over 4 stories] as a commentary on ownership of air. Once inside, I will scale the centre of the building’s stairwell ascending and descending and will leave a chalk tag of cree syllabics saying: e-kisinawatastihk piyesisak ohci as symbolic evidence of this reclamation. I will also use low-watt radio equipment to broadcast audio at selected locations as part of this action. I do this in order to honour and symbolically re-claim the air above the land where these structures currently exist. It is arrogant of governments to zone that which is not theirs. I do this for the birds – it is still their domain! If you can assist me in gaining entry into any buildings, if you would like to climb with me, witness the activity, document it; or if you have audio you would allow me to air, I invite you to email me: niya [at] ndnnrkey.net.” [ed. note: site no longer active]

Cheryl l’Hirondelle is an Alberta born, Saskatchewan based, halfbreed multi/interdisciplinary artist (Metis/Cree – non status/treaty, german). Since the early 1980s she has created, performed, collaborated and presented work in performance art, music, theatre, performance poetry, storytelling, video and new media. Since the early 1990s she has worked as an arts programmer, cultural strategist/activist, arts consultant and producer independently and within the national artist-run network, first nations bands and tribal councils, and government agencies. She is currently developing performative physical endurance interventions, is producing interactive net.art projects and is one half of the singing duo nikamok.

Cheryl L'Hirondelle awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya / climbing the iron mountains 7a*11d 2004 PHOTO Shannon Cochrane
Cheryl L’Hirondelle awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya / climbing the iron mountains 7a*11d 2004 PHOTO Shannon Cochrane

Éminence Grise
é•mmi•nnce grise n. somebody who exercises great power or influence secretly or unofficially. This program highlights our commitment to bringing forward a lived history of performance work in Canada by presenting an artist who has made a fundamental contribution to the field. This program was inaugurated last festival with the presentation of Bruce Barber. This year we are pleased to invite Cheryl L’Hirondelle.

Cheryl L'Hirondelle awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya / climbing the iron mountains 7a*11d Oct 22, 2004

Cheryl L'Hirondelle awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya / climbing the iron mountains 7a*11d Oct. 25, 2004

Cheryl L'Hirondelle awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya / climbing the iron mountains 7a*11d Oct 27, 2004

Infiltration panel discussion, with Mideo M. Cruz, Esther Ferrer, Glenda León, Cheryl l’Hirondelle; moderated by Johanna Householder, Toronto 2004

Cheryl L'Hirondelle interviewed by Tanya Mars, Toronto 2004

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