2008

By Andrew James Paterson On the 2008 7a*11d festival’s final afternoon, a panel was held with the title Terms of Engagement: Presence and the Performative. The panelists were Helsinki-based artist Annette Arlander, Paul Couillard, and Johanna Householder. Tanya Mars was scheduled to participate in the panel live from Paris, but technology did not cooperate. Norbert […]

November 2, 2008 By Elaine Wong The final day of the festival was wrapped up with a panel discussing terms of engagement: how does one create performance art, and what is the difference between performance art and performative gestures? The panelists consisted of a series of performers-and-professors: moderator and festival organizer Johanna Householder, Helsinki artist

By Andrew James Paterson I begin the longest day of the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art—the Day of the Dead—out at the Toronto Free Gallery on Bloor just east of Lansdowne. I enter the gallery for the first time since last Tuesday, and Chaw Ei Thein’s mural on the west wall has nearly tripled

November 1, 2008 By Elaine Wong As the crowd emerged into the Toronto Free Gallery, we saw creative resident Chaw Ei Thein‘s finished mural. In addition to what I have already described in previous posts, the artist had now addressed the other half of the canvas, incorporating an embryo surrounded by bloody hand-prints, purple people

October 31, 2008 By Elaine Wong Robin Poitras began the day’s performances with a presentation of some times three alongside Brenda Cleniuk and Leanne Lloyd. They collected in front of the Design Exchange, a single serious line of black accented in brass and red leather. The premise of the piece was simple: the three artists

By Andrew James Paterson At twelve noon sharp, Robin Poitras presented an outdoor performance on a lovely pre-Halloween afternoon in downtown Toronto’s financial district. Poitras formed a trio with two other female artists—Brenda Cleniuk and Leanne Lloyd (both from Regina). Dressed in identical black outfits and wearing comfortable red shoes, they held umbrellas over their