COCHRANE, Shannon (see also me & me)

Performance Art Daily (Tanya Mars in conversation with Shannon Cochrane)
Wednesday October 9, 12 pm
401 Commons, 4th Floor, 401 Richmond Street West
Sponsored by Vtape

In conjunction with God Play, Vtape’s video exhibition featuring Tanya Mars and Andrew James Paterson (this year’s 7a*11d Éminences Grises), join us for a conversation between Tanya Mars and Shannon Cochrane (director of FADO Performance Art Centre and TPAC alumni). Mars will share anecdotes from her personal history as a key contributor to Canada’s artist-driven culture and talk about the works in the exhibition, running from October 1-19 at the Bashir Yerex Presentation Space.

Tanya Mars is a feminist performance artist who has been actively involved in the Canadian art scene since 1973 doing many different things. She has lived and worked in Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Since the ’70s Mars’ work has focused on creating spectacular feminist imagery that places women at the centre of the narrative. Since the mid-’90s her performances have included endurance, durational and site-specific strategies. Her work is political, satirical and humorous. She has worked both independently and collaboratively to create both large-scale as well as intimate performances in Canada and internationally. Ironic to Iconic: The Performance Works of Tanya Mars, was published in 2008 by FADO, edited by Paul Couillard. She is the recipient of a 2008 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. Recently retired from teaching at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Mars lives off-grid in Nova Scotia. She has one daughter and 3 grandsons.

Shannon Cochrane is a Canadian performance artist, curator and writer. Her performance work has been presented in museums, galleries, festivals and in all kinds of events across Canada and internationally in 25 countries. Shannon’s performance practice is primarily concerned with illustrating and working through the tensions between process and strategy, context and perception, and authorship and repetition. Recent proclivities include swan songs, covers and call-backs, and performers who have died on stage. Recent performances in 2024 were presented in the context of Rencontre internationale d’art performance (RiAP) in Montréal (co-presented by Clark Gallery) and Québec City; and Écart’s Biennale d’art performatif (Rouyn-Noranda). Over the last 25 years, Shannon has contributed to the development of the Canadian performance art ecology through curating, programming, producing and supporting performance artists and their work. She is a co-founding member of Toronto’s 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, and from 1996–2022 co-curated and organized 14 international performance festivals with the collective. As the current Director of FADO Performance Art since 2007, she has curated and produced the work of hundreds of performance artists from around the world for Toronto audiences. She has written about performance art as a discipline, form and practice for print, online and various platforms/projects. Her most recent text, Performance is a Ghost, Not a Grave: Two works by Roberto de la Torre (M-C-M, Ice Press, University of Toronto, University of Illinois) was published in ROBERTO DE LA TORRE Art, Violence, and Extraction: Mexico City––Mumbai–Toronto in 2024.

Dime Museum
Wednesday October 31 6:33 am (sunrise) – 10:30 pm
Elle Corazon | 176, rue Bernard Ouest, Montréal

ReciproCity/ RéciproCité Montréal round table discussion
Thursday November 1 12 pm – 5 pm
L’ancien Copie-Art | 813, rue Ontario

Organized by Josée Tremblay as part of ReciproCity/RéciproCité Montréal
Sponsored by Studio 303

Serenade in 62
(with Jacob Wren)
Saturday November 3 12 pm – 12 am
Gladstone Hotel | 1214 Queen Street West

ReciproCity/RéciproCité Toronto round table discussion
Sunday November 4 1 pm

Organized by Paul Couillard as part of ReciproCity/RéciproCité Toronto

Shannon Cochrane is a Toronto based performance artist. Her work has been presented by A Space, Mercer Union, YYZ, The Power Plant, Money House, Archive, The Cleveland International Performance Art Festival and Artemisia Gallery in Chicago. In 1998, known as one half of me and me, she co-created a year-long performance project with Keith Manship. Shannon is a founding member and curator of the 7a*11d International Performance Festival. In November, she will present the world’s biggest game of badminton at The Art Gallery of Ontario in a performance entitled 100 Love as part of the gallery’s Centennial Anniversary. Shannon’s work frequently incorporates the participation of non-performers and seeks to alter the role-play/role played by the audience. Shannon often employs sports imagery, contest etiquette and game rituals.

If Wishes Were Horses, Beggars Would Ride
Saturday, November 7 8 pm
DeLeon White Gallery, 455 King St W

Curated by Paul Couillard and Louise Liliefeldt as part of Pousse-Café
Presented by Mercer Union

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride — and so would Azed, Omar and me.

Shannon Cochrane is a Toronto based performance artist. Some of her work has been presented by A Space, Mercer Union, YYZ, The Power Plant, Money House, Archive, The Cleveland International Performance Art Festival and Artemisia Gallery in Chicago. In 1998, known as one half of “me and me”, she co-created a year-long performance project with Keith Manship. Shannon is a founding member and curator of the 7a*11d International Performance Festival.