2022 • 13th 7a*11d Festival

Welcome to the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, active in Toronto since 1997.

Toronto Performance Art Collective (TPAC) is pleased to announce the 13th edition of our festival, taking place September 6-10, 2022 at the Theatre Centre and various outdoor locations. This long-awaited event, originally scheduled for the fall of 2020, follows a long tradition of bringing together an eclectic mix of innovative live performance works featuring local, national, and international artists.

Performance art has always been a somewhat contingent practice, inhabiting a space somewhere in between the artist’s intentions and the accidents of circumstance. If theatre champions the techniques of the ‘as-if’ by rehearsing and simulating imagined worlds, then perhaps we could say that performance art operates more in the terrain of the ‘what-if,’ creating open-ended situations where audience witnesses/participants and artists embark on a shared journey of discovery to ferret out what can and will happen under particular circumstances. Our festival has never been a ‘themed’ event, but after two and half years of a pandemic that seems to have erased whatever certainty we might have had around what constitutes ‘normal’ life, this year’s performances seem particularly infused with—or at least informed by—concerns around contingency, precarity, and speculation. Expect works that prompt, in large and small ways, informed by personal and systemic histories, questions like: What is true? What is just? What is possible? What is impossible?

The collective would like to particularly thank our presenting artists for their patience and commitment to the festival through two years of delays and uncertainties, as well as our funders, who agreed to allow us to hold on to the funds we had been granted until it was possible to host an event that could be as live and in-person as possible. This festival is made possible with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council.

TO BUY TICKETS FROM THE THEATRE CETNRE BOX OFFICE: https://tickets.theatrecentre.org/TheatreManager/1/online?event=0

Schedule

Sep
6
Tue
The Shop of Emptiness
Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street, second floor
11 am - 4 pm
Sep
6
Tue
The Commons @ 401 (4th floor), 401 Richmond Street West
11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Sep
6
Tue
Deep in the Streets
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
5 pm (outdoor, free, no advance ticketing)
Sep
6
Tue
Two-headed animal
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
6 pm (outdoor, free, no advance ticketing)
Sep
6
Tue
Artist talk
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
7 pm (Free; no advance ticketing)
Sep
6
Tue
Notes for an intervening time
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
8 pm
Sep
7
Wed
In the Future Something Will Have Happened
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
10 am - 5 pm (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED; each session is approximately 45 minutes, starting on the hour)
Sep
7
Wed
The Shop of Emptiness
Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street, second floor
11 am - 4 pm
Sep
7
Wed
The Commons @ 401 (4th floor), 401 Richmond Street West
11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Sep
7
Wed
Deep in the Streets
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
5 pm (outdoor, free, no advance ticketing)
Sep
7
Wed
Fragile Space
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
7 pm
Sep
7
Wed
M. Gros [Mr. Big]
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
8 pm
Sep
8
Thu
In the Future Something Will Have Happened
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
10 am - 5 pm (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED; each session is approximately 45 minutes, starting on the hour)
Sep
8
Thu
The Shop of Emptiness
Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street, second floor
11 am - 4 pm
Sep
8
Thu
The Commons @ 401 (4th floor), 401 Richmond Street West
11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Sep
8
Thu
DoubleBind
12:30 - 6:15 pm (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED; each session with the hoodie is 45 minutes, starting at half past the hour)
12:30 pm - 6:15 pm
Sep
8
Thu
Deep in the Streets
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
5 pm (outdoor, free, no advance ticketing)
Sep
8
Thu
Hamilton's My Lady
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
7 pm
Sep
8
Thu
On our terms
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
8 pm
Sep
9
Fri
City Yard, 1116 King Street West (near Dufferin Street)
9 am
Sep
9
Fri
In the Future Something Will Have Happened
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
10 am - 5 pm (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED; each session is approximately 45 minutes, starting on the hour)
Sep
9
Fri
Leslie Grove Park, 1158 Queen Street East (near Jones Avenue)
11 am
Sep
9
Fri
The Shop of Emptiness
Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street, second floor
11 am - 4 pm
Sep
9
Fri
The Commons @ 401 (4th floor), 401 Richmond Street West
11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Sep
9
Fri
DoubleBind
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
12:30 - 6:15 pm (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED; each session with the hoodie is 45 minutes, starting at half past the hour)
Sep
9
Fri
Woodbine Beach Park, 1675 Lake Shore Boulevard East
1 pm
Sep
9
Fri
hosted by Alain-Martin Richard
On YouTube with a live screening at the Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
5 pm
Sep
9
Fri
Deep in the Streets
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
5 pm (outdoor, free, no advance ticketing)
Sep
9
Fri
The Glory of Emptiness
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
7 pm
Sep
9
Fri
nōhtāwiy awa [this is my father]
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
8 pm
Sep
10
Sat
In the Future Something Will Have Happened
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
10 am - 5 pm (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED; each session is approximately 45 minutes, starting on the hour)
Sep
10
Sat
facilitated by Rah Eleh
The Commons @ 401, 401 Richmond Street West, Toronto
11 am - 4 pm (continues same times Sunday) FULLY BOOKED
Sep
10
Sat
DoubleBind
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
12:30 - 6:15 pm (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED; each session with the hoodie is 45 minutes, starting at half past the hour)
Sep
10
Sat
Deep in the Streets
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
5 pm (outdoor, free, no advance ticketing)
Sep
10
Sat
untitled
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
7 pm
Sep
10
Sat
its not a thing
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
8 pm

Other Events

FADO presents COMPASS: to re-orient our pratice of being together (WORKSHOP)

Artist-led embodied research projectFacilitated by lo bil and hosted by FADO Performance Art Centre Part 1: Tuesday September 6 – Friday September 9, 2022, 11:30 am – 2:30 pmPart 2: Monday September 12 – Friday September 16, 2022Public showing: Saturday September 17, 2022Bachir/Yerex Presentation SpaceThe Commons @ 401 (4th floor)401 Richmond Street West, Toronto COMPASS …

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Yahndawa' exhibition - live webcast

Yahndawa’ portages entre Wendake et QuébecFriday September 9 5 p mOnline with live screening at the Theatre Centre(Free) Join us for a live virtual tour of the Yahndawa’ exhibition reception at Meduse in Québec, hosted by this year’s 7a*11d éminence grise, Alain-Martin Richard. He will provide a bilingual tour of the show, providing background on the …

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Artexte and TPAC present Virtual Launch - Digital Reissue of w.o.r.k.s.c.o.r.e.p.o.r.t.

w.o.r.k.s.c.o.r.e.p.o.r.t. Digital ReissueSaturday September 10 11 amOnline Artexte and Toronto Performance Art Collective are pleased to invite you to the virtual launch of the digital reissue of w.o.r.k.s.c.o.r.e.p.o.r.t. on Zoom. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the W.O.R.K.S collective, composed of artists Clive Robertson and Paul Woodrow, we propose a rediscovery of w.o.r.k.s.c.o.r.e.p.o.r.t. …

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FADO presents Performance on Camera (WORKSHOP)

Facilitated by Rah Eleh and hosted by FADO Performance Art Centre Saturday September 10 – Sunday September 11, 2022,11 am – 4 pmThe Commons @ 401, 401 Richmond Street West, TorontoNOTE: This workshop is now FULLY BOOKED and is no longer taking new participants. Performance on Camera investigates the intersections between performance art and the …

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Festival Reviews

Soft Transmissions by Shalon T. Webber-Heffernan

In the wake of a more than two-year lapse in live performance events in Toronto (and everywhere), the 2022 iteration of the Toronto Performance Art Collective’s 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art felt particularly infused with a sense of intimacy and softness. Being together in space feels almost new again, vulnerable—like a relationship you took for …

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Kiki's Cold Reads and Hot Takes (on Instagram)

As Toronto Performance Art Collective (TPAC) enters another festival year, with the 14th edition of the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art scheduled for October of 2024, we invite our audiences to reflect on the 2022 edition. Follow our Instagram (@7a11d) as our very own Kiki (a.k.a. Kiera Boult) takes viewers on a guided tour …

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Performance Art Daily

Due to complications with the venue and the ongoing pandemic, we were unable to host our usual Performance Art Daily artist talk series in 2022. Instead, we offer a series of post-festival videoconferences featuring the artists in this year’s edition, interviewed by various members of the TPAC collective as well as some French interviews with special guest host Michelle Lacombe (English subtitles provided).

NOTE: For Jessica Thompson’s artist talk, presented on Zoom during the festival (distinct from the interview with Paul Couillard included below), visit her artist page on this site.

Interview (2023): Archer Pechawis interviewed by Golboo Amani

Archer PECHAWIS
interviewed by Golboo Amani
Reflections on the predicament of being Indigenous in Canada, using humour to tackle dark topics, and the artist's performance for 7a*11d, originally titled nōhtāwiy awa [this is my father] in the festival program, now referred to by the artist as Catch a Rat
with English closed captions

Éminence grise

Noun (pl.) persons who exercise great power or influence, secretly or unofficially

Inaugurated in 2002, the festival’s Éminence Grise designation highlights our commitment to bringing forward a lived history of performance art by presenting the work of key Canadian artists. We celebrate artists who have helped to establish, shape, and embody performance art in Canada.

This year we celebrate Alain-Martin RICHARD, a distinguished artist whose work has significantly redefined the performative gesture in contemporary art. Moving beyond the familiar ideas of audience interaction, relational aesthetics and social sculpture, Richard has championed an art of actions that infiltrates the social, drawing audiences into art processes as part of their daily, lived experience. The hallmarks of his work are an intellectual rigour based on a keen understanding of visual art, theatre, and Western philosophy; a deep political commitment to interrogating the workings of power inherent in the processes of globalization; and a remarkable attunement to the poiesis of action.Click on his artist link to read more about his practice in his own words.

previous Éminences
2002 Bruce BARBER (NS)
2004 Cheryl L’HIRONDELLE (SK)
2006 Rita MCKEOUGH (NS)
2008 Robin POITRAS (SK) and Glenn LEWIS (BC)
2010 Michael FERNANDES (NS) and Sylvie TOURANGEAU (QC)
2012 Margaret DRAGU (BC) and Nobuo KUBOTA (ON)
2014 Berenicci HERSHORN (ON) and Clive ROBERTSON (ON
2016 Elizabeth CHITTY (ON) and DOYON/DEMERS (QC)
2018 Hank BULL (BC) and Sandra VIDA (AB)

Festival Eyes and Ears

We are honoured to once again have Henry Chan as our festival photographer. Henry Chan has been taking photographs for over 30 years. For the past 15 years, he has been documenting performance art in Toronto, including the activities of FADO Performance Art Centre, the 7a*11d International Performance Art Festival and the work of various performance artists. In 2018, Henry was invited to document the Performance Art Oslo festival in Norway. Henry has also documented events and exhibitions for various arts venues and organizations such as The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, The Gardiner Museum, The Blackwood, The Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Nuit Blanche (City of Toronto), SummerWorks and The Images Festival, among others. Henry’s photographs have appeared in various artist publications and print media, including Canadian Art, The Globe and Mail and The New York Times.

Peppercorn Imagine, a Toronto-based production studio focused on telling stories spearheaded by Alan Peng and Jeff Zhao, will be providing video documentation. Originating from studio arts backgrounds, Peng and Zhao focus on collaboration with others to create content and share unique stories and perspectives. Peppercorn Imagine produces video and photography content for web streaming, education and exhibition. Peng and Zhao have been a part of the 7a*11d’s documentation team for 6 years. Check out Peppercorn’s portfolio here: https://peppercorn.post.pro/. Thanks to our ongoing archival efforts, video documentation of this year’s performances will be available online soon after the festival ends.

This year, we we have commissioned two writers, Maandeeq Mohamed and Shalon T. Webber-Heffernan, to write in-depth post-festival essays. Maandeeq Mohamed is a writer engaging Black Studies and related cultural production. Her writing is featured in Real Life, C Magazine, and Canadian Art. Currently, Maandeeq is the Reviews Editor at C Magazine, as well as a PhD student in English and Gender Studies at the University of Toronto, where she is a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Fellow. Shalon T. Webber-Heffernan is a writer, independent curator, and scholar. She is completing a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies and recently held the position of Educator-in-Residence at the Blackwood Gallery. Some recent writing can be found in Canadian Theatre Review, Performance Matters, Theatre Research in Canada, and Comparative Media Arts Journal.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Maandeeq Mohamed was unable to produce her article, so we are instead adding a new approach to responding to festival performances. Follow our Instagram (@7a11d) as our very own Kiki (a.k.a. Kiera Boult) takes viewers on a guided tour of the last festival. Don’t miss her incisive, unique perspective as she offers a series of Cold Reads and Hot Takes. One review a week every Monday between mid-January and mid-April, 2024. Kiera Boult is an interdisciplinary artist and performer from Hamilton, ON. Boult’s practice utilizes camp and comedy to skeptically address issues that surround the role and/or identity of the artist and the institution. Her most recent performance Hamilton’s My Lady (2022) was a part of the 2022 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art and Supercrawl – Hamilton’s Music + Arts Festival. In 2019, Boult received the City of Hamilton Arts Award for Emerging Visual Artist. Her work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, and Artcite Inc. Windsor. She holds a BFA in Criticism and Curatorial Practice from OCAD University and is currently Vtape’s Submissions, Collections & Outreach Coordinator.

James Knott will be acting as our social media respondent, offering a daily feed of digital impressions on our various social media platforms (Instagram, twitter, Facebook). James Knott is an emerging, Toronto-based artist with a BFA in Integrated Media from OCAD University.  Their performance-based practice employs tactics of self-mythologizing, and auto-iconographic aestheticism, as a means to bridge personal narratives into communal ones. An alumnus of The Roundtable Residency, they’ve exhibited/performed at Xpace Cultural Centre, Trinity Square Video, the Toronto Feminist Art Conference,  the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, and the AGO’s First Thursdays. They’ve received project and grant funding from The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair, The National Arts Centre, The Ontario Arts Council, and The Canada Arts Council.

Follow us on twitter @7a11d for live updates on the festival, and remember to hashtag your tweets with #7a11d to share your thoughts and photos with others!

Venues

The Theatre Centre ♿︎
1115 Queen Street West
Box Office webpage: https://tickets.theatrecentre.org/TheatreManager/1/online?event=0

Performances at the Theatre Centre are either free or Pay-What-You-Can (suggested: $5 Discount, $10 Regular or $20 Feeling Generous), tickets available from the Theatre Centre box office 2 hours before the evening or afternoon start time. All performances are ticketed individually; capacities may vary depending on the room. No unaccompanied minors. Advance registration via Calendly is required for Lucky Pierre’s In the Future Something Will Have Happened and Jessica Thompson’s DoubleBind. (Both are free events.)

Outdoor performances, artist talks, and virtual events are free.

Covid Protocols

The ways in which we feel it is ‘safe enough’ to gather have been in constant flux over these past two and half years. There’s still no one consensus on the best practices to balance our human need to come together and the very real risks of infection. For this festival, we are following the blanket rules currently in place at our venue, the Theatre Centre. These could and probably will change based on circumstances at the time of the festival. Currently, audience protocols include the following:

  • Anyone planning to attend an indoor event will be expected to show their vaccine passport and provide contact tracing information
  • All audience members will be required to wear masks unless they are in the café actively eating and/or drinking
  • Event attendance is currently capped at 50% capacity

Full details of the theatre’s policy can be found on their website here.

For outdoor events, audience members are encouraged to follow masking and social distance practices.

7a*11d and its presenting partners gratefully acknowledge the support of:

And a special thanks to this year's co-presenters and venues:

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