2008 • 7th 7a*11d Festival
7a*11d is pleased to present the seventh International Festival of Performance Art from October 23 to November 2, a culmination of 11 years of working together as an artist-run collective. In order to celebrate this accomplishment, the 2008 7a*11d festival is nothing less than an international survey of global live art – progressive and provocative new performance works by over 30 local, national and international performance artists. The festival hosts residencies, performance art events, panel discussions, artists’ talks, video/performance screenings, and workshops in 11 jam-packed days.
Artists
Schedule
Special Programming
d2d.4 = direct to documentation 2008
d2d.4 = direct to documentation Wednesday October 29 7:30 pm The Gladstone Hotel | 1214 Queen St W
Terms of Engagement: Presence and the Performative panel discussion
Terms of Engagement: Presence and the Performative Sunday November 2 12 pm XPACE Cultural Centre
Parallel Events
FADO and imageinNATIVE present Cheryl l'Hirondelle
Cheryl L’Hirondelle êkâya-pâhkaci Thursday October 16 8 pm Toronto Free Gallery
Fleishman Gallery presents Lezli Rubin-Kunda
Lezli Rubin-Kunda Outside In Friday October 17 7 pm: Opening Reception & Performance: Saturday October 18 to Friday October 31 11 am - 6 pm: Exhibition of videos continues Fleishman Gallery (at WonderWorks)
FADO's What is Important? workshop
What is Important? Performance Art Workshop with BBB Johannes Deimling Friday October 17 to Tuesday October 21 Workshop Thursday October 23 5 pm Participant performances Friday October 24 5 pm Participant performances Toronto Free Gallery
Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie presents Hymn to the Universe/Le milieu divin
Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie Hymn to the Universe / Le Milieu divin Tuesday October 21 8 pm Palais Royale (1601 Lakeshore Blvd. West)
Creative Residents
The 7a*11d International Performance Art Festival marks the occasion of our 7th Festival and our 11th year of programming by inviting seven artists of international stature to celebrate with us through Creative Residencies taking place during the eleven days of the Festival. The residencies begin October 13 and overlap throughout the Festival. These Creative Residencies allow us to support a depth of engagement and further the means of the processes of creation. This is especially relevant in the context of a performance, as much work is based in process – social, interactive, personal, material, and conceptual. The residencies will allow durational work to unfold and artists who respond to site or who wish to work with particular groups to have the support to do so. We have invited artists whose work is a provocative mix of approaches, aesthetics, cultural backgrounds and range of experience: two of the Residents are the 2008 Éminences Grises, Glenn Lewis and Robin Poitras. The Residencies by these seven artists will give 7a*11d audiences the opportunity to engage personally and intensively with the residents, while affording the artists the time and space to work and to have a more meaningful relationship with various Toronto communities and individuals.
The Seven Creative Residents are:
Gustavo Alvarez (Mexico) *
Warren Arcand (BC)
Sylvette Babin (QC)
Norbert Klassen (Switzerland)
Glenn Lewis (BC)*
Robin Poitras (SK)*
Chaw Ei Thein (Burma)
*Creative Residents Gustavo Alvarez, Glenn Lewis and Robin Poitras will be performing in various locations throughout the Festival.
Critical Texts for 7th 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art
2008 Blogposts (by Andrew James Paterson and Elaine Wong)
With this year’s incredible line-up of activities, we know you won’t want to miss a thing. But in case you do, 7a*11d offers a festival “blog” with daily critical commentary (description, introspection, cultural implication, and maybe just a tad of gossip…) and interviews with participating artists by selected local writers. For this inaugural year, we are pleased to introduce you to our writers, Andrew James Paterson and Elaine Wong.
Andrew James Paterson is an interdisciplinary artist working with video, film, performance, writing, publishing, and music. He has presented and performed work locally, nationally, and internationally. His body of work has been characterized by a fascination with relationships between bureaucracy, technology, and bodies. Dynamics between performers and audiences has been another recurring obsession. Paterson performed in the first two 7a*11d festivals, and has been an enthusiastic observer at all of the others.
Elaine Wong, a recent graduate of McMaster University, has been involved in theatre production for eight years, and has been writing for even longer. Her most recent effort combining the two was the play she co-wrote for the McMaster Honours Performance Series, 16 Stunning Storeys from the City Streets, a piece examining the definition of street art and audience interaction.
Éminences Grises
Éminence Grise n. somebody who exercises great power or influence secretly or unofficially...
One ongoing aspect of the 7a*11d Festival is the designation of Éminences Grises. This program highlights our commitment to bringing forward a lived history of performance in Canada by presenting seminal artists. Inaugurated in 2002 with Bruce Barber, it was continued in 2004 with Cheryl L’Hirondelle Waynohtêw, and in 2006 with a residency by Rita McKeough. Realizing that it would take 20 years to present the best of Canadian performance history one at a time, this year we have invited two artists for this special recognition: Robin Poitras (SK) and Glenn Lewis (a.k.a. Flakey Rosehips) (BC). Diverse in their origins and practices, both Poitras and Lewis will develop new work and present it during the Festival. Though educated at York University, Robin Poitras has never presented her work to an Ontario audience. And Glenn Lewis has not made a performance in Toronto since 1984.
Venues
XPACE Cultural Centre
58 Ossington Avenue
Toronto Free Gallery
1277 Bloor Street West
Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
The Fleishman Gallery at WonderWorks
79A Harbord Street (west of Spadina)
Festival Eyes and Ears
With this year’s incredible line-up of activities, we know you won’t want to miss a thing. But in case you do, 7a*11d is offering a new feature this year: a festival “blog” with daily critical commentary (description, introspection, cultural implication, and maybe just a tad of gossip…) and interviews with participating artists by selected local writers. Our team includes 7a*11d performing alumni and artist-about-town Andrew J. Paterson and up-and-coming playwright Elaine Wong, as well as photographer Henry Chan. Even if you were there, you’ll want to read what they have to say and see Henry’s amazing images.
Andrew James Paterson is an interdisciplinary artist working with video, film, performance, writing, publishing, and music. He has presented and performed work locally, nationally, and internationally. His body of work has been characterized by a fascination with relationships between bureaucracy, technology, and bodies. Dynamics between performers and audiences has been another recurring obsession. Paterson performed in the first two 7a*11d festivals, and has been an enthusiastic observer at all of the others.
Elaine Wong, a recent graduate of McMaster University, has been involved in theatre production for eight years, and has been writing for even longer. Her most recent effort combining the two was the play she co-wrote for the McMaster Honours Performance Series, 16 Stunning Storeys from the City Streets, a piece examining the definition of street art and audience interaction.
This is Henry Chan‘s second time documenting the 7a*11d festival. Since 2006, he has also photographed the activities of FADO Performance Art Centre, as well as events, exhibitions and performances at various contemporary art venues in the city including The Images Festival and The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. When he is not using a camera, Henry is crunching numbers and pushing paperwork as an accountant.
- Andrew James Paterson
- Elaine Wong
- Henry Chan
