All in Inspiring Stories
In my piece How Can I Be Myself when Strangers are Watching? Performing Blackness and Black Joy, I spoke of how a white audience by its very presence transforms performance art by black artists, turning an expression into an exhibition – an execution. It’s a crime for which I have convicted Canadian born and or raised Black artists. But I don’t know what it’s like to grow-up in a place as a minority. So, I asked my friend if I could walk a mile in his shoes.
On October 28, One Yellow Rabbit will welcome back bliss (the birthday party play) for its second run, returning live performance to the Big Secret Theatre stage at Arts Commons. Written and acted by Verb Theatre director Jamie Dunsdon, critically acclaimed bliss approaches the inopportune moments in life when, like an errant balloon, our ignorance is popped. Perhaps it’s the dawning horror that Santa’s handwriting looks an awful lot like moms, or the burgeoning weight of climate change and environmental action––whatever the catalyst, bliss embarks on an exploration of our vulnerability, our curiosity, and our limitless capacity to ignore that which we shouldn’t.
This pandemic brought accessibility conversations into abled homes and work spaces. Appointments over the phone, working from home, the loneliness of being stuck and alone.
I found myself hopeful that this "new normal" would continue after everything opened again. But this province is reopening before it is safe again, and already I find myself behind and outside of performance communities again.
“I like to say that I’m 107 years old in musician years,” says Miss Emily with a smile. “I’m actually 39, which I normally wouldn’t say but it's an important piece of the puzzle.” Kingston Ontario native and best new blueswoman on the block has been performing her evocative music for over 16 years, but to Toronto musicians and blues appreciators alike (just two hours down the road from Kingston) she just sort of dropped out of the sky.
As COVID-19 restrictions loosen and movie-goers begin hitting theatres once again, there’s a tangible excitement in the air to watch the delayed releases of highly anticipated films. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert, is one of those movies I’ve been patiently waiting to watch. It premieres October 2021, and you can bet I’ll be standing first in line on opening night.
But to say I have a complicated relationship with Dune doesn’t even begin to cover it.
With the end of closed galleries and dark stages in sight, Arts Commons is moving full speed ahead into the future of Calgary’s artistic life with Arts Commons Incubator, a first-of-its-kind professional artist development program at the city’s largest performing arts centre. Designed deliberately to support Calgary-based artists who reflect the diversity and vibrancy of Treaty 7 territory, Arts Commons Incubator is now accepting applications until August 31, 2021 from multidisciplinary artists whose work defies categorization and is in active conversation with the world around them.
Summer is unquestionably here with record-breaking hot weather that has found many of us looking to beat the heat with a dip in the closest body of water or lounging in the shade of our favourite park. When you’re not taking refuge from the sun, you’ll definitely want to check out the latest line-up from the Arts Commons Presents series: ArtsXpeditions! Taking the performing arts outdoors for the second year in a row, the local artists of ArtsXpeditions will be performing everything from flamenco and jazz to Indigenous drumming and even a DJ spinning electronica. ArtsXpeditions is popping up in every quadrant of the city––maybe even at a park near you!
The seed of the Incubator program at Arts Commons had a slow cultivation – it was important to move with measured intentionality and match the best individuals possible to bring the concept to reality. While there have been numerous mentorship programs in the performing arts, few have provided support to a group as broad and interdisciplinary as the one the Incubator program at Arts Commons has committed to; a year-long performance, exhibition, and professional development opportunity that creates a space safe enough for artists who move between disciplines to thrive.
