International Festival of Performance Art
Current members: Gale Allen, Shannon Cochrane, Paul Couillard, Heather Haynes, Johanna Householder, Louise Liliefeldt, Tanya Mars
7a*11d formed in January 1997 out of a collective interest in encouraging Toronto's burgeoning performance art activity. By August 1997 13 founding artists (representing several loosely organized artist collectives) produced the first annual 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, a successful event bringing together approximately 60 artists from Canada, the US, and Australia. 1998's 2nd International Festival of Performance Art was a two-part festival (in August and October), again with over 50 artists from Canada, the US, and Europe. After the 1998 festival, we decided to move to a biannual programming structure - presenting the International Festival every 2 years with dynamic performance projects (residencies, exchanges, conferences, etc.) in the alternate year. The 1999 project was a residency with acclaimed artist Rachel Rosenthal. The 3rd International Festival of Performance Art took place in October/November 2000, with over 40 artists from Canada, the US, Europe, and Australia. In 2001 we organized ReciproCity/RéciproCité, a site sensitive series of performances and panels linking Vancouver, Montréal and Toronto. This sought to initiate and extend the discourse around site specific performance art as a vehicle for social commentary. In 2002 we organized the 4th International Festival of Performance Art; in 2004, the 5th International Festival of Performance Art, and in 2006, the 6th International Festival of Performance Art.
We are committed to a long-term presence in Toronto, but we are not tied to the idea of repeating what we have already done. Our concept of what a festival is, and what its format should be evolves to address what we feel are the most pressing needs of the discipline and its audience. Our goals are:
- to foster the development of a local performance art community
- to gain increased recognition for the performance art activity that takes place in Toronto and across Canada
- to activate interest in and expand audiences for performance art
- to encourage the exchange of ideas, information, and strategies in the field of performance art
- to explore definitions of performance art and facilitate an awareness of and critical discussion about its form and content
- to develop sources for the sponsorship, promotion, and dissemination of performance art
- to document work for archival and pedagogical purposes
Past members
of 7a*11d have included:
Jubal Brown, Churla Burla, Terril-Lee Calder, William Davison, Jim Drobnick, Dave Dyment, Peter Flemming, Adam Herst, Sherri Lyn Higgins, Rochelle Holt, Bernice Kaye, Jenny Keith, Will Kwan, Stefanie Marshall, Derek Mohamed, Tracy Renée Stafford, Zoë Stonyk.
©7a*11d, 2001-08
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