Concordia University | Pqemerging2023

The group of Concordia Students are in majority from the Department of Theatre, Specialization in Scenography to which students from other departments from the Faculty of Fine Arts were welcome. The elaboration of the different realizations was led by Senior Lecturer and Scenographer Raymond Marius Boucher. Since he acted also as Co-Curator for the Canada + Quebec Exhibit, he got his student to follow through the process of a curatorial endeavor but also of a producer since the realization of the structure was under his supervision in Montreal. Some of his students were invited to create the Iceberg through a class taught by Lenka Novakova. This led to multiple proposals and two iceberg projects were selected and combined in one: those from Georgia Newsam and Aura Carolina Rodriguez Vasquez for which you'll find description below. Beside the Iceberg project, it took many more meetings for the conception and realization of what this group of seventeen students are now proudly presenting at this edition of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. The theme and question about what water represents opened many reflections which will leave traces on every participant in regard to the importance of treating water as a source that is fragile, even on the territories that seems inexhaustible such as the one we leave on.

https://www.concordia.ca/finearts/theatre/programs/field-schools.html

If you scroll down, you'll discover our Department of Theatre which is being part of the recognized Concordia University's Faculty of Fine Arts, and be impressed by its three programs (Acting, Performance Creation and Scenography), with its wide array of faculty and staff members as well as students and alumnus who are at the base of the department's commitments. Its Guiding Principles covering urgent social issues ensure that all can work and create together in a respectful, sensitive manner and assure that everyone is maintained in a safe environment.

The Department of Theatre invites incoming students to cultivate their creative voice, push artistic boundaries and to develop a versatile, rigorous, collaborative practice as a performer, designer, scenographer, director, dramaturg, writer, scholar, activist and/or artist who defies definition. They graduate ready to engage with their communities, challenge cultural norms, and remake the world through performance. https://www.concordia.ca/finearts/theatre/about/our-guiding-principles.html

Names of participating students:

Aura Carolina Rodrigues Vasquez, Calypso Cals-Geoffrion, Gabriella Torchia, Georgia Newsam, Heitiare Crawford , Isobel Kloth, Lucile Beaudouin, Nicole Kritzinger, Oliver Gulikson, Olivia St - Jean, Rebecca Wheeler, Sofia Lopez- Asselin, Tiffany Leong, Valerie Dubois, Violette Maréchal, and Zoe Heffring

Names of supervisors: Raymond Marius Boucher

More Info Here

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Aura Caroline Rodriguez

Obsessive, intricate details are at the core of my designs, which convey the atmosphere of a soft and – usually – a somewhat unusual world.
My interests lie in costume design and scenography, and, coming from a textile design background, exploring the material’s potential by working and modifying it is what guides my creative process.
Supporting sustainable practices is an essential concern, which is why I challenge myself to work with mostly second hand or preowned elements.

Oliver Gullikson

Oliver Gullikson is an artist currently living and learning in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal. They just
completed their first year in the Scenography program at Concordia University, where they
assisted in the creation of many wonderful projects, including Loam and Grief. When not creating for theatre, he can be found onstage performing in drag under the name Argyle Unknown.

Sofia Lopez - Asselin

Sofía López-Asselin is a multi-disciplinary artist born and raised in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal interested in exploring themes such as identity and uprooting. She is in her second year of bachelor in scenography at Concordia University after graduating from the creative writing program at Cégep du Vieux Montréal. She strives to work in different live performance art fields such as theatre and dance, but loves writing and working on comic books as a way to express herself, as well as mixing music. She also dabbles in graphic design for event organization.

Valerie Dubois

Hi! My name is Valérie (she/her) and I currently am a first year scenography student at Concordia University based in Tiohtià : ke (Montreal). I have a Fashion Design degree with a specialization in fur and I hope to further this knowledge within costume Design in theatre, but I am open to see where the journey takes me!

Violette Maréchal

Violette is a French-Canadian artist (pronouns she/her) born in Paris and based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Her love of creation, history, and various materials pushed her to get a Québec College Diploma in Visual Arts in 2018 then a Bachelor in Design for the Theater from Concordia University in 2023. She loves to work with fabrics, textiles, and any flowy materials, which directed her to work mainly in costumes and props. She would describe her artistic style as delicate, whimsical with more rounded lines than straight ones and a touch of shine (glitters are often added, one way or another).

Tiffany Leong

Tiffany leong is an interdisciplinary artist from Ontario, currently residing in Montreal Quebec. As a painting and drawing undergrad in Concordia University, her practice is centred around surrealist depictions of mental health and its interactions with the physical body. She is interested in the process of curation and expanding her realm of knowledge through travel and integration of new experiences.

Calypso Kida Cals

Born and raised in Montreal, Calypso is fascinated by the art of design in its ability to convey emotions and messages to those willing to listen, regardless of language.
As a graduate in photography and soon to be graduate in scenography, she sees the world as an ocean full of varying flavors, which she cannot wait to dive into. Thanks to neurodivergence (ASD), calypso collects artistic skills like badges of Honor, always looking forward to the next adventure!

Gabriella Torchia

I have recently discovered my love for theatre, performance art, the creative process and everything in between. Slowly but surely, I am learning the different ways I can articulate my thoughts and ideas into the physical world to collaborate, be a part of many little communities and meet the other humans that exist within this realm of art (through art)! Costume design is where my heart currently belongs. Let’s see where the journey takes me!

Gabrielle Archambault

Gabrielle Archambault’s design career starts at Concordia University, where she currently studies to receive her Bachelor in Fine Arts, majoring in Design.
Art has always played a major role in my life. As my family are avid travelers, my passion is to look for ways to express and shape the new cultures and environments that I discover in a variety of art forms. Studying design has allowed me to look for alternative materials that are more sustainable and affordable- goals that I wish to incorporate into my future practice.

Hetiare crawford

My name is Hetiare Crawford and I am 27 years old. I am from Tahiti, French Polynesia, and I have lived in Montreal since 2014.
I got an ACS in film TV production and I'm currently studying scenography in the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia since fall 2022.

Isobel Kloth

Isobel Kloth (alias ByBär) is French & German visual artist, photographer, and student in scenography at Concordia University in Tiohtià:ke/ Montreal. She roots her work in the people and conversations that surround her, having moved a lot and been exposed to many cultures and nationalities. Passionate about traveling, the world, and human connection, she wants to convey a message of care and comfort through her work and create a space in which an audience can feel safe and understood.
Instagram: @by.baer

Georgia Leigh Newsam

Georgia is a multidisciplinary artist. Focusing on immersive scenography, event, set and lighting design as she finishes her 3rd year BFA in Scenography at Concordia. Her life as a visual artist exploring illustration, fashion, jewelry & exhibition design has given her the opportunity to work one on one with clients and cultivate a deeper understanding of how others experience and consume art. This is why she is so passionate about curating immersive art experiences that cultivate connection, community & engaged inspiration.

Lucile Beaudouin

Lucile Beaudouin is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator who works in sculpture, performance, painting and multimedia installation in Tiohtià:ke/ Montreal.
She has a master degree in education, and currently finishing a BFA at Concordia University, Lucile explicits the invisible in the intergenerational links and the feminine identity by playing with materials from the domestic environment.

Nicole Kritzinger

Nicole Kritzinger is a Toronto based artist studying Theatre Design at Concordia University. Her mixed media and recycled material works explore themes in nature and modern living and the intersection between them. Through her art she seeks to encapsulate the relationship humans have to the environment around them and inspire deeper connection.

Zoe Heffring

My name is Zoe (she/her) and I am in 1rst year Scenography at Concordia. I’m an interdisciplinary artist with the instincts of a raccoon. I draw my strongest inspiration from the recycled materials I happen upon, utilising them to create the fun and the random. My style of accumulating unconventional materials and letting my imagination and impulses guide what and how I create, allows me to foster a strong sense of character, feeling, and story within my installations. My art aims to elevate the “arts and crafts'' we all know and have taken part in so I may reconnect myself and my audience to a feeling of childhood and whimsy.

Olivia St- Jean

Olivia St-Jean is an artist from Tiohtià:ke Montreal, with a passion for history and archeology. Currently finishing her BFA in Scenography at Concordia University, her studies helped her develop a strong interest for costume design, photography and studio arts.

Rebecca Wheeler

Rebecca Wheeler is a Montreal-based (Tiohtià:ke) artist and poet currently pursuing a BFA in Intermedia Art at Concordia University. As a Canadian nomad, with roots in Newfoundland, who grew up in Alberta and has lived on Vancouver Island, she now calls Montreal her home. Through her work in video, performance, and audio-visual installation, Wheeler delves into the relationship between our bodies and screen-based culture. Her passion lies in exploring the complexities between reality and the virtual world, as well as the interplay between the organic and artificial. Becoming Particle (2023) 8:50m guided meditation and sound journey using a sound dome and chair equipped with a transducer. Lively Nostalgia (2021) Visuals created via analog circuit bending and projected onto a plinth, all in sync with music.

Parade Group

Violette Maréchal, Zoe Heffring, Becca Wheeler, Nicole Kritzinger, Valérie Dubois and Olivia St-Jean

The Concordia students will appear in the parade as a funeral procession of titans. We mourn the loss of water and highlight all the harm we’ve done to our environment as well as the communities that have suffered because of it. With their imposing, statuesque figures, these warriors will stand strong and convey our message: As Canadians, we understand our privilege and our responsibility for having so much of the world’s fresh water. So while we mourn the damage we’ve done and the people we’ve hurt by neglecting this responsibility, we will keep fighting. Through the copper and turquoise patina of our costumes, commonly seen on churches and government buildings, we also reflect on the role of both of these institutions in our current water crisis.

HOST DAY GROUP

Violette Maréchal, Zoe Heffring, Becca Wheeler, Nicole Kritzinger, Valérie Dubois and Olivia St-Jean

The host school days are a chance for our country to exhibit our students’, graduates’ and emerging artists' work inspired by the poems written by Tarique Lewis. The work will include: live performance of original works, a showcase of art pieces

and discussions with professionals, guest speakers/artists.

“And at first I felt cursed to take on this responsibility”

This line taken from the poem “DON’T FORGET” by Tarique Lewis conveys a sentiment that is one our generation is all too familiar with as we inherit the ecological crisis, perpetually asking “What can we do to help?”. It feels like we’ve been tasked with finding the answer to an unanswerable question.

Well maybe there isn’t an answer. At least not one that un-melts the ice caps and cleans the ocean.

Maybe the only real answer is that whatever we do, we can’t do alone.

Our host day is an interactive performance that confronts the audience with this dilemma and hopefully guides them to taking the first step towards action: let’s start with what’s right in front of us.

CENTRAL ICEBERG

Aura Carolina Rodriguez, Georgia Leigh Newsam

Like a massive iceberg drifting through a vast ocean, what the artist goes through in the process of creation of an artwork is immense.

The depth of this experience is what we are communicating through this installation.

The central iceberg was designed from an interweaving of hexagons branching out like the crystalline structure of our unique communities and support networks. This interactive structure was also made to reflect the inner workings of one's creative brain. Made from electrical conduit piping, it reflects the electrical synapses firing in the brain as each new discovery is explored in the process of creation.

The peak of the iceberg that emerges from the depths of the ocean is to represent the final outcome of the creative process. Cloaked in white Tyvek, the tip of the iceberg, that is the finished work, shines through.

The whole structure is malleable, interactive and interconnected. All who pass through this ocean of creativity will influence the shape of the overall structure as they interact with the form. Every movement will affect the whole, the process, and the final outcome seen above.

FIGURINE GROUP

Becca Wheeler, Isobel Kloth, Aura Carolina Rodriguez, Calypso Cals, Valérie Dubois, Violette Maréchal, Gabriella Torchia

Politician

This figurine mimics Canada's political monuments; statues of powerful individuals who have been memorialized and put on a pedestal in bronze. As we imagine our future alongside nature, we are representing a version of these historical figures in which the agency of water has broken down their power and weathered their appearance. Submerged under water, the voices of these politicians are muffled and their relevance is contested.

Waterway

This figure is an embodiment of the agency of water. Materializing as an amorphous form, water communicates with us; Loosely imagined as part creature, part waterway. What if water could talk back?

SUSPENSION GROUP

Lucile Beaudouin, Oliver Gullikson, Heitiare Crawford, Nicole Kritzinger

These permanent Suspensions are envisioned as two art pieces with the same weight linked to one another through cables and pulleys, permitting up and down manipulations by the public and creating multiple configurations. This system will attract the viewers with the interactivity of the scenography.

Nostalgia, joy, and diversity are the aspects of water that we wanted to develop. As the Concordia suspension team, we created these pieces to celebrate water. Messaging around climate justice is often nihilistic so we wanted to create a call to action that comes not from a place of fear, but from a place of love. Through nostalgia and the passage of time we wanted to evoke pleasant memories shared between residents of Canada. We used found objects and recycled materials to evoke the states of water in a poetic way. The first suspension asks the viewer to explore their relationship to water and share it through a message in a bottle. The second suspension showcases the beauty of Canada's shifting seasons through first snow and life returning with the migration of birds.