ARTSWEEK

ARTISTAT: The number of artists, including Jessica Eaton, Steve Lavigne and Kotama Bouabane, taking part in an exhibit at Nathalie Quagliotto studios (5334 De Gaspé, # 421), in hon­our of Quagliotto’s birthday—it opens with a vernissage on Friday, Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. and runs until Jan. 23: 26

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360 degree dance

This Saturday, Jan. 22 at 7 and 9 p.m., Studio 303 (372 Ste-Catherine W., #303) kicks off their 2011 winter season with a new concept. Curator Lys Stevens imagined In the Round as an evening

of works where the performers are surrounded by spectators. “In the Round attempts to draw the theatre closer to the power and pull of the performative circle, engaging the audience with artists who seek the same,” says Stevens.

Dancer-choreographer Emily Honegger was intrigued by the concept and has concocted Foreign One with co-choreographer Geneviève Gagné and dancers David Albert-Toth and Joe Danny Aurélien.

Honegger says the inspiration for this piece came from the idea of creating a choreography that would be filmed in 360 degrees.

“I’m interested in how we can treat the cypher [the circle breakdancers dance in] differently and how we can make it more interactive with the dancers and not just about soloing.”

Others taking on the challenge include Annabel Guérédrat, Ariane Dubé-Lavigne, Troy Emery Twigg, Suzanne Miller and Allan Paivio. Tickets cost $12–$15, info at studio303.ca.

—MARITES CARINO



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Bourjoiesie behaving badly

Since Facebook’s inception in a dorm room at Harvard, the term “friend” has been expanded to include that aunt and uncle you never see and that extremely awkward guy from your civics class who’s too shy to talk to you in person. And now you can thank playwright Patrick Lloyd Brennan for adding fictional characters into that grab bag that is your list of Facebook friends.

The cast of The New Bourjoiesie, which plays at The Dep[art]ment (48 Notre-Dame W., #101) from Jan. 21–22 at 8, 10 p.m. and midnight, have been honing and evolving their characters on Face-book in the months leading up to Friday’s premiere. Rather than being comprised of a traditional linear narrative, it consists of skits and vignettes, which will rotate at the different performances.

“What’s really holding it together is the characters,” says Brennan. “It’s an opportunity for you to see these characters in different situations.” And that’s largely what the show’s about, how we orchestrate our own personal spin on ourselves through social media.

Because of the Bourjoiesie’s unique viral marketing campaign, it has the potential to continue on indefinitely in cyberspace, says Brennan. “[Actress] Eugénie Khoury has never had a Facebook profile before,” he said, “and she’s been the most active one since we started.”

—CHRISTOPHER OLSON

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Art for freedom fighters

In 1983, the CIA air-dropped a propaganda booklet called The Freedom Fighter’s Manual into Nicaragua with the goal of helping the country to liberate itself from its Marxist oppressors.

The content of this booklet, with its detailed instructions for civil disobedience and revolt, provided the inspiration, the raw material and the name for a new exhibition of screen prints by Halifax artist Juan Ortiz-Apuy, which opens tonight, Thursday, Jan. 20 at Push Gallery (372 Ste-Catherine W, #425).

Comprised of 17 prints, Freedom creates an illusion for first-time visitors because, as one enters the gallery, he or she is confronted by what appears to be only a series of blank can­vases. In truth, however, the images have been printed using glow-in-the-dark ink, and so it is only when one is standing in front of the canvas that the image becomes fully visible.

For Ortiz-Apuy, the design of this installation has thematic resonance as well, because it speaks to the seemingly contradictory relationship between resistance (passive) and revolution (active). As the artist explains, “the intent is to highlight this contradiction, as any movement to take action will immediately conceal the instructions,” making action impossible, and “equat­ing activism with stillness.”

—STACEY DEWOLFE

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Other worldly realms

In the cold months of winter, many of us contemplate that trip to the tropics, of trading our mittens for a mimosa. For those of us who can’t afford to travel, daydreaming can be a welcome escape. The Breathe. Dream. Fly. exhibit at Visual Voice Gallery (372 Ste-Catherine, #421) promises to transport viewers to other- worldly realms. On display until Feb. 5, it showcases the prints of Bettina Forget, Jennifer Hamilton and Annie Stephens.

Forget works with superimposed images and paint to illustrate space travel to the moon. Inspired by the Johannes Kepler’s Somnium, her art depicts scenes from the science fiction novel, complete with moonfish, craters and constellations.

Stephens’s photography also encourages the discovery of new landscapes. She plays with layering to create intimate and haunting atmospheres. “I try to piece things together in a way that I couldn’t if I took a snapshot,” she explains. Hamilton’s mandala is perhaps the most thrilling just because of its imposing size and its embedded imagery. Her piece sucks you in with its reli­gious iconography and harmonious repetitions.

All three women share a contemplative style, one that gives importance to the past by giving meaning to forgotten texts, discarded images and ancient symbols.

—ALEXANDREA MURPHY

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IS IT ART?

FROM RUSSIA WITH FUN! The ’80s are having a serious moment (see Tron, Pee-wee Herman on SNL etc.) but why should this resurrection be limited only to TV characters and movies?

Enter Danil Zdorov, a Russian designer who has honoured another Russian designer with his latest product: Tetris Sugar Cubes. Created by Alexey Pajitnov in 1984, Tetris soon became the decade’s quintessential game, and those angular shapes ’80s kids know so well may soon find their way into your morning routine.

Shaped to mimic the original forms, the cubes come tastefully packaged in a simple brown bag with a see-through window so you can already imagine slotting them together before they dissolve in your morning coffee. behance.net

ARTS HOLE

● DEAR (ONLINE) DIARY: The organizers behind Diaryland Gold invite participants to “share your shame” (or the shame of others) at the one-night event featuring a group of brave souls who will be reading from their pre-2006 online (think angelfire, livejournal, geocities) and paper diaries. It takes place tonight, Thursday, Jan. 20 at Off Interarts (5143 St-Laurent) from 7:30 p.m. onwards.

● STIRRING IT UP: Artist Scott Everingham presents his latest work Stirring Up Stagnant Time at Galerie Trois-Points (372 Ste-Catherine W., #520), on now until Feb. 12.

● WINTER KID FUN: Monastiraki (5478 St-Laurent) hosts their second annual Kids Make Art day this Sunday, Jan. 23 from noon–3 p.m. The art produced will be hung on the gallery walls for a week-long exhibition. A $5 donation is asked for craft and snack supplies. ■

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