Ange Loft and Olivia Shortt invite participants to take part in an interdisciplinary workshop that investigates patterns found in pottery shards, unearthed from archaeological sites across the city.
Participants will be guided in developing an understanding of these patterns through a clay sculpting activity and a movement exercise, extending the patterns across mediums to recall and embody Indigenous living histories. Together, participants will carry these historical artworks into the present day, honouring their original creators while finding new meaning and connections to the patterns buried under this city.
Note: Due to the level of instruction given for this workshop, participation is recommended for attendees ages 15 and over.
–
This program is part of Keeping Time, a workshop series that centres embodied learning by inviting intergenerational audiences of all abilities to pay special attention to time, space and movement through somatic learning and unlearning.
The program is made possible with generous support from the Lindy Green Family Foundation.
Image Credit: DISH DANCES: Movement Workshop, Toronto Biennial of Art, 2022. Photography: Rebecca Tisdelle-Macias
October 6
1:00pm – 2:30pm
This venue is wheelchair accessible. Due to the roaming nature of the program, there may be mobility challenges.
Artist Bio
Ange Loft
Ange Loft (Kanien’kehá:ka, from Kahnawà:ke, QC, Canada; lives in Toronto, ON, Canada) is an interdisciplinary performing artist. Her collaborations use arts based research, voice, wearable sculpture, theatrical co-creation and Haudenosaunee history to facilitate workshops and community-engaged spectacle. She was the director of the Talking Treaties initiative and co-author of A Treaty Guide for Torontonians (2022). Ange was the inaugural Indigenous Research Fellow at the Centre for Canadian Architecture (2023), Indigenous Artist in Residence at Centaur Theatre (22-25) and Barker Fairley Distinguished Visitor at University College (2023/24). Ange received the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Indigenous Artist Award in 2023.
Artist Bio
Olivia Shortt
Olivia Shortt (they/them; Anishinaabe, Nipissing First Nation, Ireland) is a weirdo, noisemaker, video artist, wannabe fashion icon, curator, and composer.
Shortt has been described as a “glittering, rising star in the exploratory music firmament” by Musicworks Magazine and named by the CBC as one of “6 Indigenous composers you need to know in 2024”. Shortt has performed at The Whitney Biennial (NYC), The Holland Festival (Amsterdam) and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC). Iconic moments include appearing and playing saxophone on CBC Kids’ ‘Gary the Unicorn’ and lending their voice off-screen in Stephen King’s ‘In the Tall Grass’ and Season 3 of ‘Chucky’.