From May 15 – 18, La Centrale presents Performance and Activism in Everyday Life, a program of performances and workshop curated by Joanne Bristol (Winnipeg) featuring artists Lori Blondeau (Saskatoon), Adrian Stimson (Saskatoon), and Cheryl L’Hirondelle (Vancouver). The artists have backgrounds in performance art, interventionist art, street theatre, community activism, lo-fi media tactics, decolonization strategies, net.art, installation art, writing, critical analysis, vocal technique and movement. Performance and Activism in Everyday Life is part of mini-Viva! (for a complete program of activities please consult www.vivamontreal.org). La Centrale is proud to present the following events : Awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya/climbing the iron mountains May 15th: Performance by Cheryl L’Hirondelle, time and location tba Artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle invites you to join her in a public performance. Begining in a location close to la La Centrale the artist will lead a group through the streets of the Plateau Mont-Royal and into a local building where she will encourage participants to climb a stairwell with her, document or witness the activity. L’Hirondelle invites participants to bring related audio-art to air in conjunction with this project - please email her to arrange an audio contribution : niya [at] ndnnrkey.net About her ongoing work awa ka-amaciwet piwapisko waciya/climbing the iron mountains Cheryl L’Hirondelle writes: “i intend on infiltrating highrises [any office bldg, apartment/condo, hotel, hospital etc. over 3 stories] as a commentary on ownership of air. once inside, i will scale the centre of the buildings stairwell ascending and descending, with chalk and low watt radio equipment to broadcast a variety of audio at selected locations as part of this activity. i do this in order to honour and symbolically re-claim the air above the land where these structures currently exist » Please contact La Centrale for exact time and location of performance. More iterations of the performance are documented at www.ndnnrkey.net/climbing/ Putting the WILD back into the West: starring Belle Sauvage & Buffalo Boy May 16th: Performance by Lori Blondeau and Adrian Stimson, La Centrale, 8 pm. Putting the WILD back into the West: starring Belle Sauvage & Buffalo Boy, features performance personas created by artists Lori Blondeau and Adrian Stimson that investigate the impact of colonization on traditional and contemporary aboriginal culture. Blondeau and Stimson will set up a ‘Wild West’ diorama in the gallery and a display of related costumes and props. Audience members will be invited to try on a range of costumes and personas and joining the artists in creating a series of photo tableaux that re-imagine identity and history. Blondeau’s Belle Sauvage is loosely based on Indigenous women who performed in Wild West shows and Vaudeville acts in the early 20th century, and also spoofs the 1950s film Calamity Jane, in which Doris Day performed as a cross-dressing, gender-bending white cowgirl. Buffalo Boy, a character parody of Buffalo Bill, is part of Stimson’s ongoing series of performances and exhibitions (including such works as Buffalo Boy’s Wild West Peep Show, Buffalo Boy Getting it from 4 directions, and Buffalo Boy’s Heart On) that re-signify colonial history. Performance and Activism in Everyday Life May 17th & 18th : Performance workshop lead by Cheryl l’Hirondelle, Lori Blondeau and Adrian Stimson, La Centrale (places limited, rsvp), 10am to 6pm. This 2-day workshop proposes to expand ideas of performance art practice in relation to collaboration, community, and activism. The workshop will be led by a dynamic mix of experienced artists and educators including Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Lori Blondeau and Adrian Stimson. The workshop will focus on the development of performance-based interventionist strategies using voice, movement, space, objects, writing and costume. It will also include an examination, from a range of cultural perspectives, of interactive and collaborative relationships between performers, audiences and communities. The workshop will include full group exercises, movement-based activities and presentations, smaller group sessions, and a field trip. It is aimed at emerging and experienced performing artists. Participants should wear comfortable shoes and clothing, and bring lunch. The workshop is free, but space is limited to 12 participants: pre-registration is required (contact galerie [at] lacentrale.org). Lori Blondeau is a Cree/Saulteaux/Métis artist and curator based in Saskatoon. She is a co-founder and the current director of TRIBE, one of Canada's most innovative and exciting Aboriginal arts organizations. Her performance, photo, and media-based works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. She is currently completing her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Adrian A. Stimson is a member of the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation in southern Alberta and a Saskatoon-based interdisciplinary artist. He has exhibited and performed nationally, and is a sessional instructor at the University of Saskatchewan. His research has included identity, metaphysics, two spirit people, ecology, spirit and healing modalities within artists practice. Adrian was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003 and the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005 for his human rights and diversity activism in various communities. Cheryl L'Hirondelle (aka Waynohtêw, Cheryl Koprek) is an Alberta born but currently a Vancouver based, halfbreed (Metis/Cree-non status/treaty, French, German, Polish) multi/interdisciplinary artist and musician. Since the early 80's she has created, performed, collaborated and presented work in a variety of artistic disciplines: performance art, music (voice, percussion, songwriter, arranger, producer), theatre (actor, writer), storytelling, installation art (site-specific, earthworks) video and new media (net.art, pirate radio, audio art). Joanne Bristol is an artist and writer who has presented installations, performances and single-channel videos across North America for the past 15 years. Current projects include the Institute for Feline & Human Collaboration (IFHC), a site for ongoing research in interspecies communication and interaction. Joanne has taught intermedia, sculpture and performance at universities and art colleges in western Canada for the past seven years, and is especially interested in relationships between performance and activism.