ICS 2016 – first edition

A successful first edition

Co-presented with the OFFTA from May 30 to June 8, 2016 in Montreal, the very first edition of Indigenous Contemporary Scene (ICS) focuses on the vitality and effervescence of Aboriginal artists’ practices and draws from the fields of performance, dance, theater, music and sound.

This inaugural edition focuses on the urgency to create and the survival of Aboriginal artists: coined by Anishinaabe writer Gerald Vizenor and formed from the words survival and resistance, this term designates a presence that is both political and festive.

This special program with the OFFTA offers 6 performative activities.

Post Performance / Conversation Action by Maria Hupfield invites the public to a conversation with Alanis Obomsawin about artistic practice as a method of community building. Daina Ashbee explores female sexuality in the performative installation When the Ice Melts, Will We Drink the Water? Soleil Launière, Ivanie Aubin-Malo and Pascale André create the outdoor performance Iktomi – Les Tisserandes and Émilie Monnet presents the work-in-progress of Tsekan, an interdisciplinary proposal around the theme of prophecies and the interconnections between the past and the future.

OFFTA MixOFF invites two artists who have never worked together to create a scenic proposal at the intersection of their respective practices. The performance links Cree cellist Cris Derksen with the composer and multi-instrumentalist Frannie Holder.

Created by XOSECRET and Menuentakuan Productions, Landline From Mashteuiatsh to Montreal to Wendake pairs people in Montréal with people in Mashteuiatsh or Wendake through their cell phones; together they take an audio-guided tour of the local territory.

This edition also includes two conversations. The first offers an overview of the realities and challenges faced by Aboriginal artists in Montréal, while the second focuses on the resurgence of their artistic practices. The latter features Pennie Couchie (Aanmitaagzi, Nipissing, Ontario) Charles Koroneho (Te Toki Haruru, New Zealand), Brittany Ryan (Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, Toronto) and André Dudemaine (Présence Autochtone, Montreal).

Blurring temporal, geographic and generational boundaries, this first edition of SCA is also an opportunity for the OFFTA to carry out, for the first time, a recognition of the territory, and to initiate a discussion on the importance of this approach in Québec. It responds to the need to create more platforms dedicated to Aboriginal artists in the performing arts. Indeed, there is still an important need for spaces where these artists can meet, exchange, and reach out to the public.

This initial edition of SCA breaks down dualisms, emphasizing the absence of a divide between urbanity and tradition, memory and reinvention, contemporary art and cultural pride.

« It is an encouraging and necessary initiative; one that will hopefully lead to sustained engagement with Indigenous artists and communities. »

« Le OFFTA, en collaboration avec la compagnie Onishka et l’artiste Emilie Monnet, s’est montré cette année bien conscient du phénomène et a présenté de nombreux spectacles « autochtones » mais aussi des tables rondes et discussions. Un brassage d’idées qui s’imposait. […] Il faudra en tout cas suivre de près l’évolution de cette scène. »

« En collaboration avec les Productions Onishka, l’ajout d’une programmation spécifique d’arts vivants autochtones (Scène contemporaine autochtone) marque, espérons-le, un tournant dans la démarche du festival. La diversité des pratiques embrassées par le OFFTA 2016 témoigne de la complexité identitaire de la scène émergente locale ; complexité identitaire qu’il est nécessaire de promouvoir pour aborder pertinemment un éventail d’enjeux liés aux politiques de l’art vivant. »

« ... Les formes traditionnelles sont un puits d’inspiration, mais plus de la moitié des autochtones vivent maintenant en milieu urbain, et une culture est toujours en mouvement, on est donc aussi inspirés par la culture populaire, les technologies, les médias sociaux et les nouvelles formes d’expressions. »

PROGRAMMING

Aboriginal Welcoming Ceremony

A recognition ceremony of the Aboriginal territory marks the opening of the festival and includes a word of welcome, traditional dances and songs. (Place Émilie-Gamelin).

Tsekan

Émilie Monnet

A creation at the confluence of theatre, music, and performance. Integrating poetry, multiple languages and technology.
Monument-National – Hydro-Quebec Studio (3 performances)

Iktomi-Les Tisserandes

Soleil Launière, Pascale André, Ivanie Aubin-Malo

Three sisters come together to reconstruct a narrative from the broken fabric of their shared History.
An endurance performance presented all day at Parc de la Paix.

Landline: from Mashteuiatsh to Montreal to Wendake

XOSECRET and Menuentakuan Productions

An original intercultural performance spanning two days. Using a smartphone, a Montreal participant is paired up with a person in Mashteuiatsh or Wendake, for a friendly exchange and an experiential audio-guided tour of the land.

When the Ice Melts, Will We Drink the Water ?

A live installation by choreographer Daina Ashbee presented over two evenings at Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui.

An unabashed exploration of the feminine body and our perceptions of it.

Conversation Action

Maria Hupfield

A hybrid performance and conversation with special guest artist Alanis Obomsawin. An exchange about reconciliation, intergenerational transmission and healing (UQAM Gallery).

Mix-Off

Cris Derksen, violoncelliste et la multi-instumentiste Frannie Holder (Dear Criminals)

A unique concert and inspiring collaboration between a Cree cellist and a non-Indigenous multi-instrumentalist (Émilie-Gamelin Park).

Two Panels

XOSECRET and Menuentakuan Productions

Resurgent Indigenous Arts and Indigenous Performance Reaches Critical Mass in collaboration with IPAA – Indigenous Performance Arts Alliance. Indigenous catering on site. (Café du Monument-National).

A successful first edition

PROGRAMMING

Aboriginal Welcoming Ceremony

Tsekan

Émilie Monnet

Iktomi-Les Tisserandes

Soleil Launière, Pascale André, Ivanie Aubin-Malo

Landline: from Mashteuiatsh to Montreal to Wendake

XOSECRET and Menuentakuan Productions

When the Ice Melts, Will We Drink the Water ?

A live installation by choreographer Daina Ashbee presented over two evenings at Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui.

Conversation Action

Maria Hupfield

Mix-Off

Cris Derksen, violoncelliste et la multi-instumentiste Frannie Holder (Dear Criminals)

Two Panels

XOSECRET and Menuentakuan Productions

VISUALS

PARTNERS