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Performers of all varieties will be descending on the West End on July 9 for a unique blend of performance art that is the beginning of a new wave of projects and collaborations.
The Circus of Objects’ Theatre of Everyday will be hosting a wide range of disciplines and performances at X-Cues Restaurant & Lounge, including a combination of video and live performance by Justin Bear L'Arrivée. A veteran filmmaker and the artistic director of the Urban Shaman Gallery, this performance will be the first of its kind for L'Arrivée, but it is happening in the perfect place.
“The idea of the Circus of Objects is having a low barrier space for people to experiment with their performance art,” L'Arrivée says, adding that this event is part of a series put on in collaboration with Fait Maison, a performance art group from Montreal.
L'Arrivée’s artistic contribution is entitled The Newcomer, a response to a similarly titled film released in the 1950’s by the CBC addressing the influx of Indigenous peoples forced to move from their communities to the cities. The film did not mention the socio-economic circumstances that forced this migration, and relied on a dated narrative of assimilation and racism for how Indigenous and settler people could cohabitate urban spaces.
“The intentions were good, but it reflects a lot of the policy decisions at the time in the 1950’s of forcing people out of the reserve using Indian Act policies, economic policies,” says L'Arrivée, who grew up watching the film as his immediate ancestors from Peguis First Nation, including his grandmother, were featured in it.
“The Newcomer is an attempt to rewrite some of that dialogue to reflect our family’s real story,” L'Arrivée continues, “and then also to heal from the impact of that dialogue, both for myself and for other families who’ve experienced the impact of assimilation.”
Even though she died when he was just three years old, L'Arrivée’s grandmother will be present at Wednesday night’s performance, her spirit channeled through her fur coat and dress that L'Arrivée will don as a drag performer. “By wearing her clothes, it’s like a seance,” explains L'Arrivée. “Like I’m welcoming her into the space. I’ve been praying to her. I’ve been asking for her help during this.”
The Circus of Objects’ Theatre of Everyday is one part of the ongoing collaborations with Fait Maison on projects that L'Arrivée hopes will elevate Winnipeg's performance art community. For more information on the upcoming collaborations, art patrons are encouraged to visit the website of Les maisons des artistes visuel francophones.