When Covid struck in March 2020... our lives and artistic projects came to a halt, thumbeling along to adapt and reconstruct, but also from a profound need to make sense of the sanitary crisis, of illness, loss and trauma...we dreamt of the possibility to create a glimmer of hope. and a moment of deep silence and introspection to contemplate the fragility of humanity. Conjuring up images and sounds interwoven with movement and the physical expression of the ever changing emotional process of healing, the project Ubuntu was born in the summer of 2020.

It was a challenging and grueling process, stretching us beyond what we initially imagined. It was also a artistic collaboration, across disciplines time and distance. Without the precious support of all our partners we would not be able to leave this trace of this time that we are all living through.

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Thank you to Acess culture and C-gep saint laurent for the opportunity to start with an intense week of research creation. To Place des arts for rehearsal space, To the Canada Council of the Arts for the support in the research and creation of the textile artworks. To L'actuel for the recuperation of materials, and Madame Nicholes for the support to complete the editing of the videos. Thank you to Jaden Schols for the filming and to all the musicians and dancers that invested their artistic voices. 

Thank you to Josiane Farand for the visual documentation and adding her unique artistic voice to the creation of digital artworks, as well as Be-green studios for the creation of the videos. And to the ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion for the opportunity to exhibit and launch the project at the maison Félix Leclerc.

 

Ubuntu, I am because we are.

The five movements:

- Shock: (interpreted by Delia Clark-Bautista) First state of mind when crisis strikes.Great confusion and fear sets in through the constant news stream.

- Nourish: (interpreted by Karla Étienne) A return to primal self-preservation instincts in an effort to bring something constructive to an incomprehensible situation. The act of taking refuge in repetition, routine and simplicity.

-Mourning: (interpreted by Maria-Anne Mavrokefalos) Taking stock of all that will no longer be, of the deaths, of the collateral damage, of the invisible wounds of delayed bereavement... These scars will stay between us for a long time.

- Surrender: (interpreted by Kevin ‘Sonik’ Desriveaux) After going through so many obstacles and suffering, surrendering to circumstances allows for letting go and the experience of an expanded consciousness.

-Victory: The act of reconnecting with one’s individual power in order to instigate change and to experience personal victory. In all awareness of the tragedy, and in spite of it, occurs a collective celebration of life, rebirth and metamorphosis.

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