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not knowing is the most intimate | curated by Shalon Webber-Heffernan – FADO

not knowing is the most intimate | curated by Shalon Webber-Heffernan

Performance
May 10, 17, 18The Commons @ 401, 401 Richmond St. West, Toronto

ARTISTS
Amy Hull
Claudia Edwards
Joyce LeeAnn
Sasha Singer-Wilson
Trish Lanns

Curated by Shalon Webber-Heffernan

not knowing is the most intimate explores themes of collective and personal grief, and the ways in which we might connect through shared vulnerability. Inspired by the Buddhist koan, ā€œnot knowing is the most intimate,ā€ the project embraces the uncertainty of our contemporary emotional landscapes, inviting both artists and audiences to move into the discomfort of uncharted waters.

While reading Vanessa Machado de Oliveira’s Hospicing Modernity, I was struck by the idea that domination often involves a deliberate denial of relationships and a suppression of the senses. Drawing on Dwayne Donald’s assertion that sensory atrophy is central to this process – disrupting traditional knowledge systems and relational connections—I began to consider how deeply this numbness has seeped into the fabric of modern life. What would it mean to counter this—to resist detachment—through intimacy and attunement? This question sits at the heart of this curatorial series, exploring how performance can reawaken connection through embodied presence and shared vulnerability in times of grief.

Bringing together artists whose work grapples with death, mourning, collective grief, climate anxiety, somatics, and rituals of healing, the series unfolds across live performances, an immersive book installation, a sound bath and guided meditation inspired by the tradition of living funerals. It is an experiment in shedding emotional armour – to feel, to connect, to soften. It is an invitation to let grief become a shared language that unites rather than isolates—guiding us beyond knowing and into the realm of embodied presence and relationship.


Saturday, May 10
What Will I Tell Her? by Sasha Singer-Wilson
6:30PM start, please arrive at 6:20PM

Embracing the Waves of Grief: A Sound Healing Meditation with Trish Lanns
8:00PM–9:30PM
Limited number of spots available. Please REGISTER HERE.


Saturday, May 17
2:00PM: Performance by Amy Hull
7:30PM: Performance by Claudia Edwards


Sunday, May 18
3:30PM: somethymes grief goes for a walk, a virtual talk with Joyce LeeAnn
Check back for details in May.

All performances are FREE. Accessible building.


Artists


Documentation


Performances


Writing


Engagements


Series


Books & Ephemera

Performance Yellow

This fragrance opens us to the question, has the show started? It's winter, the theatre is colder than the street and the room is filled with people and all their winter smells: wet faux leather, down, too much shampoo, and beer breath. The atmosphere is a trickster. Am I late, am I early?

Top Notes

yellow mandarin, mimosa

Middle Notes

honey, chamomile, salt

Base Notes

narcissus, guaiac wood, piss, beer