Performance

May 10, 15, 16, 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, “not knowing is the most intimate,” 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.

All performances are FREE. Accessible building.

Saturday, May 10

6:30 PM, please arrive at 6:20 PM
What Will I Tell Her? by Sasha Singer-Wilson
A grief ritual and performance exploring uncertainty, care, and parenting in the polycrisis.

8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Embracing the Waves of Grief: A Sound Healing Meditation with Trish Lanns
Please register for the event HERE.

Saturday, May 10 | Thursday, May 15 | Friday, May 16 | Saturday, May 17

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
take “somethymes grief goes for a walk,” for a walk, by Joyce LeeAnn
An archivist/artist book installation + immersive walking experience. Audience members are invited to check out the book from the FADO library for an intimate self-guided exploration involving bibliomancy, release, and remembrance rituals. Drop in anytime during open hours, or pre-book a walking session by emailing shalonwh@gmail.com.

About the book in the words of Joyce LeeAnn: “Adrian Scott McLaurin was my best friend and my lover. When he committed suicide in 2007, what remained was documentation of many of the moments we shared through videos, photos, handwritten notes, transcribed text messages, etcetera. Self-publishing somethymes grief goes for a walk was my way of revolting against fleeting memory and lingering grief. I transmuted my pain through writing, so that I could keep living. My grief desired its own preservation too; every time I return to this archival text, I realize my mourning became an organism that lives within those pages to comfort other grievers.”

DROP-OFF DAY: Saturday May 10, from 12 PM – 4PM
REPAIR DAYS: May 15 – 17, from 10 AM – 5 PM

Everything I Can Fix Versus Everything I Can’t by Claudia Edwards

Hole in your favourite sweater? Bike tube needs a change? Lamp won’t turn on? Hair needs a trim? Can’t make your mind up? News got you down? Heart-broken?

In this three-day durational performance, you are invited to bring me your items and issues in need of a fix. For three consecutive days, from the working hours of 10 am to 5 pm, I will attempt to repair as many items as I can. The art gallery will become my workshop, equipped with basic tools and supplies for woodworking, sculpting, soldering, metalwork, jewellery, sewing, knitting repairs, haircuts & trimming, and more. The gallery space will be split into two halves: on one side, the things I can fix, and on the other, the things I cannot. During this repair marathon, I will attempt to move as many things as I can from one side to the other: equal parts experiment in racing the clock, while confronting all that can’t be fixed; courting failure; being with brokenness.

On Saturday May 10, you are invited to bring something you would like repaired, restored, renewed. On Thursday May 15 to Saturday May 17, I will do my very best to fix everything.

Drop Off Notes: Broken physical items can be dropped off Saturday May 10, 12PM – 4PM. Anyone interested in bringing physical items for repairs are encouraged to bring them in on the designated drop-off day, so there is sufficient time to triage and attempt to fix all items. For metaphysical repairs, matters of the heart, and other problems in need of solutions, feel free to drop by anytime during the three-day performance.

Saturday, May 17

2:00 PM
Grieving Circle by Amy Hull
An invitation to collectively hold space for personal and communal grief in response to ongoing global traumas. This offering invites the audience to reflect on the fragility of comfort and safety. Through remembrance, we can begin to imagine and move toward another possible world.

Sunday, May 18

3:30 PM, a virtual talk with Joyce LeeAnn
releasing control of how things become whole, again
Joyce LeeAnn will lead a sacred virtual gathering to transmute mourning into fuel for continued living, discussing her book somethymes grief goes for a walk, and her artistic and archival practice.