Tag: Shalon Webber-Heffernan

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.

---

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.

The Hemispheric Encounters dinner party series is a collaboration between Joyce LeeAnn, Jess Dobkin, Shalon Webber-Heffernan and Justice Walz. 

These gatherings are an offering – and importantly, an experiment – for artists, academics, archivists and activists to gather across borders, language, time zones and cultures for sensory, intimate connection in pandemic times. 

This series of dinner parties were made possible by Hemispheric Encounters, a partnership project supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and FADO Performance Art Centre.

Hemispheric Encounters: Developing Transborder Research-Creation Practices is a partnership project that seeks to develop a network of universities, community organizations, artists, and activists across Canada, the US, and Latin America actively working in and with hemispheric performance as a methodology, a pedagogical strategy, and tool for social change. 

For information and to follow projects as they develop, visit the Hemispheric Encounters website.

Canada
www.shalontwh.com

Shalon T. Webber-Heffernan is an independent curator and scholar with a PhD in Theatre & Performance Studies. Her work engages with somatics, contemporary art, and performance, with a particular focus on themes of grief, disappearance, attunement, memory, and violence across North America. She recently contributed to the University of Toronto’s Integrated Arts Education Department and is a core member of The Toronto Performance Art Collective (TPAC). In addition to her curatorial practice, Shalon teaches Critical Theory and Philosophy at Dance Arts Institute (formerly the School of Toronto Dance Theatre). Her writing has been featured in leading publications, including Theatre Research in Canada, Performance Research, Comparative Media Arts Journal, C Magazine, Peripheral Review, Performance Matters, and several others.