Lisa Birke & Terrance Houle

Different Ways

Presented by Ed Video

Confederation Landing Park and Quarter Master Marine Docks

Friday, September 22, 2017 - 1:30pm-3:30pm

ABOUT THE PROJECT

“Different Ways” is a collaboration between Interdisciplinary artist Terrance Houle and video artist Lisa Birke. At the center of the project will be a live performance re-imagining the first meeting between First Nations and Colonizers. The location of the Charlottetown Conference is a meaningful place for Birke and Houle to start their journey with this project as, most specifically, First Nations but also female delegates were markedly absent from the discussions around Confederation.

“Different Ways” will echo Houle’s recent video and live performance work in which Houle retells stories rooted in location, history, mythology and in the present time. Birke’s recent performance for video works challenge expectations of the female in art, the landscape, cinema and the media. Both artists challenge their respective representations and identities within a Canadian context. They will bring their varied approaches and experiences together in “Different Ways” in an attempt to reconcile ‘truths’, myth, and the historical record in haunting gestures. Retold, foggy memories of what was, what is, and what could be will create a platform for collective listening, opening an honest dialogue with a light-hearted but also heart-felt urgency and resolve. The project is integral to building and supporting a cultural and creative venue for reconciliation to supplement the efforts being undertaken in political and social arenas. The artistic and poetic vision is one that will allow the viewer to imagine a better future; a future of coming together despite, and more importantly because of, our “different ways”.