The MacKenzie Art Gallery and New Dance Horizons are thrilled to announce the fifth installment of their groundbreaking exhibition/dance residency, MAGDANCE. Since 2011 this series has brought contemporary art and dance into dialogue within an innovative exhibition format. MAGDANCE 5: art + dance + archive presents an invitation to selected choreographers and dancers to create performances in direct response to a major artwork in the MacKenzie’s collection: the set designed by artist Betty Goodwin for Bras de plomb, a choreography by Québec dance legend Paul-André Fortier.

Created in 1993, Bras de plomb received international acclaim and remains one of the most celebrated monuments in Canadian contemporary dance. The set for the choreography—a suite of hauntingly elegant welded metal furniture—was collaboratively designed by Fortier in dialogue with the renowned Montreal artist Betty Goodwin and was recently donated by Fortier to the MacKenzie Art Gallery.

Head Curator Timothy Long expresses his enthusiasm, stating, “It should come as no surprise that artists and dancers understand the body differently. What is surprising are the unforeseen discoveries that happen when they collaborate. This project provides an opportunity for that magic to happen again, just as it did for Betty Goodwin and Paul-André Fortier thirty years earlier.”

Curated by Ginelle Chagnon, Paul-André Fortier, Timothy Long, Edward Poitras, and Robin Poitras, MAGDANCE 5 will see a select group of choreographers and dancers from across Canada draw inspiration from this influential piece of contemporary dance history during residencies at the Gallery. Invited artists and choreographers include Brian Webb (Edmonton), Naishi Wang (Toronto), James Viveiros (Montreal), Rouge-gorge (Regina), Gordon Gerrard (Regina), Marion Newman (Toronto), Anastasia Evsigneeva (Winnipeg), Anna Protsiou (Winnipeg), Lee Henderson (Montreal), Johanna Bundon (Regina), and Jayden Pfeifer (Regina). Visitors are invited to witness the process of dance creation, with artists dropping in to work intermittently throughout the residency.

The residency begins August 26, and will conclude with two dance-based performance programs, the first on September 8, 9, and 10 and the second on September 28, 29, and October 1. In conjunction with these performances, the MacKenzie Art Gallery is organizing two conversations on the interplay of art, dance, and archives. The Friday, 8 September performance will be followed by an opening conversation with Robin Poitras, Edward Poitras, Timothy Long, Paul-André Fortier, Ginelle Chagnon, Brian Webb, Johanna Bundon, Jayden Pfeifer, and Lee Henderson. The Sunday, 1 October performance will be followed by a closing conversation with Paul-André Fortier and Brian Webb. A forthcoming website archive of current and past MacKenzie Art Gallery/New Dance Horizons collaborations will provide more depth and critical context through photography, video, and commissioned essays.

Performances will take place at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Tickets are available on New Dance Horizons’ website.

MAGDANCE 5 is supported by Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, SK Arts, City of Regina, Sask Lotteries, and Dance Saskatchewan.

ABOUT THE MACKENZIE

The MacKenzie Art Gallery is Saskatchewan’s oldest public art gallery, currently celebrating 70 years creating transformative experiences of the world through art. With a permanent collection that spans 5,000 years and nearly 5,000 works of art, we encompass both the University of Regina’s vast collection and one of Canada’s largest collections of Indigenous art, the Kampelmacher Memorial Collection. Through art, education, and immersive programming, the MacKenzie brings fresh perspectives that transform how people experience history, themselves, and each other.

The MacKenzie is located in Wascana Park, Oskana Kâ’asastêki/Regina in Treaty Four territory, the traditional—and contemporary—territory of the Nehiyawak, Saulteaux, Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. We are grateful for the support of the Mackenzie Art Gallery Operating Endowment Fund at the South Saskatchewan Community Foundation, as well as the support of our core funders: the Canada Council for the Arts; SaskCulture; the City of Regina; the University of Regina; and the Saskatchewan Arts Board.

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