We invite you to join us for the fourth installment of the Mountain Standard Time (M:ST) Performative Art Festival. Building on an incredible history of collaboration, innovation, and community support, the M:ST4. Festival once again brings two weeks of cutting-edge performative art to Southern Alberta from October 3 to 17, 2008.
M:ST is a biennial festival that celebrates innovative and critically engaged performative art. M:ST ensures that performative art practices are recognized and sustained in the Southern Alberta region, and fosters innovation and collaboration among local, national, and international artistic communities.
The term performative describes practices that originate from a visual or media arts background and involve the live presence of the artist. Performative art draws primarily from the tradition of performance art,but can also include public interventions, culture jamming, video, film, spoken word, installation, or live web streaming. Above all, performative art is unique in its ability to break down distinctions between the artist and the viewer, often directly involving participation and input from the audience.
This year's Festival includes performances, exhibitions,panels, publications, workshops, and lectures that showcase the artists, practices,and ideas that are a part of this unique and evolving medium. Over 25 local,national, and international artists will converge in Calgary and Lethbridge, sharing their practices and involving audiences in new and unexpected ways.Please visit the M:ST website for up-to-the-minute updates on festival times and locations.
M:ST's current member organizations are: Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD), Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers (CSIF), EMMEDIA Gallery and Production Society, EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts,Glenbow Museum, The New Gallery, The Nickle Arts Museum, Stride Gallery,Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG), and TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary.
Visitors to southern Alberta consistently remark on the willingness of this region's artists and arts organizations to work together.It is clear that the tendency towards collaboration and cooperation is a unique and noteworthy feature of this community. M:ST4 is a direct byproduct of these collaborations, with a dedicated team of artists, administrators, organizations and volunteers all coming together to make the festival happen. Our sincere and heartfelt thanks go out to those who make M:ST possible!
