Performative art is a fluid term, describing practices that originate from a visual or media arts background and involve the live presence of the artist. For the sixth iteration of the M:ST Festival, we have developed a varied and critically engaged programme. The invited local, national and international performative artists take the definition of performative art in wildly different directions. Reaffirming our commitment to the Southern Alberta Region, the festival will take place in Calgary and Lethbridge, and points in between. We also will celebrate the currents of practice that inform this continually evolving art form by presenting the works of emerging artists who participated in our interim-year workshop series, Making Way.
M:ST exists at the confluence of several communities, inter-geographically and inter-disciplinary. The festival is the result of a collaborative programming endeavor by many· organizations and individuals throughout Southern Alberta, to whom we are profoundly grateful. M:ST is part of a broader network of performance presenting organizations and communities in Canada, as well as internationally. This spirit of generosity and exchange is integral to our identity, and of the international community of performative art practitioners.The intent of this festival is to strengthen the network connections and collaborative opportunities in support of performative art practices and showcase Southern Alberta as a significant site of performative art practice.
Written by Tomas Jonsson
