PuSh projects feature dance, theatre, music, walks, and forest
The 2021 festival takes audiences on virtual and real-life journeys
Cease Wyss surveys clearcut near Roberts Creek, B.C. Still photo from SANCTUARY: The Dakota Bear Ancient Forest Experience.
PuSh has always presented work that is visionary, genre-bending, multidisciplinary, original. That same mandate is in place for 2021, with the pandemic edition shifting to online productions—mostly.
Graveyards and Gardens is an exciting livestream on January 28 and 29 at 4:30 pm and 7:30pm PST. Co-presented with Music on Main, the virtual event is a rare chance to witness an album emerge before your eyes—and to experience a unique, revelatory melding of movement and sound. Experiential art at its strongest, the performance features a blend of archival and electronic sounds, with the aural component creatively intertwined with dance in such a way that each element takes on a whole new dimension.
SANCTUARY: The Dakota Bear Ancient Forest Experience, co-presented with the Sunshine Coast Arts Council, takes place inside a geodesic dome. A 360-degree projection transports viewers to a place that has existed since the last Ice Age—and that is now under threat. People experience a wraparound view of an ancient forest as well as an auditory mix of music and the sounds of nature. This moving experience happens via timed entry at Performance Works on Granville Island from February 3 to 5 from 3 pm to 7:15 pm PST; and on February 6 and 7 from 1 pm to 5:15 pm PST.
In I swallowed a moon made of iron 我咽下一枚铁做的月亮—a livestream on February 4 and 5 at 7 pm PST and on February 6 at 4 pm PST—composer and performer Njo Kong Kie sets the poetry of factory worker Xu Lizhi to a haunting song cycle, delivering a lament for our digital age. Performed in Mandarin with English surtitles and combined with imagery, ambient sound, and more, Kong Kie’s score for solo voice and piano is an act of political witness.
DJ Kookum & Sierra Baker/Missy D is a livestream on February 19 at 8 pm co-presented with Coastal Jazz & Granville Island. Kookum is an open-format DJ who grew up listening to EDM and Hip Hop music; they’ll perform a 30-minute set with dancer, designer, community consultant, entrepreneur, artist, and storyteller Sierra Baker. Bilingual femcee Missy D follows, the rapper representing her African heritage and culture through a fusion of hip hop, rap, and R&B for what she calls Rap & Soul.
Livestreaming on February 20 at 8 pm PST, in a co-presentation with Coastal Jazz & Granville Island, is Juno award-winning oud player and guitarist Gordon Grdina. Known for exploring genres, he touches on everything from avant-garde jazz and free-form improvisation to contemporary indie rock and Arabic music.
Finally, PuSh Walks are a fantastically creative way to get outside. This special series features guided audio journeys through urban spaces that have inspired participating artists. Audiences can make their way through the city at a time of their choosing while listening to artists’ voices through their headphones. The one- to two-kilometre walks connect people across time and space, on the common grounds of geography, history, and art. New walks are released weekly and are available on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
For more information, visit PuSh.
I swallowed a moon made of iron 我咽下一枚铁做的月亮. Photo by Dahlia Katz
The post was sponsored by PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.