Invisible Artists Carnival (IAC) is a free, outdoor, multidisciplinary performance created and performed by an ensemble of outsider circus folk from the mad, disability and queer communities: Yousef Kadoura, Erin Ball and Harri Thomas. Over the course of the show, the performers make various attempts to summon the mysterious Invisible Artist. These attempts vary in form, from clown turns and aerial silks to audience participatory ritual. They ultimately succeed, and the performance culminates in a theatrical carnival of light, music and creative joy. The Invisible Artist is performed by Silvae Mercedes and a rotating ensemble of disability artists recruited from local communities. This ensemble changes with every new iteration of the performance, and in turn changes fundamental aspects of the work, reflecting community members’ own artistic interests and practices.

Harri Thomas is a director, dramaturg and performance-maker based between rural and urban Ontario. They are the founding artistic director of Toronto’s Desiderata Theatre Co. Their previous works as a director have included adaptations of classic texts as well as world play premieres and live art creations. Their work emphasizes the body as the site of both trauma and forgiveness in relationship to love, the earth, the spirit and society. They are a recent graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s directing program. Recent credits include director and dramaturg, One Night (Other HeArts, Caminos 2019); creator and performer, Flower Machine v2: Paiseu (Other HeArts, York Lane Art Collective); and director and dramaturg, MAD ONES (Tangled Art + Disability).