A Nuit blanche à Montréal's show

Jani Lauzon, curator

With James Viveiros (dance), Skawennati (performance) and Stephen Silverbear McComber (storytelling)

Jani Lauzon is a multidisciplinary artist of Métis ancestry. She is an actress, director, writor, puppeteer, professor, productor and a singer/songwriter

There are many ways to tell a story. Stories have many functions that reach beyond entertainment. The three artists I have invited to be a part of this evening are storytellers using a multitude of mediums. Stephen McComber (Silverbear) is not only an award-winning sculptor but also a traditional seed saver. Skawenati is one of my favorite Indigenous artists. And nothing about her work is predictable; just what we should expect from a Cyberpunk Avatar. James represents so many mixed race/Indigenous artists who use their medium to reach towards a better understanding of self.

Sophie Gee, curator

With Hua Li (hip-hop and R&B) and Timothy Chan (storytelling), Shijia Jiang (jingju opera), Wong Koon Ying (song).

Sophie Gee is a director of mostly new creations which she presents under the name Nervous Hunter. The constant in her work is the decompartmentalization of disciplines: theatre, dance and performance.

Before approaching artists to perform for Nuit Blanche, I reflected on the fact that the now closed Chinese cultural centre was so close in proximity to the Monument National but the two spaces hosted different artists and audiences. Many of the Chinese artists I knew were like me - at least second generation, Western educated, and who, for the most part, move in Westernized art spaces- and not older artists and artists whose work might be labeled as 'folk/traditional art'. This programme brings different generations and practices together, a small look at the multifaceted Chinese-Canadian arts community. 

Marie-Claude Garneau, curator

With Nathalie Doummar, Pascale Rafie and Phara Thibault (performance, reading and acting).

Marie-Claude Garneau is a doctoral student in Lettres Françaises at the University of Ottawa, a lecturer at UQÀM’s École supérieure de théâtre, and Literary Co-Director of the “La Nef” feminist theatre collection at Éditions du Remue-ménage. Marie-Claude is also an associate member of UQÀM’s Institut de recherches et d’études féministes (IREF) and student member of the Réseau québécois en études féministes (RéQEF). 

I wanted to invite women playwrights. Women of different generations who address feminist issues and themes in their work. Themes of memory, identity, the quest for community, as well as the broader question of sisterhood, are all themes that are addressed, either directly or indirectly, in the writings of the guest authors, which I consider to be fully within the realm of feminist culture. It is in the spirit of wanting to weave that thread of kinship between them that I invited them to come and share some of their own work at this event.

Photo credit: Kelly Jacob

Marissa Blair, curator

With Michelle Heisler (song), Vanessa Marcoux (violin) and Jeroen Lindeman (acting).

Marissa Blair is a performance artist and theatre-maker.  She is the artistic Director and Co-Founder of performance company Mad Paradox. For the past three years she's managed non-profit studio space Espace Freestanding Room in Montreal. 

For this presentation, the Yiddish song “Ikh Vel Vartn Oyf Dir / I Will Wait For You” was chosen as it expresses desperate yearning for the return of that which has been taken away. This song has historically been performed at Monument-National in live Yiddish theatre performances. 

Collaborating artist Marie Samuel invites the public to participate, starting at 4:30 p.m., in a Zine Creation Station to chat and put their stories on paper. Participants will be able to make copies of their zine (small book) to share with the public via a self-serve distributor. For interested participants, zines submitted to the distributor can also be distributed to the public at the artist’s upcoming exhibitions in April and May, 2022.

• At the Monument-National Parterre Bar
• February 26 at 4:30pm

Reserve for this activity

Check out the 2019 edition of Nuit Rouge to get a glimpse of this year's edition!

Watch the video!