A Laboratory of the Imagination
In the fall of 2020, Festival TransAmériques launched FTA Respirations in solidarity with a community that has been heavily affected by the pandemic. Since then, this support program has established itself as a laboratory devoted to experimentation and the development of artistic practices.
This year, FTA is investing $20,000 in seven artistic projects and residencies.
As part of its commitment to the dance and theatre communities, FTA invests since 2007 an average of $100,000 annually in coproducing nearly a dozen stage performances. On top of this, Respirations support creators during the research phase and early stages of their process.
FTA Respirations is made possible by the generous support of Power Corporation of Canada.
“Respirations allows us to expand the pool of artists we cooperate with and to adopt better practices by compensating them for the invisible work that happens early on in their work process.
Respirations seeks to better understand and to pay attention to the various contexts in which artworks are created, particularly those of Indigenous artists and artists of colour. It allows us to build pathways between FTA and artistic communities that are underrepresented on stage. Visionary practices and new knowledge need space and flexibility in order to unfold.
With Respirations, the Festival acquires a powerful tool for change and, in the long run, will be all the richer for it.”
Jessie Mill and martine dennewald, co-artistic directors
2023
+ 6 projects by as many artists
+ 1 residency with CONTACT(s) (Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc)
Artists supported
Jacinte Armstrong (Halifax) + Ja James “Jigsaw” Britton Johnson (Montreal) + Keenan Simik Komaksiutiksak (Montreal) + Jeanette Kotowich (Vancouver) + Wanderson Santos (Montreal) + Alexia Vinci (Montreal)
2022
+ 21 projects by nearly 57 artists
+ 1 residency at Salon 58 (Marsoui)
+ 1 residency at Théâtre Gilles-Vigneault (Saint-Jérôme)
+ 1 residency with CONTACT(s) (Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc)
+ Support for Queer Performance Camp (Studio 303)
+ Support for Trajet 1 organized by LA SERRE – arts vivants
Artists supported
Ange Blédja Kouassi + Lois Brown (St. John’s) + Marilou Craft + Amélie Dallaire + Olivia Davies (Ottawa Valley) + Justin de Luna + Oona Doherty (Belfast) + Frédérique PAX Dumas + Marie-Ève Fontaine (Ottawa) + Frédérick Gravel + Winnie Ho + Jessica Huber (Zurich) + Marie-Reine Kabasha + Lara Kramer + Iannicko N’Doua + Julie-Christina Picher (Saguenay) + Morena Prats + Andrew Turner + Nate Yaffe
2021
+ 34 projects by 57 artists
+ Over 100 artists and cultural workers involved
+ 1 residency at l’Écart, a contemporary art centre (Rouyn-Noranda)
+ 2 residencies at Théâtre Aux Écuries
+ 2 participants to the Récréâtrales’ Labo ELAN (Ouagadougou) will benefit from dramaturgic support
+ 1 reflection on audio description in collaboration with Danse-Cité
+ $10,000 to the coproduction fund Panorama Raft (Rio de Janeiro)
+ Partnership with the Nomadic Residencies organized by LA SERRE – arts vivants
+ A support to the first Dramaturgical Clinics in Flanders developed by Les Enfants du garage (Sara Vanderieck)
Artists supported
Ivanie Aubin-Malo and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine + Noémie Avidar (Grand Barachois) + Catherine Bourgeois / Joe Jack et John + Kim-Sanh Châu + Création Dans la chambre / Julie Basse, Félix-Antoine Boutin, Odile Gamache and Gabriel Plante + Alix Dufresne and Étienne Lepage + Burcu Emeç + Yohayna Hernández + Hanako Hoshimi-Caines + Lorrie Jean-Louis + Dorian Nuskind-Oder and Simon Poirier / le Radeau + Lindsay Katsitsakatste Delaronde (Victoria) + Adam Kinner and Christopher Willes + Lara Kramer + Michel F Côté and Catherine Lavoie-Marcus + Pierre Lefebvre and Benoît Vermeulen + Emilie Monnet + Atom Cianfarani and Alexis O’Hara (Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson) + PME-ART + Théâtre À tour de rôle (Carleton-sur-Mer) + Bianca Richard and Gabriel Robichaud (Moncton) + Enora Rivière + Francis Tanguay-Durocher + Andrew Tay (Toronto) and Stephen Thompson (Nice) + Théâtre de la Sentinelle / Lyndz Dantiste, Philippe Racine and Tatiana Zinga Botao + Brian Solomon (Shebahonaning) + Katie Ward + Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory (Iqaluit)
2020
+ 27 projects by 42 artists from Quebec and across Canada
+ More than 100 artists, artisans and cultural workers involved
+ 8 co-productions
+ 19 research projects
+ 2 artistic residencies totalling 12 days at Théâtre Aux Écuries
Artists supported
2Fik + 7Starr + Amanda Acorn + Daina Ashbee + Elle Barbara + Marie Brassard + Maxime Carbonneau and Laurence Dauphinais + Paul Chambers + Marilou Craft + Mélanie Demers + Clara Furey + Ellen Furey and Malik Nashad Sharpe + Catherine Gaudet + Sophie Gee + Anne-Marie Guilmaine + Lara Kramer + Catherine Lavoie-Marcus + Soleil Launière + Lucy M. May + Parker Mah + projets hybris + Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep, Florent Siaud + Catherine Tardif + Michel F Côté and Marc Parent + Naishi Wang + Katie Ward + the Nomadic Residencies by LA SERRE – arts vivants
Testimonies
“The FTA Breathing Space came at a crucial time this year. With the help of FTA, I am now embarking on a new journey and starting a project, that I believe, will have a great impact on my personal career and community.”
7Starr (2020-2021 respirations)
“The FTA Breathing Space is an unexpected respite from a dark period filled with endless challenges. I discovered the list of artists supported by the FTA with a sense of joyful celebration. Once again, I was able to feel my connection to the community and was bolstered by the very idea of its existence, by the strength of its newfound togetherness.”
Clara Furey (2020-2021 respirations)
“The two-week residency offered as part of the FTA Breathing Space has provided us with an opportunity to revisit our creative process with much-needed gentleness. A space to build, to convene, to reconsider, to take care of one another.”
projets hybris (2020-2021 respirations)
“I am grateful to be part of the FTA Breathing Space. It helps me to reconnect with my bodily desires to solve my solitude and reach for more during this unprecedented period.”
Naishi Wang (2020-2021 respirations)
