Habitats, by Nayana Fielkov and Isabelle Kirouac, is an interdisciplinary performance of physical comedy, dance, circus and shadow puppetry. In this twist between Fellini and Lewis Carroll, a woman, accompanied by a mysterious white hare, travels on a dream-like journey in search of home. Habitats is a living poem about home, transformation and the interaction between humans and animals.

Following the performance, you become a part of the art in Night Shadows, a large-scale shadow installation by Heather Dawn Sparks. You’ll be awed by the stunning constructed shadow world of plasma-cut metal structures, intricate paper cuts, light projections and live silhouettes. In this intimate, interactive environment, you will help create works of shadow art by layering materials such as lace, glass, colour-changing dichroic films and handmade paper lace costumes, and animating them with movement and light. Roam, mingle and enjoy the cash bar while you play by the moonlight, deep in the shadows.

Biographies

Nayana Fielkov is a Canadian based performing artist. Beginning with scripted plays and musicals over two decades ago, she evolved through the creation and wearing of masks, into the worlds of improv and original work.

Isabelle Kirouac is performance maker from Quebec, currently living in Vancouver. She develops dances, installations and interdisciplinary performances that often integrate participatory interactions. Isabelle explores the senses, body awareness, intimacy, interspecies relationships, the notion of ritual, concepts of home, migration, liminality and their reflection on our ways of seeing.

Heather Dawn Sparks (Sparks Designs) engages collective action and inspired participation through immersive sculptural and performative works of art. Her dreamscape environments vividly bring to life forms from nature and the sublime absurdity of play.

Chelsea has invited some of Vancouver’s finest musical vocalists, MCs, beatboxers and poets to join her in a night of experience and experimentation. The evening begins with a showcase of unique talents from the invited artists. The docket includes Chelsea D.E Johnson, Jillian Christmas, Ruby Singh, K Vox, JB the First Lady, and Desirée Dawson.

In the second half of the night, the artists will lead the audience in a cypher, where they come together for spontaneous music-making and improvised word play. The rhythm and sounds flow from one person to another, building on each other’s energy, to create a collective chorus never to be repeated again. Experience the visceral, soul-shaking rush of the improvised beats and words by these remarkable talents.

Sound House is MOA’s new music series, now in its second season, featuring a fantastic and eclectic lineup of Vancouver bands and musicians—from folk to funk, hip hop to jazz. Sound House is a celebration of culture and music, set in MOA’s Haida House, against a stunning backdrop of Northwest Coast art and architecture. Gather around the toasty bonfire outside with friends and drinks, and let the picturesque views and scent of cedar inhabit your senses. Sound House delivers surprises and delights on the first Thursday of each month.

Guest curator biography

Chelsea D.E Johnson hails from Sydney NS, now living on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam people. Chelsea serves up female empowerment, delivered with a rock-n-roll kick, fueled by healing lyrics and raw vocal power. You can find D.E #werkin it with the female lead power duo, Old Soul Rebel. You can find her hosting stages like ShowCase MixTape or the acclaimed Open Mic at Cafe Deux Soleils.

Doors | 7 pm
Performances | 7:30 pm

We’ve planned a party that celebrates MOA’s stories, art and people. Join us for family-friendly art and conservation workshops, curator talks, rare behind-the-scenes tours, and much more.

Under the direction of Harry and Audrey Hawthorn, MOA was established in 1949 in the Main Library’s basement, and included exhibition spaces, collections storage and a classroom. Since then, MOA has become a beloved, world-class institution that houses over 50,000 works from almost every part of the world in its current home, the iconic concrete and glass structure inspired designed by Arthur Erickson.

Program schedule 

Great Hall

Opening remarks | 12 pm
Roving puppets with artist-in-residence Dusty Hagerüd | 1:30–2:30 pm
Self-guided 360 virtual reality tour | 2:30–5 pm

Multiversity Galleries

Kids Conservation Lab | 1–4 pm
MOA’s Touchable Puppet Collection | 1–3 pm
Kids Paper Puppet Workshop | 3–5 pm
Ceramics Studio: drop-in with artist-in-residence Sharon Reay | 1–4 pm

Behind-the-Scenes

Conservation Lab: Heidi Swierenga, Senior Conservator | 1–5 pm
3D Storage: Nuno Porto, Curator, Africa + South America | 1–3 pm
Textile Storage: Jill Baird, Curator, Education | 1–3 pm
3D Storage: Jennifer Kramer, Curator, Pacific Northwest | 3–5 pm
Textile Storage: Fuyubi Nakamura, Curator, Asia | 3–5 pm

Tours

MOA Tour | 11 am–12 pm
Shake Up: Curator tour with Jennifer Kramer, Curator, Pacific Northwest | 1–1:30 pm
Shadows, Strings and Other Things: Curator tour with Nicola Levell, Guest curator | 1–1:30 pm
The History He Carried: European History Told Through Koerner’s Ceramics Collection | 1:30–2 pm
Walk Through Time: Curator tour with Fuyubi Nakamura, Curator, Asia | 2–2:30 pm (in English) + 2:30–3 pm (in Japanese)
Celebration in Africa + South America: Curator tour with Nuno Porto, Curator, Africa and Latin America | 3:30–4 pm (in English) + 4–4:30 pm (in Spanish)
Art + Activism: Curator tour with Jill Baird, Curator, Education | 4–5 pm

Outdoor exploration + tours

Outdoor tour | 1 pm, 2 pm + 3 pm (30 mins)
Haida House open house | 1–5 pm

Library + Archives 

MOA: 70 years of Archival Footage | 1–5 pm

Originally from Fernie, BC, Dusty is a member of the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Nations of the Lower East Kootenays. From childhood, he has been enchanted by the world of puppets, and draws inspiration from the animated puppets of Jim Henson, Noreen Young and Paul Fusco that he frequently saw on the screen. As the creative director and founder of Color Sound Lab Puppet Makers, Dusty has now been performing and designing puppets for 20 years, in a broad range of styles from marionettes, hand and rod puppets to 2-D paper puppets, Bunraku and shadow puppets. Dusty’s puppets pertain to an assortment of themes including the Wonderland Tea Company, Celebrity Puppets, Lab Rats and Monsters, Fierce and Fearless, and BC Wildlife Puppets. He is also the co-founder of the Vancouver International Puppet Festival.

Most recently he won a 2019 Leo Award for Best Art Direction in an Animation Program or Series for the stop motion animated film, Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes), with Amanda Strong, Cat Hayes and Femke van Delft, which can be viewed in MOA’s current feature exhibition, Shadows, Strings & Other Things: The Enchanting Theatre of Puppets.

Sharon will be studying the worldwide collection of ceramics and other works in the collection from two viewpoints. First, to see how they might inform her unique style of sculptural/functional work—whimsical pieces that function as vessels or bookends, where mythical beasts and fairy tale characters crawl up the sides of bowls and cups or hide inside and emerge from the pages of books.

Sharon’s other area of interest is masks. During her time at MOA she will be examining the Museum’s collection of more than 1500 masks from many parts of the world. “Three decades ago,” she explains, “while visiting the Museum I was so intrigued by a mask from Japan that it literally haunted my dreams, until I recreated a similar piece out of clay. That was after one afternoon visit. The opportunity to study the MOA collection more thoroughly will, I hope, enable me to use what I learn to influence my work. This would be truly inspiring.”

Sharon has been working with clay since 1979. Driven by her passion for all aspects of the ceramic arts, she was determined to find time to work in her studio alongside raising a family, taking courses, and teaching in schools and community centres.  Her perseverance is well stated on her website in a quote from J. M. Barrie’s book, Peter Pan: “The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”

In the early 1990s she moved to a programming position at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby, where she had the opportunity to work with exceptionally skilled instructors and a myriad of internationally acclaimed guest artists. Through these experiences she developed a broad base of skills, including sculpture, hand building and wheel throwing, plus an insatiable appetite for learning from both practice and research. All of her work is handcrafted in high-fired stoneware, using a combination of hand-building techniques, and wheel-thrown or extruded forms. In 1995, Sharon was promoted to Ceramic Arts Programmer, retired from the Shadbolt Centre in 2017, and returned to the studio full-time to “release all the creatures who have been patiently waiting in those bags of clay.”

Please stop by to visit Sharon when she is in the Judy Cranmer Ceramics Laboratory, and learn more about her work at www.sharonreay.com.