The 11th edition of the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art takes place in Toronto from October 13 to 22, 2016. Organized by the Toronto Performance Art Collective, an incorporated non-profit collective of artists, 7a*11d has built a platform for new and progressive performance art works from emerging and established artists. The collective invites performance artists from around the world to showcase the breadth and depth of contemporary performance art.

The main venue for this year’s evening events is Geary Lane, while daytime activities will take place at a variety of locations, including The Theatre Centre and OCAD U.

Body Traps
Johannes Zits
October 13–16 and October 18–20 from 10am to 5pm
Theatre Centre Cafe

During the festival, a collage of preloved garments will be stitched together. The large-scale work becomes the basis for an action that will take place on the last day of the festival. The action will focus on the negotiation between my body and the reconfigured clothing: tugging, pulling, and wiggling ways into and out of the sewn-together clothing. Body Traps contemplates the relationship between one’s body and clothing and the forces that surround the production, circulation, consumption, and ownership of clothing. Equally important is the ensuing dialogue, to further our understanding of how clothing helps construct our identities and shapes our desires and tastes.

As a multi-disciplinary artist, Johannes Zits focuses on exploring the many meanings the body engenders. Since graduating with a BFA from York University in 1984, he has presented work nationally and internationally. Zits is also the curator of SPANE, 2011-13 and co-curator of Duration and Dialogue, 2016-17.

Performance Art Daily artist talk series
October 14 and October 18–21, 2016 at 12:30pm

Performance Art Daily is a lunchtime artist “talk show” series featuring discussions with and among many of the festival’s visiting artists and organizers. It is an opportunity for the festival audience to meet and converse with our invited artists. Engage with the artists about the subjects that concern them and raise your own questions about performance art’s hot-button issues. Find out more about the ideas and theories that drive performance. Learn more about how performance art is produced and presented in other communities. The talks will be recorded live and archived online. Sessions from the previous three festivals (2010–2014) can be found on our YouTube channel.

Friday October 14 12:30 pm
Para-sites of performance
Bartolomé FERRANDO
Sue MURAD
moderated by Francisco-Frenando GRANADOS

Tuesday October 18 12:30 pm
International performance art festivals and venues I
Serge Olivier FOKOUA
Graciela Ovejero POSTIGO
moderated by Johanna HOUSEHOLDER

Wednesday October 19 12:30 pm
Disabled bodies in performance
Cindy BAKER
Vanessa Dion FLETCHER
moderated by Jes SACHSE
*ASL interpretation provided

Thursday October 20 12:30 pm
International performance art festivals and venues II
Silvio DE GRACIA
Joseph RAVENS

Friday October 21 12:30 pm
Undisciplinarity
DOYON/DEMERS (Hélène DOYON & Jean-Pierre DEMERS)
moderated by Paul COUILLARD

There will also be an additional set of talks on the weekends at OCAD University.