TORONTO, August 10, 2015 – After 14 events across the city featuring hundreds of performers and thousands of spectators, the Pan Am Path Art Relay is coming to an end with a spectacular grand finale.
Join Friends of the Pan Am Path for Maadaadizi -Summer Journeys, the grand finale of the Pan Am Path Art Relay at the start of the First Nations Trail. At Maadaadizi, meaning “begin a journey” in Ojibwe, be inspired by Indigenous art, featuring a sunset performance of “The Great Chief Star” by internationally-acclaimed artists Jason Baerg, Erin Fortier, J-S Gauthier, Michael Red, Santee Smith and Tanya Tagaq.
2015 Art Relay Recap from Path TV on Vimeo.
“The featured sunset performance, ‘The Great Chief Star’ is an original 45 – minute, multidisciplinary futuristic journey into the Indigenous cosmologies with a mission to heal water. This presentation features internationally acclaimed artists and new work including visual media by Jason Baerg and J-S Gautier, a musical score and live fx by Michael Red and breathtaking performances by choreographer and dancer, Santee Smith and Inuk throat singer, Tanya Tagaq. This audio-visual experience utilizes new technology to seamlessly unite artistic concept, experimental sound and performance.
Afternoon family activities include the All Our Relations Métis Women’s Drum Circle, Nimkii Osawamick and hoop dancing, Parks Canada Environmental talks and Lantern Making with Red Pepper Spectacle Arts. Located near Rouge Hill Go Station, free transport options include First Story Toronto shuttles and a Cycle Toronto community ride.
There will also be an important announcement by The Toronto Foundation on the legacy of the Pan Am Path. The Path presents one of the most powerful opportunities we’ve seen in years to address serious issues we’ve been following through our Toronto’s Vital Signs® Report,” says Rahul Bhardwaj, President & CEO, Toronto Foundation. “Not only does it physically connect the city from end to end, it provides a space for people to become better connected to each other.” Echoing this, Mayor Tory calls this community led project “a cornerstone for the legacy of the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.”
There will also be an important announcement by The Toronto Foundation on the legacy of the Pan Am Path. The Path presents one of the most powerful opportunities we’ve seen in years to address serious issues we’ve been following through our Toronto’s Vital Signs® Report,” says Rahul Bhardwaj, President & CEO, Toronto Foundation. “Not only does it physically connect the city from end to end, it provides a space for people to become better connected to each other.” Echoing this, Mayor Tory calls this community led project “a cornerstone for the legacy of the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.”
WHEN:
Saturday, August 15, 2015: 12:00 p.m. – 9:45 p.m.
(Day Programming from 12pm-6pm; Evening Programming begins at 8:00 p.m.)
Rain or Shine
WHERE:
Rouge Beach
195 Rouge Hills Drive, Toronto, ON, M5H 2N2
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/ttyuq
(Extreme weather venue: West Rouge Community Centre, 270 Rouge Hills Dr. )
FIRST STORY SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE
Free downtown shuttle bus service by First Story Toronto
Explore Indigenous History of Toronto with First Story’s Storytellers on a shuttle to the event.
Pickup location: Native Canadian Centre of Toronto,16 Spadina Road (across from Spadina Stn.)
Free shuttle service (buses depart every hour) from 1pm to 7pm
RSVP at http://firststorytour.eventbrite.ca
CYCLE TORONTO RIDE
Join Cycle Toronto in a Community Bicycle Ride to the Event
Meeting Point: 4:30 pm at Sweet Pete’s at Evergreen Brick Works
Music by Tune Your Ride. Free.
RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/CycleTorontoTour
Creative Collaborators
Cree Métis artist Jason Baerg pushes boundaries in digital interventions in drawing, painting, performance and new media. Recent international solo exhibitions include: The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, The Illuminato Festival in Canada and the Digital Dome at the Institute of the American Indian Arts in the U.S.
Santee Smith is a member of the Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand, Ontario. As an international acclaimed choreographer and dancer, she is committed to sharing traditional and contemporary stories of her Indigenous culture.
Juno winner in 2015, and Polaris Music Prize winner in 2014, Tanya Tagaq is an Inuk throat singer from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada. She is also known internationally for her collaborations with Bjork.
Erin Fortier is a biochemist and recently completed a PhD in Neuroscience at McGill University. She specializes in computational simulation techniques as well as immunology and cellular and molecular biology techniques.
J-S Gauthier is a Saskatoon based multimedia artist. Jean-Sebastien Gauthier’s work involves the experimental repurposing of video, sculpture, and performance practices, in the service of time based art.
Composer Michael Reds’ music improvisations include blending atmospheric soundscapes inspired by experimental dance sensibilities that are versed in the spirit of Dub.
BACKGROUND: About The Pan Am Path & Art Relay
The vision of the Pan Am Path is to combine the power of art and sport to create a living path across Toronto. From May 16 to August 15, 2015, the Pan Am Path will come alive with a city-wide Art Relay of installations and events. Each week, the festival travels across Toronto celebrating some of the city’s greatest assets: diversity, nature, arts and active outdoor living.
The Pan Am Path was started by a group of Toronto artists and city-builders in collaboration with the City of Toronto. On July 18, 2013, Toronto City Council endorsed the Pan Am Path as a Host City Showcase Program of the Games. The Pan Am Path is an 80-kilometre continuous trail for walking, running, cycling and wheeling that connects the city from east to west. Legacy construction to improve and create new connections along the Pan Am Path will continue through 2017.
The Pan Am Path App is a wayfinding mobile app that matches your geographic location on the Path to music that is rooted within that community via 4 local music-streaming stations. Other Features include: a full map of the path, directions to nearby local businesses and a calendar of Pan Am Path Art Relay programming.
Friends of the Pan Am Path is the main organizer of the Pan Am Path Art Relay, motivated by the chance to celebrate the best of the region: art, nature and diversity — while also creating a meaningful legacy of the 2015 Games for residents.
The Pan Am Path Art Relay is proudly supported by the City of Toronto, Toronto Foundation, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, Toronto Star, Toronto Arts Council, Trans Canada Trail, Canadian Heritage, Toronto Pearson, United Way Toronto, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Laidlaw Foundation, Lotus Leaf, & Westbury National.
For the full Pan Am Art Relay event calendar map, app and participating organizations, please visit: http://www.panampath.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andrea Chrysanthou
(416) 722-3793
andrea@lotusleaf.ca
Julia Che
(416) 928-1978
julia.che@lotusleaf.ca
