Time: All Day
Location: Trent University – East Bank
Address: 1 Gzowski Way
City/Province: Peterborough, Ontario
The Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival (NIFF) is an unjuried, uncensored festival for independent Indigenous performers in theatre, dance, music and comedy. Participants send in applications, are chosen by lottery and are free to create and perform what they wish. Performers receive 100% of the box office proceeds. NIFF is proud to be a member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals.
NIFF opens with ceremony on June 21 and continues with public performances from June 22-26. With more than 30 performances by six companies, these will be a busy five days at the East Bank campus of Trent University. Performances are planned indoors at Nozhem First Peoples Performance Space and outdoors in spaces around the Enwayaang building. Each show is no more than 60 minutes in length, all tickets are $10 with all proceeds going directly to performers and tickets will be available through the Showplace box office starting in May.
As part of the vibrant and growing international family of Fringe Festivals, NIFF is committed to community connection through providing access for Indigenous artists to performance opportunities and providing access for community members to varied and innovative performances. Fringe Festivals are unique in their emphasis on removing barriers between artists and audiences and NIFF is excited to connect Indigenous artists from many nations with the Nogojiwanong community.
NIFF is also committed to supporting increased participation of Indigenous artists in performance, which has led to the development of the Knowledge Sharing Project – a series of skills workshops and mentorships designed to support artists to take part not only in NIFF but in other festivals. With the support of the Canada Council we have three very senior Advisors/Mentors attached to the festival – Drew Hayden Taylor, Muriel Miguel and Deb Ratelle as well as individual workshop instructors. Online workshops are now in progress.
Nogojiwanong has a great history of incredible Indigenous multidisciplinary performing arts. NIFF offers space and support for new artists to try things and for established artists to try new things. It offers a meeting place for Indigenous artists from many nations to share their work with each other and with local Indigenous and settler communities.
We have 3 local artists from this area:
Sarah Lewis: Breathing Love into Poetry – People will know Sarah as Peterborough’s first poet laureate.
Thamer Linklater: My Time in Foster Care – A courageous short piece by a young local writer/performer.
The Beautiful Canoe Collective: Journey the Beautiful Canoe – A long-running local performance group.
Full list of artists/shows for 2022 is:
- Aerial Sunday-Cardinal: Performance Artist
- Indigibabes: IndigiBabes Burlesque Show
- Indigenized Indigenous Theatre Company : Rocko and Nakota: Tales From the Land
- Sean Beaver: Sean Beaver Live
- Surrounded by Owls Productions: The Gift
- Thamer Linklater: My Time in Foster Care
- The Beautiful Canoe Collective: Journey the Beautiful Canoe
- “Tiger” Will Mason: Songs and Stories
Fringe Festivals, as their devoted fans will tell you, are special. Artists and audiences come together in an intense burst of creative sharing, with performances that are often intimate and always unique. In one day you might see a burlesque show, an intense personal drama and a stand-up comic. Artists get feedback from both audiences and other artists in a supportive environment that encourages risks. What a great opportunity for Indigenous artists to grow and share their work. With the addition of food and sunshine (fingers crossed), we hope NIFF will be a mind- and heart-opening experience for everyone involved.
