Navigation

We invite you to explore this website in two ways:

1. Scroll down the Welcome page. Choose a featured artist, or navigate left-and-right through the story carousels. These stories propose a theme-based journey that link different artists and their work.

2. Visit the Explore page to browse through different artists and their work, sorted by theme.

Project

The Centre Cannot Hold is a project of Postmarginal. Since 2017 Postmarginal has brought together performing artists and cultural workers who wish to explore new models of inclusive creative practice that move beyond traditional centres and margins. The Centre Cannot Hold responds to a need expressed by this community for an online space to share and learn from each other, to expand accessibility beyond our in-person activities.

The title of the project is drawn from a poem by William Butler Yeats, “The Second Coming,” written at the end of World War I. In contrast to a cataclysmic vision of a world falling apart, however, our centre yields gently into a thousand smaller ones, each held together in intricate interconnections.

History

We developed The Centre Cannot Hold over three years, guided by 35 theatre and dance artists, academics, cultural workers, researchers, digital specialists, and community leaders from across Turtle Island. Among their mandates: to highlight the artists; to embrace complexity; to present a web of stories; to use the visual metaphor of a forest and its underground ecosystems that nourish and communicate; and to open up the exploration to allow you, the visitor, to encounter surprising connections.

The content was created in close collaboration with five profiled artists: Audrey-Anne Bouchard, Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, Santiago Guzmán, Lisa Ndejuru, and Veronique West; and the stories were collected around original poetry written for the project by poet charles c. smith.

Future

It is our wish that this site will become a resource centre for those who wish to inspire their practice, to cross the frontiers of identity, and to embrace a relational view of how artistic practices are intertwined. With time, we hope to include more artists. And we will invite this community to share their experiences and knowledge through live and online workshops meant to increase competence in the practices of inclusive theatre and performance. Please join our community:

Feedback

We are interested in receiving your questions, feedback, or suggestions for additional artists or resources to showcase. Please write to us at info[at]postmarginal[dot]ca.

Credits

PROJECT DIRECTION & PRODUCTION

Peter Farbridge and Crystal Chan

STEERING COMMITTEE

Audrey-Anne Bouchard, Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, Lisa Ndejuru, Santiago Guzmán, Veronique West

ARTIST CONSULTANTS

Chris Dodd, Doris Tourangeau, Henry Daniel, Jacob Zimmer, Jennifer Alicia Murrin, Jesse Del Fierro, Joana Neto Costa, Jonathan Thibideau Lacasse, Maxime D.-Pomerleau, Mũkonzi Mũsyoki, Nathan Simmons, Pablo Felices-Luna, Philippe Racine, Raeesa Lalani, Robert Tsonos, Shanti Ikwe Gonzales, Soleil Launière, Véronique Leduc, Kenji Maeda, Roxanne Blood

POETRY

charles c. smith

WEB CONCEPT, ART & DESIGN

Kevin Yuen Kit Lo (LOKI)

WEB DEVELOPER

Johnelle Smith

VIDEO DIRECTOR & EDITOR

AbduRahman Hussain

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Nick Jewell

PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE

Sue Balint, Margaret Rose, Saba Akhtar

EDITORS

Collette Berg, Geraldine Etienne, Christine Lemelin, Mathilde Perahia

TRANSLATORS

Geraldine Etienne, Pablo Strauss, Gabriel Proulx, Christiane Charbonneau

MARKETING

Shrina Patel, Harp Arora

MEETING FACILITATION

Sue Balint (co-ordinator), Anne-Laure Mathieu, Ez Bridgman, Farah Fancy (facilitation), Diane De Andrade and Tara Everett (ASL translation), Alina Gutierrez Mejia (visual note taking)

CONTENT CONSULTANT

Célia Bensialihadaud

DIGITAL DESIGN CONSULTANTS

Isabelle L’Heureux, Kelly Lynne Ashton, Raffaela Siniscalchi, Anne-Laure Mathieu, David Ward, David Jhave Johnson

Funders

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Thanks to

ADHOC Assembly
Agence On est là
Ahmed Moneka
Array Music, Smart Lab & The Music Gallery
Art Babayants
ArtistProducerResources.com
Barbara Kanneratoni Diabo
Brooke Leifso
Camille Havas
Canadian Association of Theatre Research
Canadian Heritage
Catherine Bourgeois
Chloé Saintesprit
Chris Dodd
Citadel Theatre
Common Boots Theatre
Conseil québécois du théâtre
Creative Users Project
CultureBrew.Art
Cahoots Theatre
Common Boots Theatre
David Mesiha
Diversité artistique Montréal
Doris Tourangeau
Eric Rice
Erin Ball
Festival Accès Asie
Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Association
Henry Daniel
Hodan Ismaël Youssouf
Humber College Theatre Department
Hunter Cardinal
Jacqueline Cardinal
Jesse del Fierro
Jiv Parasram
Joe Jack et John
Jonathan Thibideau Lacasse
Kagan Goh
Kama La Mackerel
Feuille déchirée
La Sentinelle
Lady Vanessa Cordoba
Todd Houseman
LEGacy Circus
Les Drags te Font Signe
Bibish Marie Louise Mumbu
Maxime D.-Pomerleau
May Kharaghani
Meryem Alaoui
Modern Times Stage Company
Conseil des arts de Montréal
MTSpace
Mũkonzi Mũsyoki
Nathan Simmons
Pablo Felices-Luna
Paul Power
Philippe Racine
Power Productions
Prismatic Festival
Professional Association of Canadian Theatre
Punctuate! Theatre
Resource Centre For the Arts
Robert Tsonos
Rouvan Silogix
Roxanne Blood
Rumble Theatre
Santiago Guzman
Shrina Patel
Soleil Launière
Sync Leadership
Tangled Art + Disability
Theatre Alberta
Theatre Replacement
Toronto Arts Council
Vancouver Moving Theatre
Véronique Leduc
Veronique West
VibraFusionLab
Walterdale Theatre
White Wash Productions
York University Theatre Department