In the Blog
love takes the worry out of being close: public assemblies in bed with queers
Reena Katz’s love takes the worry out of being close: public assemblies in bed with queers converts Harbourfront’s Studio Theatre into a free, public hotel suite.
Bed-Ins: April 9 - 12, 9am - 9pm - FREE
Final Presentation and Discussion: April 13, 8pm - 10pm - $10/$12 Harbourfront Studio Theatre, York Quay Centre, Main Floor
HATCH opens its 2013 Season with sound and performance artist Reena Katz’s fabulous reimagining of Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s iconic Bed-in for Peace. From 9am - 9pm, April 9 - 12, Katz transforms the Studio Theatre into a Public Commons and Master Suite with a motley crew of LGBTQ folks in bed. Audiences are invited to come and go as they please, participating in conversations, game sessions, cuddles and crafting parties for free. Each day is hosted by different lovers: artists, academics, cultural workers and musicians. They address and explore a range of political issues affecting LGBTQ communities, from intimacy and decolonization to pop culture and civic engagement. Expect flowers, respectful debate, radical facilitation and queen-sized love.
With: Trish Salah and Ilona Molnar; R3 Collective; Troy Jackson and El-Farouk Khaki; 2Spirit Skillshare; Eugenio Salas and Basil AlZeri
Katz explains: “Though they were officially straight, Yoko and John’s infamous gesture of non-violent protest against the US-led war in Vietnam queered the idea of protest in the minds of the public. During a period of massive civil disobedience across the Western world, the Bed-Ins shifted the site of dissent from raging bodies demonstrating in the street, to a bustling hotel room, packed with everyday folks, various long-haired celebrities and a pair of strong lovers who saw their honeymoon as an opportunity to model peace.”
Ono and Lennon understood how to capitalize on the potential of the late 60s, utilizing technologies such as live television and radio broadcast. Katz reciprocates with texts, Tweets and livestreams from the bed, highlighting the interactivity of our current global village. Focusing on intimacy, Katz and her crew explore the cultural resistance evident in contemporary movements such as Idle No More and LGBTQ Solidarity.
FREE DAILY Bed-Ins
Tuesday, April 9: Homonational Intimacies and Resistances Hosted by Trish Salah and Ilona Molnar
Wednesday, April 10: Bedtime Stories of Resistance: An Open R3 Retreat- A day of dialogue, storytelling and sharing space Hosted by R3 Collective
Thursday, April 11: Pop Culture and Social Justice Hosted by Troy Jackson and El-Farouk KhakiFriday, April 12: what we think we know Hosted by 2Spirit Skillshare
A final presentation and Q & A with all the queers present will take place on: Saturday, April 13 at 8pm
Tickets for the Saturday presentation are $15.00, $12.00 for Students/Seniors/Arts Workers or $40.00 for a HATCHpass for all four projects in the HATCH 2013 season, available by phone at 416-973-4000 or through www.harbourfrontcentre.com/hatch
Contact the artist for special Group, Un/deremployed and Street Involved ticket rates.
ABOUT REENA KATZ: Reena Katz works with the transmission and reception of sonic information present in the human voice. She uses live and recorded talking, whispering, yelling and listening to consider bodies as sites of knowledge, and communication as a social and political practice. Through audience participation in public space, Katz highlights the relationship between collective voice, the body politic and the empathic act of listening. Her installations, recordings and live performances have been performed, broadcast and exhibited throughout Canada and the U.S. as well as in Germany, Poland, Mexico, Hong Kong and Japan.
HATCH: emerging performance projects at Harbourfront Centre Entering its tenth year, HATCH is a key initiative in Harbourfront Centre’s mission to develop local artists and their unique practices. Curated by Trevor Schwellnus, the 2013 HATCH residency and mentorship programme provides resources and professional assistance to a new generation of engaging and innovative contemporary artists.
For more information please visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com/hatch
