Where I’m From (2005)
The first year of our residency in Etobicoke culminated in a June event, including a core youth group, multi-age participants, a procession, a street fair, Somali dancing and food, and an installation and performance at Montgomery’s Inn. The youth project, at the core of this event, was created by Lead Artist, Loree Lawrence, and involved teenagers from Mabelle-Dundas Toronto Community Housing in exploring and expressing the theme of “Where I’m From”, through map-making, object theatre, interviews with local business-owners, photo stories, a video on the basketball court, a sculpted and interactive dresser, poetry-writing and more. The project created a performance/installation that was placed within the local museum of Montgomery’s Inn and, in the words of Loree Lawrence, created sa “nostalgic-scientific environment with a quirky twist” that “illuminates notions of permanence and entitlement in a community where continuous transitions are taking place”.
Artists: Loree Lawrence, Faye Dupras, Noah Kenneally, Leah Houston, John Vainstein, Dan Harris
Performers: Renwick Herry, Ian Rae, Mariam Adam,Steve Cooper
Funders: the Ontario Arts Council through Theatre Ontario’s Youth Theatre Training Program; Ontario Works Initiatives; Canada Council for the Arts; Toronto Arts Council; the Social Investment Fund, Job Connect, the McKellar Foundation, Metro Credit Union
