Festival of Fools

A participatory performance dedicated to curiosity and playful experimentation

Hosted in a vacant storefront, the Festival of Fools offered myself and others an excuse to embark on a journey of self-discovery. It produced a variety of thematically-linked events, installations, communication materials and performances over the course of 3 months.

This project was made possible by the 2022 edition of Art Souterrain’s program CREER DES PONTS, which gives emerging artists access to vacant storefronts to use as creation and exhibition spaces.

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When

Sept – Nov 2022 (3 months, full-time)

Where

Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, Canada

With

Art Souterrain

Themes

re-enchantment

The Festival of Fools aimed to open up a liminal space in which it would be possible to break free from entrenched patterns and constraints. Through psycho-magical experiments and carnivalesque events, it encouraged spontaneity and invited people to step into a more fluid state of being.

healing

I used this project to confront and integrate unconscious aspects in myself, taking inspiration from psychoanalytic techniques like shadow work and dream analysis. My intention was to understand and express myself through art, initiate conversations about mental health, and create a container for others to join.

Practices

Art

Conceptualized the project as a participatory performance

Curated an event series and created performances and installations

Design

Designed the strategy, visual identity, and communications

Research

Researched and visually presented the main conceptual influences

Writing

Wrote a funding proposal and multiple artist statements

Facilitation

Facilitated participants’ access to project themes and resources

Collaboratively realized 4 public events