CFP Capital Wayfaring: Peripatetic Explorations of Monuments and Moose Droppings in Ottawa

[Keren Zaiontz]

Dear colleagues, Melanie and I look forward to receiving your proposals. Don't hesitate to contact us should you have any questions. 




2015 Canadian Association for Theatre Research 

University of Ottawa | May 30th-June 2nd 2015 



Praxis Seminar Co-organizers 

Melanie Bennett 

Keren Zaiontz 



CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS 

Capital Wayfaring: Peripatetic Explorations of Monuments and Moose Droppings in Ottawa 



The art of walking the city includes a long history of mobile critics wandering through urban capitals on foot. Walter Benjamin’s pre-war detours through Paris, the Situationists’ anti-capitalist dérives, and Michel de Certeau’s digressions through New York City have established the act of walking as both a mode of contemplation and performance. In contemporary culture, walking a city can be less of a drift and more of a frantic pursuit. Even the leisure time of tourists is frequently characterized by a “to do” list that revolves around visiting iconic sites for photo-ops and shopping for souvenirs. Most tourists leave little for the contemplative sashaying that inspired Baudelaire’s poetry and Benjamin’s musings. In response to this capitalistic model of urban tourism and a Western lifestyle that tends to perceive walking as utilitarian (for exercise, shopping, getting to and from), there has been an influx of artists who have revived the romanticized preoccupation with flânerie and the dérive (Wrights & Sites, Vancouver Walking Projects, etc.) Some performance scholars, however, have questioned how the “well-trampled fields” (Heddon and Turner 21) of the flâneur and dérivist have privileged the narratives of specific bodies, classes, and spaces over others. Our praxis seminar will contribute to a growing movement of “alternative mobilizations” (Wilkie 207) that move beyond ablelist, lone itinerant, and tourist paradigms. We will organize two art walks in Ottawa that explore how itinerancy can be used to engage with monumental proximity and patriotism (such as taking your picture with the Famous Five) as well as banal commodity consumption (such as buying a Mountie fridge magnet). Our seminar will question the signs embedded in Canada’s capital by taking as much interest in the sales clerk selling chocolate moose droppings in ByWard Market as the official histories of monuments and Parliament buildings of Ottawa. 



Structure 

Our praxis seminar will include two guided walks (approximately one hour each) through different neighbourhoods in downtown Ottawa and one hour-long post-walk session on campus where participants will reflect on the ambles as well as engage with specialist readings on the mobilities turn in performance studies. Citing Ottawa’s tourist campaign language, the first walk, “Discover Canada’s Past”, will be oriented around Ottawa’s official monuments, cultural institutions, and statues. The second walk, “Taste of Canada”, will involve ambling through ByWard Market where we will go in search of BeaverTails pastries, maple syrup, Quebec cheese, timbits, flag cookies, and interact with service workers in tourist hot spots. 



We will ask our participants to select one site, monument, or souvenir that can be linked to either the first or second walk. Participants will be asked to consider how their selected site or object is linked to their own research interests. During the walks, contributors will be invited to deliver five minute interventions at their chosen site or beside their souvenir. The interventions can take the form of short reflections, manifestos, or performances. 




Monuments and sites of interest to choose from (“Discover Canada’s Past” walk): 



● Laurier House 

● Notre Dame Basilica 

● National Gallery of Canada (including Giant Spider) 

● Major’s Hill Park (including Kneeling First Nations Anishinabe Scout) 

● Canadian Parliament Buildings (including Famous Five sculpture, Peace Tower, Centennial Flame, Victory Tower Bell, John A. MacDonald statue, Queen Victoria statue, Queen Elizabeth statue, the closed down cat sanctuary, and more) 

● Nepean Point (including Samuel de Champlain statue and former location of First Nations Anishinabe Scout) 

● National Arts Centre (including Oscar Peterson statue) 

● Museum of Classical Antiquities 

● Confederation Square (including National War Memorial and Valiants Memorial) 

● Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada 

● National Archives 

● Supreme Court of Canada 

● Canadian Tribute to Human Rights 

● Canadian War Museum (including tomb of the Unknown Soldier) 

● Canadian Museum of Nature 



Description of work 

**Participants will take part in one or both walks through downtown Ottawa as well as participate in a final forum and discussion, which will include assigned critical reading(s). Space is limited. We will only accept participants who can attend a minimum of one of the two walks and participate in the post-walk session. 



Proposal Requirements 

Potential participants are asked to submit a proposal of no more than 300 words detailing (1) which walk or walks they wish to participate in; (2) their monument, statue, institution, or souvenir of interest; (3) how they think this potential site or object of interest would extend their research. 



Works Cited 

Heddon, Dee and Cathy Turner. “Walking Women: Interviews with Artists on the Move.” Performance Research 15.4 (2010): 14-22. 

Wilkie, Fiona. “Site-specific Performance and the Mobility Turn.” Contemporary Theatre Review 22.2 (2012): 203-212. 



Proposal Due Date 

15 January 2015 



Email your proposals to 

melanielynnbennett at hotmail.com 

kzaiontz at sfu.ca 


-- 
Keren Zaiontz, PhD 
Banting Postdoctoral Fellow 
Simon Fraser University 
Department of English 
Burnaby, BC, Canada 

Reviews Editor | Performance Research 




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