The New Embassy: Creativity in Collective Solitude

Yousef Kadoura, Tallan M.D., Silvae Mercedes, Max Ferguson and Jessica Watkin

7:00pm

Thursday, April 28

Inspired by Toronto’s renowned, historic Bohemian Embassy, meet a new generation of artists inspiring Canada’s ever-evolving literary scene at The New Embassy: a digital mini-series of spoken word, poetry, prose, theatrical readings, music and dance.

Curated by Lebanese Canadian actor, writer and producer Yousef Kadoura, this final event in The New Embassy series reflects on the idea of collective solitude: finding community in the shared experiences, challenges and environments in which disabled and Mad artists live and create.

Presented as part of the CoMotion Festival, join musician and artist Tallan M.D., Montreal-based actor and playwright Silvae Mercedes, visual and performance artist Max Ferguson and playwright Jessica Watkin for this inspiring, multidisciplinary event. ASL interpretation and captioning will be provided.

This event will take place virtually. This event will be available to watch from Thursday, July 7 to Wednesday, July 13 as part of a special release to celebrate Canadian artists.

Curated by Yousef Kadoura
Produced by Toronto International Festival of Authors
Co-Presented with CoMotion Festival
The New Embassy event series is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts through the Digital NOW program.

Performance

Virtual

Inspired by Toronto’s renowned, historic Bohemian Embassy, meet a new generation of artists inspiring Canada’s ever-evolving literary scene at The New Embassy: a digital mini-series of spoken word, poetry, prose, theatrical readings, music and dance.

Curated by Lebanese Canadian actor, writer and producer Yousef Kadoura, this final event in The New Embassy series reflects on the idea of collective solitude: finding community in the shared experiences, challenges and environments in which disabled and Mad artists live and create.

Presented as part of the CoMotion Festival, join musician and artist Tallan M.D., Montreal-based actor and playwright Silvae Mercedes, visual and performance artist Max Ferguson and playwright Jessica Watkin for this inspiring, multidisciplinary event. ASL interpretation and captioning will be provided.

This event will take place virtually. This event will be available to watch from Thursday, July 7 to Wednesday, July 13 as part of a special release to celebrate Canadian artists.

Curated by Yousef Kadoura
Produced by Toronto International Festival of Authors
Co-Presented with CoMotion Festival
The New Embassy event series is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts through the Digital NOW program.

Harbourfront centre logo

Performance

Virtual

Featured Authors

Yousef Kadoura, born in the midwestern United States and raised in Ottawa, is a Lebanese Canadian actor, writer, producer, as well as a right leg below knee amputee. Yousef is a graduate of the acting program at the National Theatre School of Canada. He has worked as the curator in residence at Tangled Art + Disability, co-curating the Flourishing series in 2018. He is also a producer, creator and host of the podcast series Crip Times. Yousef is a founding company member of Other He/Arts, a new performance collective. As an artist Yousef seeks to draw from a plurality of experiences and disciplines to expand the boundaries of performance in pursuit of accessibility, presence and shared experience.

Read more about Yousef Kadoura

Tallan Alexander is a musician, poet, actor, author and mental health advocate living in Toronto, Ontario. Tallan lives with Bipolar 1 Disorder, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, several substance use disorders and has difficulties surrounding food. They play piano, guitar and sing, and are currently studying for their level 9 piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music. They hold a honours bachelors of science from the University of Toronto in psychology, Buddhism and sexuality. Many of Tallan’s closest loved ones died tragically and much of their work seeks to keep the dead alive and among the living.

Read more about Tallan M.D.

Silvae Mercedes

Silvae Mercedes is a Mad performer, writer and designer based in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. Her work explores the liminal spaces between the private and cultural imagination, the corridors of memory, and the ways in which trauma writes itself upon them. She is a founding member of Other Hearts Collective (otherhearts.ca) and currently pursuing a B.A. in Honours English, Creative Writing and Interdisciplinary Sexuality Studies at Concordia University. Upcoming 2022 works include publication in Soliloquies Anthology Issue 26.2 (poem, short story), Theatre Gargantua’s Urban ARTeries (performer) and The Intangible Adorations Caravan with ArtworxTO (performer, costume designer).

Read more about Silvae Mercedes

Max Ferguson (He/They) is an interdisciplinary artist, curator and PhD Candidate at York University. A practicing artist since 1996, Max (formerly Sarah) received their BFA from the University of Regina in 2001. He acquired his MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies (Visual Art and Women’s and Gender Studies) in 2017. His artistic explorations involve queer sexualities, the body, surrealism, anti-colonial approaches to artmaking and psychoanalysis.  His work ranges from photography, performance and digital-based works to paintstick, graphite and digital collage. He is also a published poet, holds a degree in journalism and has worked as a political, legal, military and arts reporter.

Read more about Max Ferguson

Jessica Watkin is a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto's Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies with research focusing on Disabled artists and how they are supported in their creation processes. Jess is a tactile, nonvisual artist who uses yarn and storytelling as method.

Read more about Jessica Watkin