Organised and developed in collaboration with Toronto-based arts space Pumice Raft, Implicit Choreographies & Relational Topographies was a processional public program sited within the Don River Valley. The impetus of this program was both to engage the complex histories and layers of place in the lower River Valley as well as creating space to experiment with place-based art engagement. The events themselves were multifaceted, consisting of gatherings, walks, performances, and discussions that were developed in collaboration with and facilitated by a number of invited artists, researchers, and writers. The nine events in Summer and Fall of 2022 cut across themes such as conservation, water, extractivism, urban development, and ecology, garnering returning participants throughout. At their core they were interventionist and educational, aiming to facilitate moments of experiential learning and fostering environmental awareness by taking place all along the River Valley.

The following photos document several of the events. For a comprehensive overview visit our ongoing archiving of the project here. Combining documentation, recordings and ephemera from the program, the above pages go in depth on project’s concerns while sketching a methodology for place-based engagement.

(photo documentation courtesy of Ben Freedman, Brendan George Ko, and Clea Christakos-Gee)

This project was supported by the Ontario Arts Council