About this Event
In this timely and poignant performance, critically acclaimed director, playwright and scholar Jaye Austin Williams introduces a live stage adaptation of Toronto-based poet Dionne Brand’s renowned non-fiction book, “A Map to the Door of No Return” published in 2001. Adapted and directed by Austin Williams with excerpts from Brand’s book, this program is staged as a “concert recitation:” an intimate performance and dramatized reading by three local actors.
Held within 2024 Biennial artist Charles Campbell’s installation, How many colours has the sea, the program will highlight overlapping themes Campbell’s work and Brand’s groundbreaking book, which both anchor the ocean and sea as sites of contemplation on Black being, ancestral memory, rupture, and mourning. While this adaptation contains excerpts from Brand’s book, it is not meant as a substitute and is instead offered as a visceral “tasting” by way of reframing passages from the book in a theatrical space, allowing for new and different interpretations. This performance explores the legacy that “A Map to the Door of No Return” created in articulating Black contemporary life in Canada, but also an incredible expansion and reimagining of Brand’s breathtaking and ruminative literary work through visual and performance art.
Doors: 6:30 PM | Starts: 7:00 PM| End: 8:00 PM
View the full program at the Toronto Biennial of Art Programs Calendar.
If you have questions about attending a program, or would like assistance securing tickets, email [email protected].
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The Toronto Biennial of Art’s mission is to make contemporary art accessible to everyone. A ten-week event every two years, the Biennial commissions artists to create new works for a city-wide exhibition in dialogue with Toronto’s diverse local contexts. Year-round public and learning programs bridge Biennials and invite intergenerational audiences to explore the ideas that inspire our events. Building upon past editions and offering new ways of seeing and listening, each Biennial connects people to spark meaningful dialogues and imagine new futures. From September 21 to December 1, 2024, the TBA offers 10 weeks of free public art over 11 unique locations across Toronto.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Canada