Artsweek 2023 Signature Programs

3C84

Artists: Charlie Glasspool (piano and voice), Jose Contreras (synths, sound effects, voice), Victoria Yeh (violin), Susan Newman (voice), Evangeline Gentle (voice), Jesse Pilgrim (theremin).

Friday, May 5, 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Stargazing to follow.

Heritage Pavilion Stage on Armour Hill, 300 Hunter Street East.

Charlie Glasspool and company perform a concert under the stars. This original song cycle is inspired by the discovery that a distant black hole (3C84), in the Perseus cluster of galaxies, is emitting a steady B flat note, albeit 57 octaves below middle C. Intrigued that a note with real uses – concert B flat is used to tune a wind ensemble – Glasspool celebrates this cosmic phenomenon featuring the space-age sound of the theremin. Join our guest astronomers for star gazing on the hill to follow.

Artsweek 2023 Invitational Peterborough
Poetry Slam

Poets: Ziysah von Bieberstein, Niambi Tree, Sarah Lewis, Laurin Isiekwena, Carlo Jose Quinones, and more!

Thursday, May 11, 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Peterborough Square Courtyard, corner of Water and Charlotte Streets. Rain location: inside Peterborough Square.

The Peterborough Poetry Slam Collective presents the first ever Artsweek Invitational Peterborough Poetry Slam, an evening of competitive performance poetry where poets perform original pieces up to 3 minutes in length. Come out to cheer on your favourite poet as they step up to the mic and vie for the crown of Artsweek Poetry Slam Champ!

Construction Guys

Artists: Co-created and performed by Vanita Butrsingkorn, Nicole Malbeuf, and Emily Hughes with Zita Nyarady (Director).

Saturday, May 13

12 Noon.

Regional Farmers’ Market, 215 Charlotte Street.

3:00 pm.

Millennium Park, 130 King Street.

Awaken your inner 3-year-old and join “the guys” at the construction site. These hard hat hustlers turn an everyday build into a high energy, physical comedy with some high-flying acrobatic surprises. This is not a drill. This show is for the entire family. Feats of strength? Choreographed dances? Lunch break? We nail it all, because nobody likes a screw up…Dig it?

Dark Eyes: Granny Tales

Artist: Naomi Duvall.

Friday, May 12, 20-minute shows repeat at 8:30 pm, 9:30 pm.

The parking lot behind the Theatre On King (TTOK), 171 King Street.

Building on an original shadow puppet play, Dark Eyes is a musical and semi-improvised story-telling session with projections. Granny is sharing tales with her grandchildren and having vivid memories of experiences from her younger days. Music performed by Naomi Duvall and Ryan Mclean Purdon, with recorded music and performances by Satah Cameron, Robert Hedge, Derek Bell, Lindsay Unterlander and Sarah McNeilly.

Hot Spots

Ten, 30-minute performances from Monday, May 8, to Friday, May 12. You’ll find a lot of sizzling music with sprinklings of dance and spoken word. Irresistible! Catch them at lunchtime or after work! Curated by Sara Shahsavari and Su Ditta.

Monday, May 8

12:30 pm: The Colton Sisters/5:30 pm: Mintu Maria James.

Tuesday, May 9

12:30 pm: Cale Crowe/5:30 pm: Elizabeth Jenkins.

Wednesday, May 10

12:30 pm: Saskia, Jade & Shahrazi/5:30 pm: Will Ward.

Thursday, May 11

12:30 pm: Adrian Lowe/5:30 pm: Kelli Marshall & Shahrazi.

Friday, May 12

12:30 pm: Ále Suárez/5:30 pm: Harbhajunkie.

Peterborough Square Courtyard, corner of Water and Charlotte Streets.

Interactive Musical Animations

Artist: Benj Rowland.

Friday, May 5, 20-minute set repeats at 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm.

The courtyard behind Black Honey Café, 217 Hunter Street West. Access via the alley next to Karma’s Café.

Singer-songwriter Benj Rowland has combined his talent for music and drawing into a series of songs accompanied by projected animations controlled by the music itself. The smokestacks of factories grow and billow smoke with each bass note, a reminder that the sound is electronically generated, their origins in power generation sites.

Look Out!

Artists: Sioux Dickson, Cassandra Lee, LA Alphonso/Age of Moss (Paul Moss), and Sammy Tangir.

A suite of Peterborough painters, video artists and photographers investigate the possibilities of our urban landscape. Look out for art where you might least expect it. Curated by Su Ditta.

Dates May 8 – 12 [Some projects EXTENDED to the 14th]. Click here for a printable walking tour map.

Project: Shadow Selves
Artist: Sioux Dickson.
Description: A photographic conversation about being a part of and apart from.
Date: Open May 8 – 14.
Location: 210 Hunter St. West, front window of PBO Kawartha (Prosthetics, Bracing, and Orthotics), and online HERE.

Project: An Ode to Trees
Artist: Casandra Lee.
Description: “An Ode to Trees involves hanging painted tree cookies on five of my favourite trees in our urban landscape of downtown Nogojiwanong-Peterborough. Trees intrigue me whenever I am outside and are an important point of interest for me. I want to share the joy I feel from seeing a beautiful tree. The installation is an invitation to the public to pause and take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate the life of the trees we live amongst downtown. The artwork will be placed at various heights and tied to the trees in a non-harmful way. Cookies will be cut from a fallen cedar tree that was a victim of the May 2022 Derecho. The paintings will be colourful depictions of spring.”
Date: Open May 8 – 14.
Location: Trees in downtown Peterborough.

Project: POV
Artists: LA Alfonso, Age of Moss (Paul Moss).
Description: In places that act as a default audio/visual history archive, video artists LA Alfonso and Age of Moss (Paul Moss) infiltrate and activate the site’s media file systems for random ephemeral public consumption.
Date: May 8 from 10 pm to Midnight, and then May 9 to May 14, from 9 pm to Midnight.
Location: Paradigm Pictures, 161 King Street.

Project:  Winter Weeds and Spring Shoots
Artist: Sammy Tangir.
Description: Winter Weeds is intended as a spark of inspiration to notice plants at a time of year when they are not growing and are likely to be passed by and under appreciated.  This takes form as a zine with a collection of photos of plants in their winter wares! Spring Shoots is an activation that brings the intention of Winter Weeds into the present environment, inviting people to explore and notice the great diversity of spring plants thriving amongst the concrete around Water and Charlotte Street. 
Date: Tuesday May 9th and Wednesday May 10th from 4:30-6:30pm.
Location: Outside Ministry of Natural Resources 300 Water St.

Porchapalooza

Take a tour of five neighbourhood verandas and savour a movable feast of live music. Curated by Hank and Kristine Fisher. For updates on schedule and locations go to artsweekpeterborough.ca. (RAIN OR SHINE!)

Saturday May 6

Three tours to choose from, starting at 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm. Guided tours begin at 466 Gilmour Street. Take a tour or just drop in on any of these 5 porches on your own:
466 Gilmour St.: Chester Babcock (Vintage Vocal Jazz).
516 Homewood Ave.: Victoria Yeh (Jazz Fusion).
524 Homewood Ave.: Phaedra & Marc (Bluegrass Country).
530 Gilmour St.: Little Fire Collective (Space Folk Rock).
550 Gilmour St.: Irish Millie (Traditional Fiddle).

Sunday, May 7

Three tours to choose from, starting at 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm. Guided tours begin at 546 Waterford Street, moving from one porch to the next. Or just drop in on any of these 5 porches on your own:
546 Waterford St.: Tami J. Wilde (Country Folk).
562 Waterford St.: Sam Allison (Roots Hokum Blues).
573 Waterford St.: Beau Dixon (R&B Soul).
592 Waterford St.: Tom Eastland (Folk Rock).
544 Harvey St.: McDonnel Street Gospel Quartet (Vintage Roots Gospel).

Take-Out Poetry Cart

Artists: A rotating all-star line-up of area poets, including Jon Hedderwick, Jenn Cole, Elizabeth Jenkins, Kristal Jones, Stevie Lanigan, Sarah Lewis, Justin Million, Carlo Jose Quinones, Bon Scott, PJ Thomas, Niambi Tree, Sixx, and Ziysah von Bieberstein. Curated by Ziysah von Bieberstein and Jon Hedderwick.

Friday, May 5, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm.

On the sidewalk outside the Commerce Building,
129 ½ Hunter Street West.

Saturday, May 6, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm.

Jackson Park, by the Pagoda Bridge, Fairbairn Street Entrance

Wednesday, May 10, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm.

Peterborough Public Library, 345 Aylmer Street North.

Friday, May 12, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm.

Lansdowne Place, 645 Lansdowne Street West.

Saturday, May 13, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

At the Regional Farmers’ Market, 215 Charlotte Street.

Step right up to the handmade, bicycle-pulled Poetry Cart, where an array of talented writers will write a poem just for you, tapping it out on a classic manual typewriter. Whether you request a Shakespearean sonnet, a vengeful haiku, or a tragic ode, you are guaranteed to walk away with a unique work of spontaneous art. Watch for special guest Tootah around the Poetry Cart on May 13!

The Verandah Society

Artists: Kate Suhr and Megan Murphy with Saskia Tomkins (fiddle).

Sunday, May 14, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm.

Traill College, Kerr House veranda, 299 Dublin Street.

The Verandah Society is an original performance with story and song – a charming, humorous and heartfelt show that takes audiences on an entertaining and thought-provoking journey using personal storytelling and song writing. Full of nostalgia, humanity and humour, it’s time well spent with neighbours on the proverbial front porch.

Woodland & The Wilds Promenade

Artists: Jennifer Elchuk (Opal), Jay Edmunds, Victoria Kopf, Jeff Cadence, Victoria Wood, with animal masks created by Laurel Paluck. (RAIN OR SHINE!)

Friday, May 5, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm.

The Commerce Building Courtyard, 2 Bankers Common.

Sunday, May 7, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

Riverview Park & Zoo, 1300 Water Street.

Saturday, May 13, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

Ecology Park, 1899 Ashburnham Drive.
Parking next door at Beavermead Campground.

Celebrate local wildlife and our shared greenspaces with community crafting and a musical parade. Everyone can take part: don a mask, fly a banner and join a magical gaggle of woodland puppets, stilt-walkers, and traveling musicians on three celebratory tours: of the downtown, the Riverview Zoo and Ecology Park.

Closing Celebration

Artists: Pays d’en Haut.

Saturday, May 13, 3:30 pm – 5:30pm.

Millennium Park, by the Silver Bean Café.

Join Artsweek artists, volunteers, staff and supporters and dance your legs off to the sounds of Cajun music from the Peterborough bayou.

ArtsweekPLUS

ArtsweekPLUS shines a light on activities of professional Peterborough-area artists and groups beyond those featured in the official Artsweek program. Check the events out on the ArtsweekPLUS page.