The Prismatic Arts Festival, Canada’s premier multi-arts festival that exclusively features the work of Indigenous artists and artists of colour, will be hosted, September 2019, in Halifax, NS and Ottawa, ON with an extensive line-up of performances, industry events and important new initiatives.
After over a decade of successful Prismatic Arts Festivals hosted in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Prismatic is expanding the Festival to Ottawa September 12-22, where the Festival will be hosted with Ottawa’s largest independent theatre company, Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC). In addition to a fantastic line up of theatre, dance, music, film, spoken word, visual and media arts events, Prismatic 2019 will include two nationally important new events: the Prismatic International Arts Assembly and the Prismatic International Film Festival.
The Prismatic Arts Festival 2019 will include the following:
Theatre
· Cliff Cardinal – CBC Special
· The Tashme Project: The Living Archives
· Hong Kong Exile – FoxConn Frequency (no. 3)
· Onelight Theatre – Asheq: Ritual Music to Cure a Lover
Dance
· Esie Mensah the Artist – Zayo
· Nyata Nyata – Mozongi
· Kaha:wi Dance Theatre Blood Water Earth
Music
· Sina Bathaie
· Quantum Tangle
· Ensemble Kamaan
· The Battle of Santiago
· Diyet & The Love Soldiers
· Dinuk Wijeratne
Visual Arts / Media Arts / Spoken Word
· Rebecca Thomas
· Stephanie Yee – Broken English Karaoke
· Rah Eleh
· Zoey Pricelys Roy
Prismatic will be announcing additional artists, performances and events leading up to the Festival in 2019. There will be performances by international artists in Halifax and Ottawa and a special night of performances at the Halifax Central Library.
Tickets for all performances go on sale July 1.
Prismatic’s Artistic Director, Shahin Sayadi, highlights the importance of Prismatic in the Canadian arts community: “Canadian artists of color are breaking barriers and are challenging the artistic landscape – their work is world class and Prismatic is stepping up to ensure that Indigenous and culturally diverse artists in Canada take their place in the national and international spotlight.”
The Prismatic International Arts Assembly, Canada’s first gathering focused on promoting the work of Indigenous and culturally diverse artists to international presenters and producers, will take place in Ottawa September 16-20. The Assembly will include pitch sessions, showcase performances and networking events that will provide opportunities to international stakeholders to connect with Canadian artists and their work. Additionally, there will be conference events, open to the public, where Prismatic will lead a dialogue on new, artist-centered approaches to presentation, touring and arts marketing.
Prismatic 2019 will also include the debut of the Prismatic International Film Festival, which will be curated and produced by Winnipeg-based filmmaker and musician, Jorge Requena Ramos. The Prismatic International Film Festival will showcase and celebrate the work of Canadian Indigenous and culturally diverse filmmakers and international film artists of colour. Watch for more news about the Prismatic International Film Festival, including a call for submission that will be coming soon.
The Prismatic team (Shahin Sayadi, Maggie Stewart, Raeesa Lalani, Patrick Gauthier) is thrilled to be working with our presenting partner in Ottawa, GCTC, led by Artistic Director, Eric Coates: “The world needs a bit of Prismatic right now. This festival exemplifies what it means to be curious about humanity in the best possible way. We are thrilled that our friends are bringing their extraordinary achievement to Ottawa.”
Prismatic is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des Arts du Canada, Canadian Heritage, Nova Scotia’s Department of Culture, Ontario Arts Council – Conseil des arts de l’Ontario and the Halifax Regional Municipality. Sponsorship opportunities for Prismatic 2019 in Ottawa and Halifax are available to corporations who want to support the Prismatic Arts Festival, International Arts Assembly and International Film Festival.
