The Hibernation Project
2024 THEMES
Our 6th Annual Hibernation Project begins with toboggans, ends with a live public access TV broadcast, and covers pretty much everything in between. We’re trying something new this year: Hibernation 2024 features a Hibernation-in-Residence at cSPACE Eau Claire (a heritage lumber mill turned Artist Residency in downtown Calgary / Mohkinstsis), as well as a Fire Sculpture Residency hosted by Empire of Dirt in Creston, BC!
Whether joining us from near or far, as an artist or spectator, we hope you’re excited for another year of experiments, snowy day projects, and dreams of we who wake to sleep.
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TOBOGGAPALOOZA: build your own toboggans!
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Theme by Mike Tan
The return of the much-anticipated annual wintertime event where participants build (or decorate) their own toboggans and we all go sledding together! TOBOGGAPALOOZA launched this year’s Hibernation Project in style, featuring toboggans from the obscure to the ridiculous, the prehistoric to the otherworldly! Thanks to everyone who dusted off the ol’ glue gun and came to this brand new hill in Ramsay to ride the waves of snow with us.
PARTICIPANTS:
Aiden Tan
Andrew Davidson
Audrey Lane Cockett
Blake O’Brien
Brad Hawkins
Caitlind Brown
Carter & Sasha White
Chad & Edward Saunders
Clare Duckett
Foon Yap
Jeremy, Nelize, Arlo & Elliot Gignoux
Mike Tan
Rory Allen
Wayne Garrett
& many more attendees!
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GATHER BY FIRE at EMPIRE OF DIRT: a residency & ritual sculpture burn on Arrow Mountain
January 30 – February 4, 2024
Micro-Residency at Empire of Dirt in Creston, British Columbia
Theme by Marnie Temple & Jim Wallis + Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett
Every year, The Hibernation Project hosts a sculpture burn in tribute to our friend & fellow artist Matthew Mark Bourree. Artists build sculptures out of wood or paper, and burn them in a communal ritual combating the cold, dark Winter and calling for the relief of Spring.
This year, The Hibernation Project was invited to host GATHER BY FIRE at Empire of Dirt, located on Arrow Mountain overlooking Creston, BC on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people. We saw this as an opportunity to expand the experiment, inviting a small crew of participants to build larger and wilder sculptures than ever before. Hearkening to primal relationships, GATHER BY FIRE was named for an artwork by Sarah Smalik & Matthew Mark, and speaks to the great and mystical magnetism of people towards light, heat, and each other.
PARTICIPANTS:
Elaine Weryshko
Jim Wallis
Larry McDowell
Lisa Benschop
Marnie Temple
Nikki Emerson
Palmer Olson
Veronica Verkley
Wayne Garrett
Caitlind r.c. Brown
In honour of Matthew Mark 🖤 who loved art, fire, and a little bit of wildness.
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Photos by Mike Tan
EARS HAVE EYES: a listening party for sound art on the radio – LIVE!
LIVE-TO-TAPE Recording: Sunday, February 11, 2024
Airing February 14 and March 13 at 8 pm MT on CJSW 90.9 FM and Golden Co-op Radio
cSPACE Eau Claire
Theme by Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett
In celebration of the 2 year anniversary of our show, we recorded a special live-to-tape episode of EARS HAVE EYES with a live studio audience! Listeners brought pillows and a blanket, and sprawled on the floor for a dreamy Listening Party at the historic Eau Claire & Bow River Lumber Company. Sound artists, experimental musicians, and auditory explorers spun a tapestry of sonic experiments for the enjoyment of our ears & inner eyes.
PARTICIPANTS:
Audrey Lane Cockett
Chris Dadge
Christina Milinusic
Hermitess (Jennifer Crighton)
Keith Rodger
NUM (Milad Bagheri & Maryam Sirvan)
Live hosting by Caitlind Brown & Wayne Garrett. Sound by Brad Hawkins. Thanks to cSPACE Projects.
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UNLIKELY SPREADFELLOWS: a potluck to subvert culinary convention
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Dinner from 7-9 pm, Show from 9-10:30
Caitlind & Wayne’s House
Theme by Alex Mitchell
Over the course of a lifetime, food can become one of those aspects of your life that you take the conventions of for granted. Still, a single dish can remind you that the way we interact with and experience food has as much to do with flavour and texture as it does with presentation and socialization. What happens when we throw tradition out the window and experiment with combinations we’ve never encountered before, or maybe had bizarre experiences with in the past? If you’re feeling brave, bring a dish* that defies explanation or that you’ve always wanted to give a shot!
*Please bring a recipe card with you so that patrons are able to avoid conflicts with their dietary preferences.
WRECK AGE: a tale of twenty-something angst during the great Calgary flood
Theme by Max Maxwell
A special encore performance in the basement!
In honour of the ten year anniversary of the Calgary Floods, embark on a poignant journey of self-discovery and acceptance with Max Maxwell’s encore production. With raw honesty and vulnerability, Maxwell brings you a coming of age story, as he struggles with identity and belonging set against the backdrop of the Great Calgary Floods of 2013. In this captivating performance, Maxwell seamlessly weaves together personal archival multimedia and music from the era to draw you into the complexities of life, love, and loss amidst the chaos of a natural disaster. With Maxwell’s masterful writing, you’ll be taken on a journey of resilience and hope, drawing you in with his raw emotions and relatable struggles, as you witness firsthand the transformative power of self-love and acceptance.
RVSP to attend
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TIMBER: a collaborative interlocking lumber sculpture
BUILDING DAYS: Friday, Feb 16 & Saturday, Feb 17, 2024 // 11 am-7 pm
PUBLIC EXHIBITION: Sunday, February 18 // 2-6 pm
cSPACE Eau Claire
Theme by Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett
Photos from the Glenbow Archives, found here.
In response to the history of cSPACE Eau Claire as the former offices and vault for the Eau Claire & Bow River Lumber Company, we invite artists & sculptors to join us in crafting a collaborative interlocking lumber sculpture. We will provide lumber, and artists will create sculptures following (and breaking) any conventions they desire, with the caveat that their work must, at some point, intersect with the sculptures around them. You may choose to work collaboratively, or design a piece by yourself, but the object of the experiment is to link the pieces together into one, giant, growing, organic structure – in a futile effort to reanimate the wood and keep it alive.
At the summary of the exhibition, all wood will be repurposed for future projects.
This event was inspired in part by Khalid Omokanye’s socially distanced collaborative sculpture, ISOLATED BABEL, for The Hibernation Project 2021.
Let us know if you want to participate!
You don’t need to RSVP to visit the Public Exhibition
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HEAT SEEKING: a hide & seek slow dance
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Doors at 7 pm, Dance from 8-midnight
cSPACE Eau Claire
Theme by Desiree Nault, with Rebecca Reid & Ryan Bourne, and Caitlind Brown & Wayne Garrett
This year, we’re welcoming the return of the slow dance! Featuring a live band and communal movement games, this slow dance gives dancers the opportunity to question their relationship to touch, movement, music, sensation, space, and what the heck dancing even is.
The theme of this edition is Hiding and Seeking while dancing. We invite dancers to explore the theme through games and challenges that structure the event. We will provide an example of the games and challenges so you can get a sense of whether this will be fun for you sometime before the event.
P.S.
- You don’t have to bring a partner.
- We will bring props but feel free to bring your own.
- Wear whatever makes you feel like dancing.
- There will be a few snacks and lots of water. Alcohol or BYO? TBC.
- There are no washrooms in the space, but there are facilities in a little building behind cSPACE Eau Claire, or at a hotel nearby
Want to attend the dance? There’s extremely limited space! Make sure you RSVP in advance…
RVSP to attend
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THE HIBERNATION STATION 4: public access TV for a live studio audience!
Friday, March 1, 2024
Doors at 7 pm, Show from 8-10 pm
cSPACE Eau Claire
Theme by Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett
Hearkening to the joys of late night talk shows and public access TV, The Hibernation Station returns with an all-star cast of live performance art, videos, music, interactive bits, comedy, dance, and fun fun fun! Featuring quips and quagmires from the infamous Saskatchewan slew crew SCN (Swampy Communications Network).
Want to be part of our live studio audience? Ready to laugh, cheer, and cry on demand (just like the live broadcasts of old)? We’d love to have you! There’s extremely limited space! Make sure you RSVP in advance to attend…*
RVSP to attend
*Are we out of space IRL? Never fear! A recording will be available online after the event.
THE HIBERNATION PROJECT 