Piano Burning

Rising from the ashes of this summer’s fire ban, Queer Arts Festival and Full Circle: First Nations Performance will reignite our Piano Burning event on Sunday, October 24 at Mountain View Cemetery. Curated by SD Holman and Margo Kane, Annea Lockwood’s infamous work — where acclaimed virtuoso Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa performs a piano as it burns to ashes — is re-envisioned through the lens of historically banned Indigenous fire rituals and contemporary global warming.

Margo Kane and Full Circle: First Nations Performance ground this event with cultural knowledge and a focus on Two-Spirit artists: Sempúlyan, who will speak about the spiritual role of fire to communicate with ancestors; Russell Wallace, who has composed a new piece for the occasion; designer Evan Ducharme, who created Iwaasa’s fire-proof ball gown; and Squamish Nation councillor Orene Askew (aka DJ O Show), who will set the piano alight. Dancer Eowynn Enquist will invoke the four corners with choreography by Mascall Dance to Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata,

Bring a chair, bring a blanket, and dress for the weather! Venue maps will be emailed to all ticket holders.

Annea Lockwood’s Piano Burning Score (1968 London);

Set upright piano (not a grand) in an open space with the lid closed.

Spill a little lighter fluid on a twist of paper and place inside, near the pedals.

Light it. Balloons may be stapled to the piano.

Play whatever pleases you for as long as you can.

Featuring:

Russell Wallace

Sempúlyan Gonzales

Evan Ducharme

Orene Askew

Eowynn Enquist

&

Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa