done and done

the iF is over for this year. stay tuned for further info.

remaining activities

this tuesday, july 25th at grossman's tavern, starting at 8pm: Lin, Gordon and Pamplemousse Explosion. for only 5$ come hear wonderful music from folk to jazz to rock to acid jazz. re: headliners Pamplemousse Explosion: Explode your inner pamp-fruit at the ceremonious induction of the Pamplemousse Explosion’s new album Sorry, Cecil. This absurdist jazz-rock duo from Montreal explores juicy, unconventional themes such as time travel, agenda-killing, fossil fuels and birth control. The legendary Potato on percussion and the delicious Banana on keys and vocals will rock your innards inside out as they reveal the sweet and sour musical squishiness of their fun and only slightly disturbed imaginations. Absurdity and melody collide to create the Pamplemousse Explosion! Scrumptious!

tuesday, july 25th and wednesday, july 26th at the green room from 7pm to 10pm leaving every half hour: Car Stories. for reservations call: 416-669-2199. it's pay what you can. see www.optative.net.carstories.

wednesday, july 26th at studio BLR at 8:30pm: ghost of the tree. Award winning actor Mackenzie Gruer stars in the critically acclaimed play, Ghost of the Tree by Canadian writer/director Charles Robertson. Her portrayal of seven generations of mothers and daughters in one family has won enthusiastic praise from top Canadian theatre professionals, and touched the hearts of audiences across the province. Through a series of linked monologues, we meet each young woman at a turning point in her life, that of impending motherhood. Societal pressures and personal dreams flesh out each character in her own time, and help us to understand the fate of this particular family tree. 10$

VENUE ADDRESSES:

studio BLR: 15 Lower Sherborne St. (on the North East corner of Esplanade and Sherborne in the siesta nouveaux)

green room: 296 Brunswick (entrance in alley: look for someone wearing coloured sunglasses)

grossman's tavern: 379 Spadina (between Dundas and College on Spadina. it's exactly on the corner of Spadina and Nassau)

finally!

Hooray! The inFringement is here! The following artists and venues are confirmed:

Thursday, July 20th, 2006 @GROSSMAN’S TAVERN: live music
8pm to 9pm THIS
10pm to 11pm TURNSTILES
11pm to 12am REDBVARN


Tuesday, July 25th, 2006 @GROSSMAN’S TAVERN: live music
7pm to 8pm LIN
8pm to 9pm THE BLOWS
9:30pm to 11:30pm PAMPLEMOUSSE EXPLOSION

Car Stories: leaving every 30 minutes from GREEN ROOM: interactive theatre
Monday, July 24: 7pm - 10pm
Tuesday, July 25: 7pm - 10pm
Wednesday, July 26: 7pm - 10pm

Still to come: the ghost of the tree, bluegrass music and more from the blows and LIN at studio BLR…(dates and times currently being confirmed with the artists)

GROSSMAN’S TAVERN: 379 Spadina Ave. (at Spadina and Nassau/ between Dundas and College)
GREEN ROOM: 296 Brunswick (just south of Bloor/entrance in the alley around the Tranzac parking lot)

guess who's back

how much do i love debating with this unknown person about art, politics, and who's the better diplomat? on a scale of one to ten, i'm at about 9. so here's some more...

i appreciate your more positive wishes this time around. i have a feeling that if i were to meet you in person (if you're not already a close friend...?), sparks would be flying around us like firecrackers. i like you.

seeing as i used to share a mortgage and bed with someone who also worked in a science lab, and seeing as i was exposed to some fairly scientific minds during this time period, i can say with all honesty that yes. i have found the same political conviction in people who work in science labs. in fact, i would go so far as to say that the scientists i knew (know) had similar, if not stronger, political convictions than i. if you know me, dear anonymous one, you probably know that i am totally apolitical. as in i don't care. as in i hate politics.

my mind finds no passion in issues of political import, but i truly do want to help out a community of people who have something to say (whatever that is), who don't have the means or place to do so. and the inFringement has provided a name under which to do just that. and they have a mandate. and it's not a harmful mandate. that's my opinion.

so this time, i thank you for the dose of positivity. rock on. see you in the cyber world of virtual confidence. bisous.

fun and fun

the festival is looking great! we will be screening short films, there will be bands, some theatre, some circus, some photography exhibits and we're not finished taking applications yet! we are also looking for storey-tellers, spoken word... again, anyone with anything to say. so feel free to fill out the application (at right) and send it to amylynpagnotta@gmail.com.

DEAR SORRY…

To all people who care to criticize the festival mandate: PLEASE READ THE MANDATE FULLY BEFOREHAND. Do not become negative without reason!

I would like to respond to a confused bit commentary on our last blog entry.

The person who calls him or herself SORRY, I'M NOT AN POLITICAL ARTIST wrote:
What the hell is with number 5? "Oppose oppressive structures"? I know artists are mostly MLACs (marxists, leninists, anarchists, and communists), but I was under the impression that their sponsors and organizers were normal humans with pulses. You do realize that the whole myth of the "oppressed artist" is a propoganda tool to popularize radical politics, and that artists, as a whole, are remarkably susceptible to misinformed political views. Art should be about the wonderful creativity that exists within the human spirit, and NOT about politics. Politically driven art is as repulsive as the politics of artists. It is disappointing that your festival has mandated it.

In reference to our 5th mandate, we write that we “encourage, although not be limited to” creating a place to discuss progress and oppression. As mentioned above, please read more carefully next time. Enough said.

We don’t check our artists’ political views at the door. So I can’t tell you if we add up to a majority of MLACs (mind-less-airhead-creeps) or not. We only ask that we are humane. And, if you can believe it, our sponsors and organizers actually ARE “normal humans with pulses”!

I wasn’t aware that “artists, as a whole, are remarkably susceptible to misinformed political views”. I don’t really know where to begin or want to believe that I have to respond to this:

1- you are discriminating against artists.
2- we are ALL ('non-artists' included) susceptible to misinformed political views. This happens for many reasons, perhaps most notably because politicians’ views are rarely consistent and, or consistently upheld.
3- how can you or anyone decipher who the artists are? Some of us lurk in the darkest corners of science labs, lacrosse fields, strip clubs, hospitals, law firms, political arenas…. Some believe we are all artists….

It is the opinion of the Toronto inFringement Festival that art should be about whatever its creator(s) and observer(s) want it to be about. Personally, I find your theme of “wonderful creativity that exists within the human spirit” a little overdone and naive. But maybe I’m jaded.

If you find the politics of art so repulsive, why did you engage yourself?

To be clear, this festival isn’t about creating a myth of oppression. It aims to go beyond oppression thus enabling all voices including (although not being limited to) those that are rarely heard.

Thanks for the dose of negativity.

Best,
Barf Tartare

WHAT IS THE iNFRINGEMENT?

The infringement Festival is an interdisciplinary festival open to all critical artists.

Celebrating freedom of expression and designed as a real arts democracy, this festival is a critical response to the oppressive neoliberal worldview and all its billboard trucks, televisions, flyers, advertisements, jingles, made-for-TV Wars; and the depoliticisation of people through this diversionary Spectacle.

The infringement welcomes a variety of performances and cultural resistance: theatre groups, performers, street activism, political theatre, musicians, radical performance, visual artists, films, marginalized arts, spoken-word, puppet shows, disadvantaged groups, and anyone wishing to artistically infringe on the monoculture that creeps into every corner of our lives.

The festival aims to emphasize both critical practice in the arts, and artistic practice in activism. It also aims to provide a positive environment that encourages and nurtures critical art.

To avoid being co-opted, the infringement festival follows a mandate that looks like this:

1- The infringement festival is free for all artists and activists to participate in. The festival will never charge a registration fee and participants will keep 100% of their box office.
2- The festival is open to all critical artists and will never discriminate, set entry criteria or censor.
3- The festival is run as a non-hierarchical arts democracy.
4- The festival will only accept ethical companies that pose no conflict of interest as sponsors, as the interests of the festival's participants come before those of the sponsors.
5- The festival will encourage, although not be limited to, progressive acts that encourage discussion and oppose oppressive structures.

Le Festival Infringement est un festival interdisciplinaire ouvert à tous les artistes alternatifs.

Célébrant la liberté d'expression et conçu comme une véritable démocratie des arts, ce festival est né en réaction à l'omniprésence du point de vue néolibéral et deses camions publicitaires, télévisions, prospectus, publicités, jingles, campagnes de TV , et de la dépolitisation des gens plongés dans ce divertissement permanent.

Le festival accueille des réalisations en tout genre: Troupes de théatre, interprètes, activisme de rue, théatre engagé, musiciens, réalisations radicales, arts visuels, films, arts marginaux, arts parlés, marionnettes, groupes désavantagés, et quiconque souhaitant empiéter sur la monoculture rampante qui envahit chaque aspect de notre quotidien.

L'objectif du festival est de soutenir une démarche critique dans les arts et une approche artistique dans l'activisme. Le festival tend à offrir un espace positif qui encourage et nourrisse un art engagé.

Pour évider les pratiques de cooptation, le festival poursuit un mandat énoncé selon les principes suivants:

1- La participation au Festival Infringement est gratuite pour tous les artistes et les activistes. Le Festival s'engage à ne jamais demander de frais d'inscription et les participants conservent 100% des droits d'entrée.
2- Le festival est ouvert à tout artiste alternatif et ne posera jamais de critères d'acceptation, de discrimination ou de censure.
3- Le Festival est organisé de façon non-hiérarchique, comme une démocratie des arts.
4- Le Festival n'acceptera comme soutiens financiers que des entreprises qui ne posent pas de conflits d'intérêt, les intérêts des participants au Festival passant, à ses yeux, avant ceux des entreprises parrainant l'évènement.
5- Le festival encourage, bien qu'il ne s'y limite pas, les réalisations progressistes poussant au débat et s'opposant aux structures oppressives.

TO GET INVOLVED, FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FORM OR SEND AN EMAIL TO amylynpagnotta@gmail.com