“They all dreamt of each other that night, as was natural…”*

MOCA has invited artist and writer Lisa Steele to organize a series of talks and screenings that intersect, interact, or just plain act up with the lively resonances that exist between the iconic contemplations of Chantal Akerman and the deeply, contemporary investigations of Basma Alsharif.

Serena Lee speaks about her work in video and performance in a talk entitled And Other Imaginary Lines.

Serena Lee’s practice stems from a fascination with polyphony and its radical potential to map power, perception, and belonging. She plays with cinema, voice, text, installation, performance, and conversation. Since 2010, Serena has been collaborating as part of Read-in, researching political, embodied, and situated practices of reading through shifting modes and disciplines; and more recently, as SHATTERED MOON ALLIANCE with artist Christina Battle, an ongoing sci-fi world-building project. Practising and collaborating internationally and close to home, recent projects have been realized with transmediale/Embassy of Canada (Berlin), Nynnyt/Hanaholmen Cultural Centre (Helsinki), Cubitt Gallery (London), Gemaal Op Zuid (Rotterdam), Vtape, Antimatter Film Festival (Victoria), Art Spin/Planet Storage, Blackwood Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery (London), Cow House Studios (Dublin), The Research Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale, YYZ Artists’ Outlet, Forest City Gallery (London, ON), Images Festival, FADO Performance/The Theatre Centre, Regent Park Film Festival, and Mountain Standard Time (Calgary).

Serena is active in the Toronto arts community through involvement with the Board of Directors for Vtape, Gendai Gallery, and Trinity Square Video, and professional roles with the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and OCAD University. Serena holds an MFA from the Piet Zwart Institute (Rotterdam) and an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music (CA). Serena is third-generation Chinese-Canadian and was born in Toronto.

Toronto based Lisa Steele works in video, photography, film and performance as well as writing and curating on video and media arts. Her videotapes have been extensively exhibited nationally and internationally and some of Steele’s best known work has focused on the female body and its depiction in film. With long-time collaborator Kim Tomczak, she co-founded Vtape; and is a recipient of the YWCA Woman of Distinction Achievement Award and the “Long Haul” Untitled Art Award, and, with Tomczak, the Governor General’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in Visual and Media Arts.

The event is free to attend, but does require registration. Please sign up in advance to ensure your spot.

Museum admission is required for entry to Chantal Akerman and Basma Alsharif’s exhibitions, which can be purchased online or at the museum.

Register here

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