The ARRAY: Supermassive Black Hole

danielle Mackenzie Long

danielle Mackenzie Long uses performance, new media and film to create work that surpasses gendered bodies through visual experimentation and expanded audience access. They hold gratitude to the stewards of the land that they currently reside on; the stolen and unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm nations. Shifting between performing, producing and computational creation they have worked with Action at a Distance/Vanessa Goodman, Shion Skye Carter, Jasmine Liaw, self checkout, FORM, Notebook, Plastic Orchid Factory and shared works through InterAccess, New Works, Boombox and TO Love-In among others.

Shion Skye Carter

Shion Skye Carter (they/she) is a dance artist from Gifu, Japan, based in Vancouver, Canada on the unceded, traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples. Through a choreographic practice embodying calligraphy and a distinct movement language of sensitive intensity, their works take form as abstracted storytelling and archive: contemplations on memory as heirloom, dance as respite, and performance as imperfect artifact. Shion’s projects have been performed across Canada, as well as in Berlin, and Paris.

Jarin Schexnider

Jarin Schexnider is an arts administrator and performer who has built spaces of creative expression for fellow artists, explorers, and tinkerers since 2009. Currently, they do this work through What Lab, which Jarin founded in 2018. When they can, they create and perform site-specific, participatory, chaos-adjacent performance work.

Originally from the coastal swamps of south Louisiana, Jarin now calls the Coast Salish territory known as Vancouver home. They hold a Masters of Archival Science from UBC, and completed their undergraduate studies in Drama at Bennington College in Vermont. They call themselves a mom, a mover, a poet, a quilter, a bike-rider, and so much more.

Khalil Alomar

Khalil Alomar is an interdisciplinary artist creating through experimental sound, video art, installation, intermedia performance, and creative writing. His practice leans into glitch and absurdist environments to address complex issues derived from colonial-capitalist systems. In his practice the glitch represents an agent of non-conformity that refuses to be classified or subjugated. Complementary, meeting the audience through the absurd allows him to expose and criticize the mechanics of late-stage capitalism, creating environments where he navigates these structures without being weighed down by them, opening up space to imagine alternate narratives. Building his own custom interfaces and software is a practical extension of his work and curiosity. He often creates tools that merge analog circuitry with digital systems, supporting time-based storytelling and multimedia stage design. Across his poetic and political practice, he focuses on the tension generated when human, more than human, and technological systems collide. His theoretical foundation draws on Sara Ahmed, Legacy Russell, and Donna Haraway while his art practice dialogues with Tarek Atoui, Nicolas Jaar, and John Cage. Recent collaborations include works and awards with the BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, vActory, What Lab, New Media Gallery, Western Front Gallery, Kokoro Dance Society and Theatre Replacement.

Rafael Zen

Rafael Zen is a Brazilian-Canadian sound performer and experimental composer creating on the stolen lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. They research cyborg performance, wearable technologies, speculative languages, queer identity, and noise/disruption in improvisational composition. Their work blends video, theatre, installation, noise collage and sound performance, engaging with queer cinema and decolonial storytelling. They hold a Master’s in Contemporary Art and currently research New Media + Sound Art at Emily Carr University. Recent collaborations include works and awards with the Buschlen Mowatt Nichol Foundation + Vancouver Biennale, BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery, Western Front Gallery, What Lab, Kokoro Dance Society and Theatre Replacement.

Plastik Theatriks

Plastik Theatriks is a Canadian-based theatre company led by immigrants Regina Ríos and Loreto Andrea. With absurdism, whimsy and eeriness as their spearheads, they create by experimenting with different forms of Physical Theatre, such as puppetry, objects, clown, and mask, focusing on visual storytelling, and moving images emancipated from traditional text. Their show Popurrí has been performed at Victoria Fringe, rEvolver and Vancouver Fringe. Regis and Lore are thrilled to be part of The Array!

Jesse Del Fierro – Devisor/Performer

Jesse Del Fierro is a second-generation, non-binary, Filipinx – Canadian actor, dramaturg and prop builder with the privilege to work on the stolen, ancestral lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. Their work centres community, culture and immersive storytelling with a love for collaboration on and off screens and stages. Their theatre work has brought them across Turtle Island, performing in festivals like PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and SummerWorks. Intersectionality is our reality, and we will always be stronger together. Free Palestine.

Jessica Hood – Devisor/Designer

Jessica Hood (she/they) is a queer, disabled theatre and animation artist and white settler based on the unceded, ancestral lands of the Qayqayt First Nation, and the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples, colonially known as New Westminster and Vancouver, BC. Jessica holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Simon Fraser University and a diploma in 2D Character Animation from VanArts. They are the co-founder and co-artistic producer of unladylike co., an interdisciplinary multimedia production company that creates new femme-focused works in a feminist, collaborative, and inclusive process.

Dave Mott – Director/Devisor

Dave is a BFA graduate of University of Victoria , founding member of Upintheair Theatre, an actor, director, performance deviser, playwright and creator. He was born on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Coast Salish People, in the city known as North Vancouver, and is committed to betterment of these lands through generosity, sharing and respect for others. He holds a non-hierarchical world view, values inclusion, loves nature, and reveres Indigenous culture, ceremony, and storytelling. Committed to the creation of new plays and performance, supporting and presenting artists at transitional points of their careers, community building, and training the next generation of theatre makers, Dave’s true passions are exhibited best when he is mentoring artists, presenting their work, and visiting other Canadian cities to view works in development.

Sarah Roa – Devisor/Performer

Sarah is a Filipino Canadian; an Actor, Creator, Producer, Teaching Artist and Arts Administrator. She holds an Acting Diploma from Douglas College and a BFA in Acting from UBC. Selected performance credits include: Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bard), Mary’s Wedding (The Firehall Arts Centre), In Wonderland (Alberta Theatre Projects), Turn of the Screw (Aenigma Theatre), Robinson Crusoe + Friday (Axis Theatre), The Drowning Girls (Theatre North West), and Pride & Prejudice (Arts Club). Sarah is invested in enriching her skills and passions by continuously learning, adapting and being inspired by her community. As a BIPOC Artist, Sarah is committed to uplift new and emerging artists by creating a space where they feel valued and honored.