7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art

7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art 7a*mgr8 season 2 (2025-26) has begun! For current info and video archives, visit our website, www.7a-11d.ca in the alternate year.

7a*11d (incorporated as Toronto Performance Art Collective in 2012) formed in January 1997 out of a collective interest in encouraging Toronto's burgeoning performance art activity. By August 1997 13 founding artists (representing several loosely organized artist collectives) produced the first annual 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, a successful event bringing together approximat

ely 60 artists from Canada, the US, and Australia. 1998's 2nd International Festival of Performance Art was a two-part festival (in August and October), again with over 50 artists from Canada, the US, and Europe. After the 1998 festival, we decided to move to a biannual programming structure - presenting the International Festival every 2 years with dynamic performance projects (residencies, exchanges, conferences, etc.) The 1999 project was a residency with acclaimed artist Rachel Rosenthal. The 3rd International Festival of Performance Art took place in October/November 2000, with over 40 artists from Canada, the US, Europe, and Australia. In 2001 we organized ReciproCity/RéciproCité, a site sensitive series of performances and panels linking Vancouver, Montréal and Toronto. This sought to initiate and extend the discourse around site specific performance art as a vehicle for social commentary. In 2002 we organized the 4th International Festival of Performance Art, and in 2004 was the 5th International Festival of Performance Art. In 2002 we organized the 4th 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art; in 2004, the 5th, and the 6th in 2006. In 2008, we celebrated our “7-11″ anniversary, the 7th festival in 11 years, with 7 Creative Residents and a stellar roster of artists from around the world. We continued with our 8th and 9th editions in 2010 and 2012, and our 10th edition is scheduled for October 29 – November 2, 2014.

TPAC’s website https://7a-11d.ca/ is constantly being updated with new and archival materials, especially as the 7a*mgr8...
04/01/2026

TPAC’s website https://7a-11d.ca/ is constantly being updated with new and archival materials, especially as the 7a*mgr8 project unfolds. Today we are pleased to announce recently added video and other documentation from several years:

From 1998:

Paul Couillard’s eyewitness account of the Yoko Ono Birthday Party fundraiser

From the 2000 Rachel Rosenthal residency:

4-page PDF of the Ur-Boor program (presented in cooperation with FADO at the duMaurier Theatre Centre)

From the Montréal edition of ReciproCity/Réciprocité (2001):

videos Tagny Duff’s untitled performance and Josée Termblay’s untitled performance

From the 10th 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art (2014):

videos of lo bil’s The Clearing, Maria Hupfield’s Partial Recall, Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro’s Le DePays, Fausto Méndez Luna’s Cocina incoherente [Incoherent cuisine], and Aidana María Rico Chávez’s De la serie variaciones sobre el vuelo. El cielo [From the series on flight. The sky]

PDF score of lo bil’s The Clearing

Didier Morelli’s eyewitness description of John Court’s untitled performance “John Court: Teetering on the Brink”

From the 11th 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art (2016):

videos of performances by Chun Hua Catherine Dong’s The Arrival, Bartolomé Ferrando’s Sound performance with newspaper and Sound performance with little objects, and Brianna MacLellan’s Abandon the chicken but continue to dance

7a*11d is co-presenting 3 programs with Images Festival including:Epic fails, or, ordinary failure just wasn’t enough | ...
03/26/2026

7a*11d is co-presenting 3 programs with Images Festival including:

Epic fails, or, ordinary failure just wasn’t enough | Cassie Packham, Dayna McLeod, Fox Maxy, Jake Starr, Marion Balac, Mikiki

Curated by Kiera Boult

APRIL 11 | 7:30pm
📍Innis Town Hall | 2 Sussex Avenue
Screening

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺-2000𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘺𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 .𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘴, 3𝘋-𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘳-𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘛𝘔𝘓 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵.

Visit imagesfestival.com for a full description of this program and more information!

Co-presented with ImagiNATIVE, Summerworks, 7A*11D and Factory Media Centre.

Image: Bio (space/opal), Cassie Packham (2024). Video still.

7a*11d is co-presenting 3 programs with Images Festival including:We’re here to please you, Baby | Deirdre Logue, E. Jan...
03/26/2026

7a*11d is co-presenting 3 programs with Images Festival including:

We’re here to please you, Baby | Deirdre Logue, E. Jane, Renèe Helèna Browne, Zhongyao Wang

curated by Kiera Boult

APRIL 12 | 3:00 pm
📍Innis Town Hall | 2 Sussex Avenue
Screening

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘝, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦, ‘𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺’ 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘢’𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴, 𝘒𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮, 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢: 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘒𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘢’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦.

Please join us after the program for a conversation with Kiki and Riss Sean Cruz, and find tickets for the program on our website.

Co-presented with InterAccess, Vtape, Inside Out, and ED Video

Image: Sacred Disease, Renèe Helèna Browne (2019). Video still.

7a*11d is co-presenting 3 programs with Images Festival including:My Father’s Imagination II | Eshan RafiAPRIL 11 | 12:3...
03/26/2026

7a*11d is co-presenting 3 programs with Images Festival including:

My Father’s Imagination II | Eshan Rafi

APRIL 11 | 12:30pm
📍The Commons | 401 Richmond St W, 4th Floor
Performance

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 1950𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘌𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘙𝘢𝘧𝘪’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 1970𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘌𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺-𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.

Visit imagesfestival.com for a full description of this program and more information!

Presented in partnership with Art Metropole
Co-presented with 7a*11d and Toronto Dance Theatre

Image: My Father’s Imagination, Eshan Rafi (2025). Performance. Image courtesy of the artist.

03/23/2026

Here we see Erika DeFreitas walk through the names of objects in her 2018 performance “nothing ever so straight.“ (12th 7a*11d), a performance being responded to by Claudia Edwards in “Palimpsest ” for 7a*mgr8.
https://7a-11d.ca/festival_artist/edwards-claudia/

03/19/2026

Erika DeFreitas discusses her curation of objects in her 2018 performance “nothing ever so straight.“ (12th 7a*11d) in relation to Claudia Edwards' use of objects in “Palimpsest ” for 7a*mgr8.

Full Interview https://7a-11d.ca/festival_artist/edwards-claudia/

03/16/2026

Claudia Edwards discusses their use of objects in “Palimpsest ” for 7a*mgr8, and how their interest in “things” is tethered to how objects are marked by and therefore evidence of time. Claudia relates this to the use of objects by Erika Defreitas in “nothing ever so straight.“ (12th 7a*11d, 2018).

Full Interview: https://7a-11d.ca/festival_artist/edwards-claudia/

03/16/2026

Claudia Edwards .info discusses their use of objects in “Palimpsest ” for 7a*mgr8, and how their interest in “things” is tethered to how objects are marked by and therefore evidence of time. Claudia relates this to the use of objects by Erika Defreitas in “nothing ever so straight.“ (12th 7a*11d, 2018).

(Full Interview at LINK IN BIO)

03/11/2026

7a*mgr8 concludes with Claudia Edwards’ .info “Palimpsest ”, inspired by “nothing ever so straight.“ by Erika Defreitas (12th 7a*11d, 2018).

https://7a-11d.ca/festival_artist/edwards-claudia/

This diptych features Claudia on the left side submerging objects related to their family archive in water, measuring their volume by the displaced water that was then frozen in the suspended and melting block of ice on the right.

7a*11d finally has a newsletter! Sign up here: https://substack.com/ as this way we can keep in touch about our upcoming...
03/09/2026

7a*11d finally has a newsletter! Sign up here: https://substack.com/ as this way we can keep in touch about our upcoming performance events, web programming, archive updates and any other projects that might pique your fancy as occasional correspondence sent right to your inbox.

Lots of stuff int he works for this year, and we look forward to keeping you posted about what’s to come!

02/12/2026

An excerpt of “Passing” by ARTIFACTS, the performance duo comprised of Leena Raudvee and Pam Patterson from the 3rd 7a*11d (2000) which is currently being responded to by k.g. Guttman for 7a*mgr8.

https://7a-11d.ca/festival_artist/guttman-k-g/

02/09/2026

Leena Raudvee expands on how a practice of talking informed her and Pam Patterson’s performance duo ARTIFACTS, of which their performance “Passing” from the 3rd 7a*11d (2000) is currently being responded to by k.g. Guttman for 7a*mgr8.

Full interview: https://7a-11d.ca/festival_artist/guttman-k-g/

Address

Toronto, ON

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art:

Share

Our Story

Our collective, initiated in 1997 as 7a*11d and incorporated in 2012 under the name Toronto Performance Art Collective (TPAC), was formed out of an interest in encouraging Toronto’s performance art activity. By August 1997 13 founding artists (representing several loosely organized artist collectives) produced the first 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, an event that brought together 60 artists from Canada, the US, and Australia. 1998’s 2nd International Festival of Performance Art was in two parts (in August and October), with over 50 artists from Canada, the US, and Europe. After the 1998 festival, we moved to a biennial programming structure—presenting the festival every 2 years and developing other projects less suited to a festival format (residencies, exchanges, conferences, etc.) in the alternate year. The 1999 project was a residency with acclaimed artist Rachel Rosenthal. The 3rd 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art took place in October/November 2000, with over 40 artists from Canada, the US, Europe, and Australia. In 2001 we organized ReciproCity/RéciproCité, a series of performances and panels linking Vancouver, Montréal and Toronto. ReciproCity/RéciproCité sought to initiate and extend the discourse around site specific performance art as a vehicle for social commentary. In 2002 we organized the 4th 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art; in 2004, the 5th, and the 6th in 2006. In 2008, we celebrated our “7-11” anniversary, the 7th festival in 11 years, with 7 Creative Residents and a stellar roster of artists from around the world. We continued with our 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th editions in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 respectively. In 2017 we returned to off-year programing with 7a*md8, a project that considered the impact of lens-based practices on performance (with a variety of events including outdoor screenings of performances for camera, a live-streamed event featuring artists from across Canada as well as the Americas, Europe and Asia, and a series of social media residencies), followed by the 12th biennial festival in 2018. We are currently presenting KinesTHESES, featuring 10 residencies developing projects that privilege audience participants' tactile-kinesthetic (movement and touch) senses. The next 7a*11d festival is scheduled for October 2020.