I Should Have Left You When is grounded in the processing of memories and the journey of self-reclamation that follows a significant loss. In this instance, you are witnessing a loss of self.

Inspired by the work of Sophie Calle’s “Exquisite Pain” and Syrus Marcus Ware’s “Random Access Memory: A Portal to Multidimensions,” this is a temporary, sensory-rich installation is a container for reflection, rest, and release. By creating two worlds in one space, a cold, jarring, space that inspires feelings of discomfort and recollection and a warm, welcoming space that encourages reclamation, calm, and openness, I created a place to engage with difficult memories and then be cared for immediately after that reckoning, in the same breath. It is a space to resist all that does not serve you. This space is yours, and it is ours, to hold each other without judgment.

Through audio and textual narratives, this work tells the story of a person who is on a journey of rediscovering their “self” after leaving a destabilizing and emotionally abusive relationship. From my perspective as a young millennial Black woman, this is a story about how Black women are conditioned to be of service to their male partners. To settle for less than what they need and what they deserve because we are constantly being told that nobody wants us. To allow socio-political and cultural constructs like desirability politics, the infamous ‘scarcity mindset,’ birth and marriage timelines for birthing people, and the myth of the model minority to skew how Black women view their value in the world.

In this space, you are invited to leave your mark, whatever that means to you at this moment.

WOW! An unforgettable learning experience!

From June 1-9, 2022, I was in Montreal attending Conversations on Performance, a seminar for young artist and critics held at Festival TransAmériques. During this time, myself and a cohort of 12 artists from all over Canada attended shows, met with presenting artists, and had challenging discussions about what it means to produce, critique, and consider contemporary performance in local, national, and international contexts.

I highly recommend this seminar to artists who are interested in Curation, Dramaturgy, Creation, and Artistic Producing!

If you are curious and want to talk about CoP or FTA, contact me!

In March of 2022, I completed my year long internship in Artistic Production (Curation and Dramaturgy) with adelheid (formerly a co-partnership with Canadian Stage). It was an incredibly transformative year and I am beyond grateful to the entire adelheid team for their generosity, patience and support!

Picture: A behind-the-scenes moment with the cast and creator of ‘on air’.

Choreographer and Artistic Director: Heidi Strauss

Dancers: Syreeta Hector, Amanda Pye, Jane Alison McKinney

Artistic Producer: Rachel Penny

and then I got angry delivers an autobiographical narrative that is physically and verbally articulated in a conversation between the self, the body and the imagined audience.

This short film depicts the mania experienced when encountering the blatant falsity of safety in institutional spaces. An expression of the temporality of Black pain, anger, and release, this embodied declaration on film is a processing of emotions many racialized people experience in the immediate moment when encountering oppression. This act of performative resistance functions as a reclamation of space and presence.

If you are interested in viewing this work, please send me an email and I will share the short film and the corresponding instructions.

In May 2022, I provided dramaturgical support for Penetanguishene artist, Aliyah Beckles for the inaugural Dance & Design residency in Orillia. We spent 3 days workshopping a beautiful piece in the Orillia Opera House space that will make its debut later in the 22/23 season.

Congratulations, Aliyah!

Emerging lighting designer: Vera Oleynikova