Itinerant performances
2020
As you may guess, since 2020, COVID-19 has shaken Jamii to its core values by greatly limiting social connection.
At Jamii, we believe it is our social responsibility to care for our community during such extraordinary times.
With the intent of keeping our social cohesion vibrant and contribute to our neighbours' mental health, Jamii continues to offer a series of free live performances to your doorstep.
In the Spring of 2020, Jamii’s mobile theatre, the Kisanii Hub, traveled the residential streets of The Esplanade neighbourhood in the early evening, while delivering a musical performances.
March 30th: Domanique Grant
April 1: Leen Hamo & Iman Abdul Razzak - co-presented with Canadian Stage
April 3: Jeremiah Sparks - co-presented with Soulpepper Theatre Company
April 6: Sara Luey
April 21: Johnny Toronto
April 23: Alessandro Montelli - co-presented with Canadian Stage
May 3rd: Jeremiah Sparks - co-presented with Canadian Stage, in partnership with Building Roots
May 13th: Lua Shayenne & Cece Haba - co-presented with Canadian Stage, sponsored by RBC
May 20th: Arlene Paculan - co-presented with Canadian Stage, sponsored by RBC
June 4th: Cleon Wong, Ayelen Liberona, Malavika Santhosh, Ekaterina - co-presented with Canadian Stage, sponsored by RBC
No outside gatherings took place during these performances, as neighbours were encouraged to watch from their home windows, balconies, doorsteps or front yard. The Kisanii Hub rode by at a slow pace for all to enjoy the magic of music, while celebrating the importance of staying home during these extraordinary times, practicing physical distancing and slowing down the spread of COVID-19. However, people were encouraged to make some noise as we passed by.
We hoped to uplift the spirits and contribute to better mental health for us all as we face the challenges of social isolation. Back then, we believed that such live itinerant performances had the potential to trigger a wide range of heartening emotions, encouraging a sense of community while generally letting people know that we were here for each other.
We could not cover every single streets of our community, but we are always trying our best to cover as many as possible.
Keep an ear out for musical magic happening in your street!
The Kisanii Hub was produced in 2019 by Jamii.
Jamii is grateful for the support of the diverse organization who contributed to bring this project to life:
Canadian Heritage - financial support
Canada Council for the Arts - financial support
Laneway Project - financial support
Charlie Freewheels- cargo bike donation
St Lawrence Market BIA - financial support
St Lawrence Neighbourhood Association - financial support
A special thank you to all those who contributed to make this project possible, including:
Isorine Marc - Original Idea (first as a Roulotte (2014), then Caboose (2015) then Kisanii Hub (2018))
Jacque Fortier - Original Concept Caboose
CORPUS Dance Projects - Co-production for the Original Concept as a Caboose
Arnaud Vidal - Contribution to original design for the Kisanii Hub
Raji Aujla - Consulting for the Kisanii Hub
Gurpreet Ghana - Consulting for the Kisanii Hub
Arthur Klimowicz - Consulting for the Kisanii Hub
Fred Dilkes - Consulting for the Kisanii Hub
Vindent's Custom Ebikes & Batteries - Building of the bike trailer & install of e-power for the Kisanii Hub
Andrew Patterson - Artwork for both cargo and trailer for the Kisanii Hub
Jamii is grateful for the financial support of the St Lawrence Neighbourhood Association who supports visibility for artists local to the St Lawrence Neighbourhood.
Jamii is honored to be co-presenting some of seven performances with Canadian Stage, our local theatre.
Jamii is proud to have RBC as a sponsor for three of these performances.
Supported by