Ep. 17 - NOMADA: art as ecological practice

PuSh Play

Diana Lopez Soto discusses how ecology and land can connect to art. See NOMADA at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Feb 1-3.

Show Notes

Gabrielle Martin discusses the upcoming PuSh co-commission, NOMADA, with creator Diana Lopez Soto. Gabrielle and Diana discuss how aerial dance contributes to NOMADA’s dramaturgy, the research and development process behind this piece, how ecology and land can connect to art, and more, including:

• Why aerial dance and what does it contribute to the dramaturgy of Nomada?

• How did research fit into the development of the piece? What methods were used?

• How did you choose the right collaborators for this project and for the inherent knowledge exchange?

• How do NOMADA’s theme relate to Diana’s wider practice?

• What is a conversation between art and ecology? How are artists involved in sustainability? How does this influence the work and art process?

• How do we connect to the land, and the larger communities to involve them in this process?

About Diana

Diana is an award-winning multidisciplinary Mexican/Canadian artist, mother and land caretaker. She has presented and exhibited her work nationally and internationally in France, Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, the USA and Canada. She creates, co-creates and performs site-specific work, vertical dance, art installations and experimental film.

Her interest in sustainable practices informs the direction of her collaborations and offerings. Some of her latest achievements are her participation at the Guapamacataro Art and Ecology residency, the Vancouver International Vertical Dance Summit and the ‘Ritual de las Aguadoras’ with the Tirindikua family from the Barrio de Santo Santiago Michoacan. Diana is the co-creator of Land Embodiment Lab with Coman Poon, an artist associate of Vanguardia Dance Projects and collaborates with Hercinia Arts, Femme du Feu, Look Up Theatre and Victoria Mata.

Land Acknowledgement

Diana joins the podcast from Peterborough, Ontario, in Treaty 20 territory: the traditional home of the Chippewa and Mississauga First Nations.

Gabrielle hosts from the unceded, stolen and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish Peoples: the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), colonially known as Vancouver.

It is our duty to establish right relations with the people on whose territories we live and work, and with the land itself.

Show Transcript

A complete transcript of this episode will be available soon.