plastic orchid factory

Description
Digital Folk began in 2014 as a research project and has, since its premiere in 2016, been presented 50+ times across Turtle Island. GHOST [DIGITAL FOLK VR edition] is a looping installation that lives in virtual reality and is reflective of plastic orchid factory's desire to close this project with the same spirit of innovation and irreverence with which it was conceived.

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Concept & Creative Direction: James Gnam

Scenography & Costume Design: Natalie Purschwitz

Lighting Design: James Proudfoot

Sound Design: Kevin Legere

Choreography & Performance: Shion Carter, Rachel Helten, Natalie LeFebvre Gnam, James Gnam, Kayla DeVos, Vanessa Goodman, Rachel Maddock, Lorenz Santos Bevin Poole Leinweber, and Deanna Peters

Lighting Adaptation & Stage Management: Jonathan Kim

Past Collaborators: Clare Twiddy, Siobhan Sloane-Seale, Rob Abubo, Walter Kubanek, Jane Osborne, Dario Dinuzzi, Diego Romero, Hannah Jackson, Rachel Silver, Kim Plough, Lexi Vajda

VR Capture: Carey Dodge, Jay Dodge / Boca del Lupo

First Person Capture: Evann Siebens

Media Integration: Jack Chipman

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james gnam
james gnam (he/him) is a dance artist based in Vancouver and Montreal. He is the artistic director of plastic orchid factory, a founding member of Left of Main, as well as an associate artist with MAYDAY and Grand Poney. He trained at the National Ballet School of Canada and from 1998 to the present, has performed in the works of Crystal Pite, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Jiri Kylian, Barak Marshall and collaborated in the creation of new work with Lee Su-Feh, Jacques Poulin-Denis, Melanie Demers, Vanessa Goodman, Evann Siebens, Peter Bingham and Tedd Robinson. With plastic orchid, James collaboratively devises interdisciplinary work that focuses the body as a site of social commentary. James’ research and performance have been supported by Opera Estate in Bassano Italy; Circuit-Est in Montreal; Centre Q and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa; Electric Company Theatre, The New Forms Festival, The Vancouver Art gallery, The Burrard Arts Foundation/Facade Festival, The Belkin Gallery and SFU/W in Vancouver.

plastic orchid factory
plastic orchid factory is an artist-run company that uses the body as a site for research and expression to create and present contemporary performance on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) people.

Founded in 2008 by dance artists James Gnam and Natalie LeFebvre Gnam, plastic orchid factory makes, supports and advocates for divergent art works that are pluralistic in practice and in form. Priority is on inclusive approaches that blend genres and facilitate collaboration, exchange and the development of new frameworks for making and experiencing art and performance.

Now entering its 15th season, plastic orchid factory has devised over 20 original works that have been presented in galleries, theatres, studios and community halls across Turtle Island and beyond. Recent highlights include presentations at The Vancouver Art Gallery, The Western Front, Performance Works/Boca del Lupo, Mile Zero Dance (Amiskwaciy Waskahikan/Edmonton), Swallow-a-Bicycle (Mohkínstsis/Calgary) and Crimson Coast (Snuneymuxw/Nanaimo); Commissions for Vancouver’s Capture Festival, Facade Festival and The Belkin Gallery; Residencies at Lake Studios (Berlin), LENA (Hul'qumi'num: Swiikw/Galiano Island), The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Burnaby, land of the Halkomelem and Squamish speaking peoples) and Centre Q (Adawe/Ottawa).

In 2017, plastic orchid factory founded Left of Main, a shared artist-run creation/performance space dedicated to the live arts, located on MST Territory Vancouver, in Historic Chinatown. The space is home to Vanessa Goodman/Action at a Distance, CADA/West, plastic orchid factory, Electric Company Theatre and welcomes over 4,000 people annually.

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orchidfactory/

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orchidfactory/