A durational performance, part of Fado’s “Monomyths” Series. 
Curated by Shannon Cochrans & Jess Dobkins

In Stage 8 of the Monomyths narrative, the hero must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in life. All the previous stages of the journey have been moving into this place; all that follow will move out from it. This stage is frequently symbolized by an encounter with someone or thing with incredible power, often conceived of as masculine, through the patriarchal heterosexist imagining of the state.

In Movement: Training Sessions for Freedom Fighters, Syrus Marcus Ware invited participants to join in the present moment (after, back then and just before, in the future), wherein the potential directions are seemingly endless, yet also hyper focused. In this confrontation with the Father State, we move past what we have been training for, and into what we are creating anew. We move into the prefigurative political dreams we have been working towards. All participants (heroes) participated in a collective struggle that harnessed all the activisms that have come before and that will lead us into the future together. This work was rooted in the often invisibilized labour behind the scenes, work often done by those on the margins of the struggle. It celebrates the powerful behind the scenes hustle that facilitates—and is its own kind of—direct action.

Participants (heroes) also created a 36-square metre banner in four connected pieces. The four-piece banner is themed around four phrases that guided our heroes journey:

Separately the phrases convey hope, fear, confidence and uncertainty. Together they tell a broader story about the decidedly hopeful uncertainty of our struggle—the struggle against the supremacist state with the future of humanity and our planet in the balance.

The banner was gifted to the movement for use in future actions, bringing all participants into the process of supporting this life giving work. As a collective journey, as heroes we are all witness and archive to this behind the scenes labour; and as allies to the struggle for self-determination of all people through the liberation of black people, we are all implicated in the shared risks and responsibilities of this work.

We work together, collectively, to create these works and through the process we meditate on the question, “What if we don’t?”. Perhaps, coming up with answers together as we go. For, “it’s not all we got”...and we do have each other.

In Movement: Training Sessions for Freedom Fighters (MONOMYTHS: Stage 8) took place on October 30, 2016 at Daniels Spectrum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Monomyths invited a diverse collection of artists, scholars, and activists to revise Joseph Campbell’s conception of the hero’s journey through performance art, lectures, workshops, and other offerings. This new assemblage of non-linear un-narratives proposes a cultural, political, and social feminist re-visioning of the world. The Monomyths perception of the universal journey dispels the notion of the lone patriarchal figure on a conquest to vanquish his demons–both inner and outer–in consideration of community, collectivity, and collaboration. While each Monomyths stage stands alone, the work of each presenting artist is interdependent and connected. These independent visions, when stitched together through the audience’s collective presence, form an exquisite corpse of a larger experimental narrative. Monomyths was a year-long project presented in three sections starting in February 2016 and concluding in February 2017.
The series is conceived and curated by Jess Dobkin and Shannon Cochrane.

Learn more about MONOMYTHS at performanceart.ca and in C Magazine.