Drs. Gabrielle Houle and Justin Blum. (Photo supplied by the University of Lethbridge)

By Justin Goulet

Cross-country project involving U of L researchers receives major funding

Jun 13, 2024 | 6:18 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A partnership between 10 post-secondary institutions in Canada involving three University of Lethbridge (U of L) Faculty of Fine Arts researchers has received a significant grant.

The project, titled Gatherings: Archival and Oral Histories of Performance, has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant of $2.5 million. The project focuses on archival and oral histories of performance in Canada.

The funding boost is over seven years.

Department of Drama researchers Doctors Justin Blum and Gabrielle Houle are co-investigators on the project, with Faculty of Fine Arts Dean, Dr. Heather Davis-Fisch serving as a collaborator. Davis-Fisch says the partnerships gives researchers the chance to study the nuances and complexities of performance history and find out more on the contributions of groups who “have been left out of the conversation altogether”.

“Because performance is an embodied practice, it often leaves few documents; often histories of performance exist in oral histories, objects and artifacts, and cultural practices,” says Davis-Fisch.

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“This is particularly the case for performances like dance, non-theatrical performances, and physical practices, and is exacerbated in the case of performances created and remembered by historically marginalized groups, such as Black, racialized and Indigenous communities, LGBTQ2S+ communities and people with disabilities.”

The project sees researchers from the U of L, University of Victoria, Dalhousie University, MacEwan University, Toronto Metropolitan University, Sheridan College Institute of Technology, University of Toronto, Trent University, Queen’s University, Memorial University of Newfoundland working together.

In addition to academic researchers, artists, galleries, libraries, archives, museums and community partners are involved, through support from Canada’s Theatre Museum, Playwrights Canada Press and Dance Collection Danse.

Davis-Fisch explains the partnership’s goals are threefold. The aim is to promote access to archival performance history research, implement ethical practices in oral history collection and preservation and advance digital humanities scholarship to enhance public access to diverse performance histories.

“The impact of this grant will be significant for the Drama department and the Faculty of Fine Arts, not only for how it will support faculty researchers, but also for the opportunities it creates to involve graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and undergraduate students in research. The project will also support relationships and partnerships with community-based organizations and across disciplines within the university.”

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

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