Dream Big: 2020/2021 season

We all saw it. In the chaos of a global pandemic and worldwide civil unrest came the superficial letters of solidarity and black squares on social media. It was enraging that rather than challenge ourselves to imagine new systems of being, new ways to be in relationship with one another, some of us chose to tread the waters of our own egos and shame. Some of us continued to play nice when deep down we were frantically claiming what we believed was ours in a world of limited resources.

 

So you can imagine how clarifying it was to read this CBC Arts article by the brilliant Amanda Parris. In it, she urged us all to stop wasting our breath trying to explain systemic racism and instead keep our eye on the target of radical change. 

 

“To be asked to prove and demonstrate what has long been articulated, documented and disseminated (in this instance, the existence of systemic racism) is not only insulting, it's a well-worn strategy designed to waste time,” Amanda explains. “We don't need more proof, and we don't need to wait anymore.”

 

Keeping my eye on the target, with Amanda’s words still resonating within me, I am pleased to present you a season which allows artists from the Black and Brown diaspora the chance to dream big. My prayer is that, in my final season as artistic director, by the time these pieces have been explored and incubated, they will emerge into a world drastically different from the present, in front of a live audience drastically different from who we currently are. 

 

Let’s be bold. Let’s be brave. Let’s dream big.

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- Catherine Hernandez,

outgoing artistic director, b current performing arts

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