Thursday January, 5th 2023 at 11:00am – 6:00pm
Thursday January, 12th 2023 at 11:00am – 6:00pm
Why are we afraid of the dark? What makes us brave in the face of it? What protects us? As the early nights continue in January, come to cSPACE Eau Claire and reflect on your personal relationship to darkness and the things that make us feel safe within it. This residency seeks to share projection mapping with the city, and learn more about the public’s collective bravery. At the end of the residency, see the amalgamation of participant’s answers turn into protective beings of light projected through the Hub’s windows. The Guardians are here for us.
Mackenzie Bedford (they/them/she/her) is a telescope for queer space. The universe, by nature, is mysterious and queer. Exhausted by perspectives that lack the imagination and diversity it demands, they are revealing the queerness of the cosmos through colour, light, and movement.
Self-taught, she has pursued projection mapping since participating in the cSPACE Artist Incubator in 2021. Since then, they have collaborated with creators in theatre, dance, and music to blend projection and performance in a variety of settings. She also creates her own installations with projection, offering contemplative or celebratory spaces for audiences to engage with.
You can find them animating, painting murals, or projection mapping across Alberta.
During downtime she is toiling away at an independent animated short, BEACON.
Their visual influences stem from growing up as a closeted queer kid in a small town, using an early 2000s internet connection to connect, explore and escape. Unsurprisingly, they still find themselves chronically online.
Off-duty, they are picking up the art of burlesque and costume-making.
Week 1: Mackenzie will pull themes from discussions with the public and develop “Light Knights.” These projected guardians will shine out the Hub windows at night, offering escort to pedestrians as they pass by.
Week 2: Animating, projecting, and potentially using a tracking camera to experiment with interactivity. During public hours Mackenzie will be asking community members broader questions around their exposure to projection mapping as an art form, how it makes them feel, and where they would like to see it in the future.
Finally, the Guardians will be revealed on the final Thursday of the residency, protecting Eau Claire until Sunday morning.
cSPACE: What are your hopes for coming out of this residency?
MB: Upskilling in AE DUIK Rig, Unity. Learning to use Kinect Tracking Camera. Develop relationships with Calgary public-at-large and show them projection mapping. Test the initial temperature for the medium. Discover potential new opportunities for sites.
cSPACE: What’s important to you right now? What gets you up in the morning?
MB: My queer community.
cSPACE: What are your hopes for Calgary as a creative city?
MB: As I currently tend to my baby projection mapping club, collaboration and community are huge for me right now. I have to make a lot of asks with little to give in return at the moment, other than the potential to help down the line. But I see change on the horizon for the city, and there is potential Calgary to be the next creative hub in Canada. Calgary has a bustling animation and new media community that is heavily siloed. If we can bust those walls down, set them up for success with production and artistic opportunities, there can be a thriving ecosystem that artists can actually live in.
cSPACE: Great answers! Okay and one for fun. What’s something we don’t know about you?
MB: My oldest house plant is 7 years old.
@mackenziebedford
www.mackenziebedford.com
cSPACE is situated on Treaty 7 territory, home of the Siksika, Kainai and Piikani Nations, as well as the Tsuut’ina Nation, the Îyârhe Nakoda Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney First Nations, and Otipemisiwak Métis Government Districts 5 and 6.
