Freya Björg Olafson is an intermedia artist who works with video, audio, painting and performance. She completed a Master of Fine Arts Degree in New Media from the Transart Institute / Donau Universität in Krems, Austria in 2007. Freya’s solo performance AVATAR received the Buddies in Bad Times Vanguard Award at the Summerworks Performance Festival in Toronto and subsequently toured across seven provinces in Canada, four states in the United States, three cities in Ecuador, Iceland and Germany. To develop her work Freya has benefitted from residencies; most recently through EMPAC – Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center in Troy, New York. In 2014 Freya was nominated for the National Media Arts Prize – Independent Media Arts Alliance by Video Pool Media Arts Center. In 2015 she was nominated for the Making a Mark Award from the Winnipeg Arts Council. www.freyaolafson.com
Residency Project
Freya Björg Olafson will work in residency for two weeks at Centre Q – Centre for Questioning in Quyon, Quebec from July 12th – July 25th, 2015. During this time she will consult with Tedd Robinson of Ten Gates Dancing Inc. and Centre Q on a new body of work in process called ‘CPA – Consistent Partial Attention’. This project has been initiated by Collective Corps, a newly founded unincorporated collective comprised of performers and dancers Lise McMillan (Winnipeg), James Phillips (Montreal), as well as Freya Olafson.
Centre Q: a centre for questioning
Centre Q: a centre for questioning, is a privately owned artist retreat centre co-directed by Tedd Robinson and Charles Quevillon. It stands on 18 acres of farmland just north of Quyon, Quebec and houses a small dance studio, a music recording studio, and accommodation for six artists. Tedd Robinson has been advising and consulting with choreographers internationally since the early 1990’s and is widely known for his abilities as a consultant. While at Centre Q, artists have a chance to release their usual concerns and just do their work. They eat and sleep at the centre and after a day in the studio, discussions about process can continue as necessary throughout supper and into the evening. In this way, it is surprising how much can be accomplished in a week or two. Centre Q offers residencies year round and is associated with 10 Gates Dancing whose artistic director is Tedd Robinson.
https://www.facebook.com/CentreQ
CPA – Consistent Partial Attention:
“Online, youth and adults dance for the camera; aware of being watched, they follow their unique physical impulses often layered with social code. ‘CPA – Consistent Partial Attention’ utilizes pre-existing / found video footage of individuals improvising in online videos. By studying the impulses of the virtual dancers we generate movement phrases which echo the energy shifts animating their bodies. Essentially, we transfer these digital dances to the mature trained body in the studio – a transmission process often intersecting ages, genders and kinetic expression. This collage methodology of utilizing pre-existing video scores to inform the performing body provides rich fodder both as a movement catalyst as well as for reflection upon perceptions of ‘contemporary’ dance.”
