Fête accompli Pop-up shows provide proof all the world really can be a stage By: Jen Zoratti Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Thursday, Jul. 23, 2020

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/07/2020 (1574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the brains behind the artist-run event company Fête Jockey, visual artist Jennie O’Keefe (known professionally as Jennie O) and theatre artist/producer Andraea Sartison have been the architects of creative programming at some of this city’s biggest, buzziest events, from the Zoo Lights Festival to Canada Day 150 at the Forks.

This year, however, they’re focusing their energies on smaller gigs — much smaller.

When the high tide of the pandemic swallowed up every cultural event, concert and festival, O’Keefe and Sartison began offering Sidewalk Soirées, a series of intimate pop-up gigs that, true to their name, took place in front of people’s houses. The concept began in the spring as a weekly Instagram contest, and the lucky winner would receive a personal Friday gig from a local artist. Singer-songwriter Andrina Turenne performed on a porch; Sheena Rattai of folk act Red Moon Road performed on someone’s front walk.

Sidewalk Soirées aren’t always musical. One winner received a hand-poured coffee from Kristian Jordan from Little Sister Coffee Maker into two handcrafted mugs by Chris Pancoe.

“Everybody was very excited about it,” O’Keefe says of the initial rollout. “I know people have been hungry to perform and were very interested in participating.”

And now, Sidewalk Soirées is expanding. Winnipeggers can order up their own personal pop-up show from a multidisciplinary menu featuring more than 30 artistic experiences. An “Amuse Bouche” is a 15-minute performance, “A La Mode,” is 30 minutes, “Happy Hour” is 45-60 minutes and “Entrée” is a full evening. Costs range from $150 to $3,000 for a full evening.

Acts available for booking run the gamut, from painting with James Culleton to comedy with sketch troupe HUNKS to musical performances by a host of acts, including Slow Leaves, the Mariachi Ghost and Al Simmons. Breakdancing, chalk drawing, a Queen cover band — you name it, it’s on there.

“There’s a taste of everything,” O’Keefe says.

Fête Jockey provided the creative direction for this year’s Canada Day Virtual at the Forks, and being part of that experience reaffirmed the appetite for Sidewalk Soirées.

“What we saw in our first Sidewalk Soirées and what we saw again in the Canada Day thing, people were so hungry to have an audience,” Sartison says. “And even though they were performing for a film crew, or performing for, like, two people on their front step, we as artists are made to share our work and our ideas and our experiences, and we’re all going through so much right now that I think there was a great satisfaction and gratification in being able to share their art and remember what that experience is.

“It reminded me about what’s so special about being in a room together and watching live art happen in front of you. That was an extra bit of encouragement.”

“What we saw in our first Sidewalk Soirées and what we saw again in the Canada Day thing, people were so hungry to have an audience.” – Andraea Sartison

Fête Jockey has always had artists at its heart. O’Keefe and Sartison met at the University of Winnipeg, where they also worked on events. When they left the university and decided to start their own thing, they knew that they wanted their events company to provide work for other artists. “Everyone we hire, all of our staff, are always artists,” Sartison says. “And everyone we hire for programming is largely artists as well. In doing so, we created a company that supplements our own artistic practice.”

Since November, the company has hired more than 700 Manitoban artists and created more than 90 days of arts and cultural programming, thanks to its work with Zoo Lights, winter pop-up programming at The Forks, as well as reimagining both the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Ride Don’t Hide and Canada Day at The Forks for digital platforms.

Another Fête Jockey mandate is to invest three per cent of its annual earnings back into Winnipeg’s arts scene.

Sidewalk Soirées will help the company continue to fulfil both those commitments.

“For us, it’s a way of keeping our community employed but also providing really unique experiences, which I think is what Fête Jockey does really well — introducing everyday citizens to intimate and unusual art experiences that they might not get at other kinds of events,” Sartison says.

It’s no secret that artists, across disciplines, have been hit hard by the pandemic. In addition to the dearth of public performance opportunities, many artists are being asked to work digitally and produce quickly — often for free.

“There is value in what we’re learning about that, but it undercuts what is so important about a lot of our art forms, which is sharing these really personal experiences,” Sartison says. “So we wanted to provide an alternative where it’s like, ‘No, we can still be doing our work — our work changes, but how do we still make that meaningful?’”

Artists don’t just provide escape and pleasure in a time of suffering and uncertainty. Artists, Sartison points out, are also leaders in times of crisis, which makes supporting their work all the more vital.

“We are still leaders in how to rethink about the world and how to interpret our situations and how to show the rest of our community ways forward and new ways of being and inventing and living,” Sartison says. “That’s a big burden artists carry, and I think we carry it well. To be able to honour that and take that seriously, that artists are leaders in revolution and artists are leaders in times of crisis — and in the good times too — is really important.”

Winnipeggers who want to book an event can visit fetejockey.com or email assistantfetejockey@gmail.com.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti