Cadavre Exquis - Part One: “Reflect”

The journey begins…

Theatre 1308 presents Cadavre Exquis, a cross-disciplinary arts series curated by composer and violinist Jeremy Gignoux. Inspired by the surrealist collaborative game “exquisite corpse,” this series unfolds as a creative chain reaction: each artist responds only to the work created immediately before theirs. Music inspires new visual art, art inspires new music, and the process continues.

Across three events, artists, composers, and ensembles will build upon each other’s creations. Everything begins with a single musical “seed” created by a mystery composer - their identity will not be revealed until the final event on May 9, 2026.

What Happens in Part 1

This first event reveals the opening link of the artistic chain:

6:30pm - Exhibition: Visual artists La Güita, Wanda Ellerbeck, and Terry Gregoraschuk debut new works created in response to the original, secret musical recording that launched the Cadavre Exquis progression.

7:30pm - Performance: Original music inspired by these artworks will be performed by Landscape Modes. The concert will be recorded and used as the creative spark for Part 2 on February 28, 2026.

Featured Visual Artists

La Güita is a Nicaraguan-Canadian artist based in Calgary/Mohkinstsis whose practice is rooted in storytelling. Guided by memory, emotion, and her connection to the natural and spiritual worlds, her work is an ongoing act of remembering—woven from personal reflections, ancestral teachings, and the stories that cross her path. Using vivid colours, symbolic imagery, and fluid forms, she honours the strength, joy, and sacredness that live within us, creating spaces of calm and reflection that invite viewers to reconnect with themselves, the land, and the unseen energies that guide them. Her multidisciplinary practice spans visual art, muralism, and arts facilitation, with murals in Calgary and Michigan through commissions with the BUMP Festival, Pleasant Peninsula Mural Festival, and other community initiatives. She has collaborated with organizations including the Werklund Centre (formerly Arts Commons), Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, Humainologie, Calgary Arts Development, Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, the Art for Social Change Network, 100% Skate Club, and The Blox BIA. For over four years, she has supported underrepresented youth by facilitating inclusive skate spaces with 100% Skate Club. In 2023, she represented Calgary as a first-time muralist with the BUMP Festival—an experience that deepened her commitment to public art and storytelling. Alongside her sister Bianca, she co-founded Xemelas, a multidisciplinary collaboration that blends literary and visual practices to engage communities in meaningful, celebratory, and transformative ways.

https://www.instagram.com/joseelaguita/?hl=en

Wanda Ellerbeck was born and raised in Alberta, and her artistic practice has spanned a lifetime, covering painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation. Before her engagement with visual arts, she was involved in dance and the performing arts. She operated a decorative concrete business for fourteen years and became an industry leader in this sector in Western Canada. In addition to a Canada-wide exhibition record, Wanda has taught extensively at post-secondary institutions in Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Her awards include the prestigious Canada Council for the Arts “B” grant and numerous project grants from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Wanda lives, teaches, and works in Canmore, Alberta, where she remains actively engaged with local arts communities and in mentoring emerging artists and students.

https://www.wandaellerbeckartist.com/

Terry Gregoraschuk has spent over 45 years exhibiting his work and has developed a reputation for supplying unique art in a variety of mediums and styles to private and corporate sectors, including Canadian and provincial government agencies, museums, and hospitals. His artwork has won numerous awards and has been exhibited at local, national, and international levels, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Ottawa, and the Olympic Art Exhibitions in both Los Angeles, California, and Calgary, Alberta. Not wanting to be pigeonholed into one particular genre, Gregoraschuk works in a wide range of mediums and styles, continually exploring and pushing his creative boundaries. He has collaborated with architects, art consultants, and art committees on several corporate and public art commissions, including Canada Post Corporation, Environment Canada, the Royal Tyrrell Museum, and the Misericordia Hospital. His work is held in the collections of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Medicine Hat Museum, the City of Calgary, and the Esso and Texaco Art Collections. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, traveling, and writing fiction; his manuscript Boxes placed in the top ten in the 2014 Clive Cussler Adventure in Writing Competition. When not creating in his studio, he can often be found walking along a beach, cooking, working on his antique car, reading, or writing another action-packed fiction novel.

https://www.terrygregoraschuk.com/

Featured Musicians

Landscape Modes is a newly formed new-music ensemble bringing together flautist Jiajia Li, violinist Jeremy Gignoux, clarinetist Cédric Blary, bassist Keith Rodger, and drummer Afo Fapojuwo. With backgrounds spanning classical music, traditional world musics, jazz, folk, and improvisation, the group blends old and new styles into a surrealist, genre-bending sound world. Their original compositions draw on musical traditions from around the globe while using contemporary techniques to place these influences in fresh, unexpected perspectives—an ideal match for the cross-disciplinary spirit of Cadavre Exquis.

• Jiajia Li (Flute): Born in China and now based in Calgary, Jiajia Li is known for her vibrant sound and fearless creativity. She is a member of the JUNO-nominated instrumental pop band Ginger Beef, leads the traditional Chinese ensemble Gai Lan, and performs with classical duo Who Cares? as well as the cross-Canada supergroup Calgaréal.
  
  
• Jeremy Gignoux (Violin): A versatile Calgary musician and composer, Jeremy Gignoux leads his own Acoustic Ensemble, co-founded Calgaréal, and performs with the clown-jazz trio Icarus 3. He also appears regularly with the Mike Tod Band, Notas de 4, and numerous dance and theatre productions.
  
  
• Keith Rodger (Double Bass): Calgary bassist and multi-instrumentalist Keith Rodger performs with a wide range of ensembles, including the Mike Tod Band, Icarus 3, Red Hot Hayseeds, Horsebreaker, the Wayne Garrett Trio, Denver Venoit, and Noeline Hofman. In addition to double bass, he also plays guitar, banjo, and Irish flute.
  
  
• Cédric Blary (Clarinet): A multi-instrumentalist with boundless musical curiosity, Cédric Blary performs on clarinet, saxophone, flute, pan-flute, guitar, and voice. His performing credits include The Polyjesters, a cappella group The Heebee Jeebees, the Red Hot Hayseeds, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
  
  
• Afo Fapojuwo (Drums): Drummer Afo Fapojuwo has toured extensively across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, with highlights including performances at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Osheaga, and the Jazz Festival de Verano. His dynamic, expressive playing brings a powerful rhythmic voice to the ensemble.