open two

 

Presented by Kokoro and produced by Allison Lang, open two celebrates performing artists of all disciplines who create through liberatory practice, fringe experimentation and expressions of earthly and unseen experience.

The first of four series on October 16th features performances by Sarah Rose Mercer with live music by Tomas Cepeda & Shaurie Bidot with her group, Sunny, Elijah and Shahir, who make Vidot.

Our inaugural artists bring forward work rooted in both personal and global expressions of liberation, genre-defying artistry and acts of divine witchery.

As an honorarium-based series, we welcome a variety of sharings, ranging from entirely improvised concept work to in-progress creations in need of a testing ground, as well as fully developed work eager to land with an audience.

Join us in celebrating the powerful voices of our series one performers!

 

October 16th

A two performance evening at KW Studios!

adv $10

dos $15

Pass for all four shows $20

The next dates of this series are:

Thursday, November 20, 2025 
Thursday, December 18, 2025 
Thursday, January 15, 2026 

This event is 19+ 

Doors at 7:00pm

Show at 8pm

Sarah Rose Mercer

Sarah Rose Mercer is a dance artist based in Vancouver, BC, on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. In her artistic work Sarah strives to unpack the human condition investigating desire, memory, dissonance and drive. Sarah’s research is informed by her academic background and guides her study of movement, art and the moving picture of the body. 

Tomas Cepeda is a musician based in Vancouver, BC, on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Tomas is interested in sound design, exploring distortion as a tool for storytelling and movement. He also plays in the local noise rock band Death-Eye Dog.

 

Shaurie Bidot  

 

 

Vidot is where darkness marries your dreams. With haunting vocals, spectral strings, and ambient textures that echo like distant memories, Vidot conjures a sound that is at once gothic, ethereal, and deeply cinematic.

The group is led by Shaurie Bidot (vocals, omnichord, harp), whose lyricism and vocal presence drift between dread and surrealism. Joined by Sunny (bass, sound FX), who grounds the soundscape with otherworldly distortion and submerged pulse, Elijah (cello, viola), whose bowed tones cut through the atmosphere like fog-light, and Shahir whose operatic layering bring dreamscape vocals. Vidot creates slow-burning dream rituals that hover somewhere between grief, seance and ecstasy.

 

KW Studios is an accessible venue. Folks in need of an elevator can access one through the lobby entrance. Accessible bathrooms are available downstairs. KW events are both auditory and visual. Sound can be loud, but earplugs can be provided free of charge. Lighting is generally lower but can be adjusted and raised to accommodate people who need brighter venues.

KW events are NOTAFLOF (No one turn away for lack of funds) . NOTAFLOF tickets are of limited capacity. Please consider your financial need relative to folks in the DTES community where we reside before asking to pay less. We practice the policy NOTAFLOF specifically to allow access to folks negatively impacted by gentrification projects within the DTES community. If you are a student or low income worker, please consider saving up for the next show as the artists and KW staff are also low income workers. 

Located 111 West Hastings Street Vancouver. Look for the KW sign off Hastings Street for the entrance.

 

 

This event takes place on the unceded and occupied homelands of the Coast Salish peoples of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are immensely grateful for being allowed to continue to live, work, and play on these lands.