Performance: A Long Dramatic Pause 

followed by an artist talk with Cindy Ansah and Erdem Taşdelen 

March 28
Grotto | 2-4 PM

Please join us for A Long Dramatic Pause, a live performance that explores strategies of resistance against ultranationalism and far-right politics through the languages of photography and theatre. Performed by Cindy Ansah and co-developed with artist Erdem Taşdelen, the narrative comprises twelve theatrical scenes that describe a photographic image, never showing it directly but rather bringing it to life through re-enactment and visual analysis.

Following the performance, Erdem Taşdelen and Cindy Ansah will discuss their collaborative process and the making of the piece. The conversation will be moderated by Chief Curator Mona Filip.

Registration required; capacity for the performance of A Long Dramatic Pause is limited. Additional performances are scheduled during the run of the exhibition.

About the Artists 

Cindy Ansah (she/her) is a storyteller, a vibrant embodiment of culture. A multidimensional creative, she embodies multiplicity as a dance artist, actress, filmmaker, writer, fashion visionary, and muse, dialoguing in Mohkínstsis (Calgary) and across Turtle Island. Since 2020, Cindy has been devoted to her role as Artistic Director of Not Another Political Playground Y’all (N.A.P.P.Y.), which has produced two acclaimed seasons. She co-founded the all-Black contemporary arts collective with collaborator Tiara Matusin, with the shared aspiration to champion Black artistry and collectivity in all its breadth, depth, and nuance.

Erdem Taşdelen (he/him) is an artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Canada. Through the use of diverse materials and media, he constructs semi-fictional narratives that incorporate unique historical figures, events and texts to implicate contemporary sociopolitical realities. His projects over the past 15 years have explored themes such as life under authoritarian rule; the theatricality and public spectacles of political discourse; migration, displacement and the haunting presence of the past in contemporary contexts; and the possibilities for self-expression and the limits of authorship within culturally learned forms. Taşdelen has exhibited at venues including The Power Plant, Aga Khan Museum and Mercer Union in Toronto; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; VOX Centre de l'image contemporaine, Montréal; Framer Framed, Amsterdam; Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg; and Pera Museum, Istanbul. He has been an artist-in-residence at the Delfina Foundation and Studio Voltaire, London; Hangar, Lisbon; Rupert, Vilnius; and KulturKontakt, Vienna. He was awarded the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize in Visual Arts by the Canada Council in 2016, the Charles Pachter Prize by Hnatyshyn Foundation in 2014, long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2019, and selected as a finalist for the Taoyuan International Art Award in 2025. 

About the Moderator

Mona Filip (she/her) is Contemporary Calgary’s Chief Curator. Her curatorial career spans two decades of developing critical visual art programs, supporting the production of new works, and introducing national and international artists to new audiences through first local exhibitions. Filip’s projects have explored the intersections of collective memory, place, and belonging, examining artistic strategies that redress sidelined histories, restitution and repair, and storytelling as world-building. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Filip holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art, Washington DC, and an MFA from SUNY at Buffalo.