WESTERN FRONT – Archives Access: Margaret Dragu

Western Front is pleased to present Archives Access: Margaret Dragu, an evening of archival excerpts, conversation and the screening of a new work by artist Margaret Dragu.

Margaret Dragu played a prominent role in the history of Western Front, creating and presenting performance and video artworks from as early as the late 1970s. This evening of archival screenings will show excerpts from Backup (1979), created with Kate Craig, Urban Skills #5: Secretarial (1979), created with Cornelia Wyngaarden, and Bread (2004). Throughout the event, Dragu will be joined in conversation with Western Front’s assistant curator, Nathaniel Marchand, as they discuss topics such as durational performance, labour and working conditions, X’s and O’s compositional style, and other recurring themes that have emerged throughout Dragu’s practice. The night will culminate with the screening of Margaret Dragu’s latest video work, Tick and Talk of Common Time.

A split screen recorded ZOOM meeting of artists Francisco-Fernando Granados, Margaret Dragu, and Johanna Householder dancing in their respective homes. Each of them expresses themselves with different dance moves among various domestic surroundings. The split screen composition is framed by an outdoor scene in an urban park.

About the Artist

Margaret Dragu is a Vancouver based artist known for her work as a performance artist, dancer, choreographer, writer and video artist. With an early career focus on dance and the incorporation of burlesque into her own brand of art performance, Dragu soon branched out into acting, film, and video art. Some of her work involved the adoption of recurring personas, such as Nuestra Señora del Pan, Lady Justice, and Art Cinderella. Her work explores class, feminism, sexual politics, motherhood and community-engaged practice. In addition to her work as an artist, Dragu is also employed as a fitness instructor and has co-authored several books. She is the creator of a radio show called Momz Radio as well as VERB FRAU TV, a video series that blends video art, news, performance and conversations about contemporary art practices.

Accessibility

The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs. While plans for a full building upgrade to facilitate access for wheelchair users are still underway, all events in the Grand Luxe Hall are made available virtually via high-quality livestream (see link above).

Still from Margaret Dragu, Tick and Talk of Common Time (2023). 32 min. Courtesy of the artist.

Still from Margaret Dragu, Tick and Talk of Common Time (2023). 32 min. Courtesy of the artist.

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.