IICSI Presents Improvisation Festival 2025
November 24 (Guelph, Ontario)—This week sees the sixth annual Improvisation Festival (IF) return to the University of Guelph! Presented by the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI), this two-day event is free, open to all, and takes place in our cutting-edge ImprovLab—a physically accessible research and performance space in the university’s MacKinnon Building (87 Trent Lane, Guelph, ON).
Join us on November 28th (6-11PM) and 29th (2-11PM) for performances by experimental improvising artists from across Canada. These dates fall during the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,” which run from November 25th (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to December 10th (International Human Rights Day). To participate in this important effort, the IICSI team is encouraging the IF 2025 audience to support Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis through donations, volunteering, or participation in awareness campaigns.
Among many others, audiences at IF 2025 will see legendary Quebec counter-culture figure and ESP-Disk recording artist Erica Pomerance, backed by local improvisers Joe Sorbara, Germaine Liu, and Dan Loughrin; Roger Tellier-Craig, a founding member of Fly Pan Am and Le Révélateur, with Karl Lemieux, Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s current projectionist and a cofounder of the Double Negative experimental film collective; acoustic feedback and David Tudor enthusiasts Matt Rogalsky and Dimitri Georgaras; electronic and improvisational harping dabbler Sarah Pagé; award-winning Cree multidisciplinary artist Vee J. Sparvier-Wells in a duet with dancer Chantelle Mostacho, a powerful artistic voice in today’s wh/aacking community; instrument maker and performance artist Kristina Guison; and many more! Curated by our director, Dr. Eric Fillion, the lineup also features local artist programming support from the Wet Sounds, Audiopollination, and coexisDance concert series.
In addition to the in-person programming at IF 2025, we are pleased to present a collection of curated archival pieces from the first iterations of the festival. Though the festival has evolved into an in-person event, IF began as an ephemeral celebration of improvised art during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the first three editions of the festival (2020—2022), IF showcased more than 400 artists from over 25 countries. This archival material from IF 2020, IF 2021, and IF 2022 will launch on November 28th and will be available to view for one week on the festival website. This retrospective will also feature a selection of videos celebrating the festival’s founding artistic director, Dr. Ajay Heble.
For more information, including a full schedule and artist bios, please visit our website!
