An offering for 2020

Honouring Rituals of Gathering

Celebrating, mourning, convening and creating were all in a state of flux this year and our plans to host a festival were cancelled as we surrendered to the tide of the pandemic.

Durga Puja (worship of the infinite mother of the universe) is an annual festival celebrated by the Bengali diaspora across the world. The practice of mass spectatorship of ritual has transformed the festival into an annual art event and it has become a powerful act of community gathering.

Since 2018, A Durga for Our Time, a charcoal drawing we commissioned from Syrus Marcus Ware has been installed at The Theatre Centre in Toronto.

This year, with gathering being a danger to life – some celebrated the event online and others paid their respects individually in their homes. At Nova Dance we were rehearsing online and in conversation with guest artists.

Nova Dance's 2020 Durga Puja offering.

“It was important to us to recognize that “our” Durga was in situ at The Theatre Centre, and that despite that fact that we couldn’t invite you, and feed you and share this vibrant cultural event with you – we could honour the ideas of female dynamism, community, care and connecting our practice to the important issues of our time.”