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This month we will attempt to place a few excerpts from the ethnographic work of Richard Price in conversation with the experimental film practice of Ben Russell. The common denominator for these two entities is work with and about the Saramaka Maroons of Suriname–one of themost prominent and enduring Maroon communities in the world. Price’s book Travels with Tooy (2007) provides entry into the culture and history of the Saramakas via Tooy, a priest who reveals and upholds his genealogy through his work as a healer and storyteller, but also as a trance medium through which the spirit kin of his ancestors directly speak and teach. In placing this text in proximity to Russell’s feature length minimalist long take study Let Each One Go Where He May (2009) and hisTrypps series of shorts (2005-10), we mean to entertain very open questions pertaining to psychedelia, perhaps specifically in a “new world” context–and how it might relate to the condition explored through the Maroon phenomenon–forging new indigeneities in a foreign context. While not mandatory or necessary, you are encouraged to check out Ben Russell’s screening at DIM on Monday, May 16.
Richard Price is an American anthropologist. He and his partner Sally Price have been working with the Saramaka peoples from the 1960s through to the present day. His books on Maroon culture have taken on such diverse forms as a novel, annotated transcription of evening storytelling/singing ceremonies, and poly-vocal historical testimony.
Ben Russell is an experimental filmmaker based in Chicago. His recent works pursue the idea of “psychedelic ethnography”, tracing the hallucinatory through objects and ritual in films made in locales such as the Badlands, Providence, Suriname, and Dubai.
VIVO is located in the homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples in a warehouse space at 2625 Kaslo Street south of East Broadway at the end of E 10th. Transit line 9 stops at Kaslo Street on Broadway. From the bus stop, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight decline. The closest skytrain station is Renfrew Station, which is three blocks south-east of VIVO and has an elevator. From there, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight incline. There is parking available at VIVO, including wheelchair access parking. There is a bike rack at the entrance. The front entrance leads indoors to a set of 7 stairs to the lobby.
A wheelchair ramp is located at the west side of the main entrance. The ramp has two runs: the first run is 20 feet long, and the second run is 26 feet. The ramp is 60 inches wide. The slope is 1:12. The ramp itself is concrete and has handrails on both sides. There is an outward swinging door (34 inch width) at the top of the ramp leading to a vestibule. A second outward swinging door (33 inch width) opens into the exhibition space. Buzzers and intercoms are located at both doors to notify staff during regular office hours or events to unlock the doors. Once unlocked, visitors can use automatic operators to open the doors.
There are two all-gender washrooms. One has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The other is a single room with a urinal and is wheelchair accessible: the door is 33 inches wide and inward swinging, without automation. The toilet has 11 inch clearance on the left side and a handrail.
To reach the bathrooms from the studio, exit through the double doors and proceed straight through the lobby and down the hall . Turn left, and the two bathrooms will be on your right side. The closest one has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The far bathroom is accessible.
Alex has been involved with VIVO for several years, in many capacities, including video restoration, installation, distribution, and various programming endeavours. He also programs experimental radio for Soundscapes on CFRO. He has a degree in film studies and comparative literature from the University of Alberta.