Camille Turner interview Toronto Nuit Blanche 2013

Excerpt from a feature in Canadian Art

Camille Turner, creator of The Resistance of Peggy Pompadour—a “sonic walking tour tells the story of an enslaved woman from the town of York (presently Toronto), whose owner, Peter Russell, lived on a farm located at Queen and Peter Streets—which begins at Women’s Art Resource Centre (401 Richmond Street West):

Nuit Blanche is a busy event, and it’s impossible to see everything in one evening. Why should people make time to experience your project? What will they see or experience through it?

My immersive 15-minute smartphone walking tour begins at WARC Gallery, travels down Spadina to Queen and ends at Peter Street. It presents the story of Peggy Pompadour, an enslaved woman who was imprisoned in Toronto’s first jail (currently the site of the King Edward Hotel) for resisting slavery. At WARC Gallery, visitors will see a full-sized replica of what the jail cell might have looked like and images on the wall of the old jail and historic documents that set the context of her life. This work will appeal to history buffs or anyone who is interested in social justice or who wants to engage in a reflection on Toronto’s past. I will be on site personally leading walks and discussing the story until 2 a.m., so come and experience the work with me. Bring your phone or borrow an MP3 player from the gallery.

Some call Nuit Blanche a public spectacle, others call it an art event. Which is it?

It is both. My work is an art event but it is also socially engaged, interactive and experiential.

Presumably you will be busy all night supervising your project. What other projects do you wish you could see at Nuit Blanche this year? That is, what projects are you sorry to miss out on?

I’ll be leading walks till 2 a.m. There are lots of projects I want to check out. I love Diane Borsato’s work and I want to see her beekeepers’ meditation at the AGO. I’m curious about Catwalkers on the Esplanade by Jamii and CORPUS. I’m a Mike Parsons fan and would like to experience his work as a multimedia installation at Bloor and Lansdowne. The Lightbridge piece transforming the bridge at Portland and Front into an immersive light and sound sculpture sounds beautiful, and the video installation at King and Bay reimagining an intelligence station on Ellesmere Island as a sci-fi set sounds a little like the work of one of my fave filmmakers, Werner Herzog.

What are your Nuit Blanche survival strategies in terms of staying up all night (and hours before and after)?

I am passionate about my work. The adrenaline generated by speaking to and interacting with people keeps me going.