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Tanya
Evanson is an African-Canadian Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Vocalist, Arts
Organizer, Educator & Whirling
Dervish.
Montreal-born and based
in Vancouver, Canada, she has published six poetry chapbooks, two
spoken wor-l-d music CDs "The Memorists" (2008) and "Invisible World"
(2004), and has been performing multilingually across Canada since
1995. Her work is
featured in the award-winning videopoem "Almost Forgot My Bones"
(2004),
documentaries "Generation Exile" (2010) and "In Search of Ecstasy"
(2009) as well anthologies, international music recordings,
national TV
and radio. Spoken word performance highlights include
Vancouver
Folk Music Festival, Calgary International Spoken Word Festival,
Edmonton Poetry Festival, Beats Without Borders, Poetry Gabriola
Festival, International Vancouver Storytelling Festival and When
Sisters Speak, alongside such artists as John Giorno, Ursula
Rucker, Michael Franti, Ted Joans, Sheri-D Wilson, bill bissett and Bob
Holman. As Mother Tongue Media, she has been writing, editing, leading
workshops
and producing intercultural and interarts events since 2000 including
"Tales of Ordinary Madness" spoken
word series, "Under the Griot Tree" black History Month arts festival,
as well as
ANU 8, ANU 9 and ANU 10 conceptual group performances.
A classically trained Whirling Dervish since 2002, she has performed
and taught extensively across Europe, Turkey, Japan and Canada from her
bases in Istanbul and Vancouver. Performance highlights include
whirling with Mercan Dede, Natasha Atlas, Ludovico Einaudi and Niyaz at
AKM
(Turkey), Barbican (UK), Club Paradiso (Netherlands), Etnosur Festival
(Spain) and Ars Electronica (Austria). Open your
arms if you want to be held. |
