Masquerade in Public Space

Curated by Kathryn Walter
Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for the Arts, 1997

​Walter invited artists to create and inhabit characters that would infiltrate the public spaces of one of Canada’s most famous tourist destinations - Banff, Alberta. These performers came with costumes and a goal to address the contradictions at work in the National Park’s townsite—wilderness versus tourist Mecca—and examine the roles people play in conforming to society’s expectations.

Portraits by Don Lee

Catalogue/Book published by Banff Centre Press in 1999 includes essays by Kyo Maclear and Kathryn Walter

Shauna Dempsey and Lorri Millan: The Lesbian National Parks and Service

Millie Chen and Eveyln Von Michalofski: Oracle Brand

Faye Heavyshield and Shelley Niro: Old Sister/New Sister

Judy Radul: The Specialists: Performing the Heterosexual Couple

The performances took place in and around town, and the gallery was used as a project room/documentation centre where workstations were installed for each project, complete with props and costumes when not in use. A large mirror hung on the end wall creating the semblance of a theatre dressing room. Here, viewers could not avoid reflections of themselves and one another. They too became performers caught in the act of seeing and being seen.

This project was supported by Canada Council for the Arts