On September 23, 2023, Pique returns to the Arts Court for its signature building-wide party showcasing underground music and art from across Turtle Island.
Pique is a platform for multidisciplinary and collaborative presentation like no other in the region, bringing together artists and audience members from a diverse network of underground and emerging cultural scenes. Working in partnership with leading contemporary arts organizations, Pique programming brings together a variety of curatorial perspectives, combining music, visual arts, movement and screen-based presentation in a variety of traditional, interactive, and immersive formats.
The all-ages festival will present 25 artists across 7 stages and exhibition spaces, indoors and outdoors, all at the Arts Court arts complex in downtown Ottawa. Tickets to Pique are pay-what-you-can, and the Pique live stream is free to watch online.
PROGRAMMING
While the nights grow longer, Pique fall edition programming showcases an even wider range of nightlife culture from avant-garde underground scenes across Turtle Island. From the dark fantasies of artist and “terrorista fashionista” MimiVirus, and rave-influenced aggrotech of cybergoth Hex-A-Decimal, to the hyper emo-rap of blackwinterwells and Jodie Jodie Roger, this edition hosts a kaleidoscope of shadowy aesthetics that are sure to entrance all who enter. Meanwhile, parallel legends of the club and community, Toronto’s myst milano. and Montreal’s Syana will dominate the dance floor with local DJ/musician Don’t Trust Ryan.
Outdoors on the terrace, enjoy the sunset and skyline alongside a program of left-of-center songwriters featuring Yves Jarvis, Marker Starling, Dorothea Paas and Mukazi, or immerse yourself in an audio-visual performance exploring ecology and the natural world by experimental turntablist SlowPitchSound and media artist Mo:delic Arts. Back in the club, vibe to the dreamy retro beats of E-Prime and God’s Mom.
The evening opens with a pair of artist talks: “The Art of Wasting Time” by Netherlands-based Pakistani artist and filmmaker Faiyaz Jafri, co-presented by the Ottawa International Animation Festival; and a book launch and signing of Restless / L’intranquille by Paris-based Lebanese cartoonist Joseph Kai, presented in english and french in partnership with SAW and l’Ambassade de France au Canada. Plus, an open rehearsal of a new sound and movement research project bend by Jocelyn Todd and Pierre Luc Clément, presented in partnership with the Ottawa Dance Directive with support from Open Source Studio.
The Big Long Paperdrawing wall returns to the Pique fall edition, featuring local artists and illustrators Emily Neufeld, Priya Gurnani, Shawn Philip Hunsdale, and Ana Solana. Plus, screened exclusively as part of the Pique live stream will be a program of experimental animated shorts featuring works by six groundbreaking 3D artists and animators: Casey Koyczan, Malik McKoy, Shiyi Li, Tobias Williams, Zoma, and Alice Aterman. Plus, take part in collective art-marking at the annual OIAF Drink & Draw with DJ Jas Nasty.
Broadcasting live from Club SAW and the SAW Courtyard, feel immersed in the crowd for performances by blackwinterwells, E-Prime, DENT, Jodie Jodie Roger, God’s Mom, Hex-A-Decimal, MimiVirus, and Los3r.
The animated shorts program featuring Casey Koyczan, Malik McKoy, Shiyi Li, Tobias Williams, Zoma, and Alice Aterman is presented exclusively for the Pique live stream, which in-person attendees can watch in the Breathing Room at Artengine during Pique.
As always, Pique is all-ages and pay-what-you-can. Radically inclusive, safer, and more accessible, Pique is a space for shared understanding, joy, and social impact. The event site is accessible to all mobilties, with automated doors, accessible gender-neutral washrooms, and elevator access to all levels. Our harm reduction team will be on-site to support audience members, and our staff and volunteers are trained with harm reduction strategies in support of community well-being.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite on a sliding-scale of $25-50, and audience members are also invited to register for our pay-what-you-can program for subsidized tickets. Tickets are general admission and offer access to all of the event spaces and stages, subject to capacity.
Building-wide and site-specific, Pique takes place at the newly redeveloped Arts Court, the former Ottawa Courthouse that is now home to several contemporary art and performance organizations, including Debaser HQ. Produced in partnership with the Arts Court and City of Ottawa in collaboration with Arts Court resident organizations SAW, Ottawa International Animation Festival, Ottawa Fringe, Digital Arts Resource Centre, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, the Canadian Film Institute, Artengine, and the Ottawa Dance Directive, Pique brings together music and arts communities for a community-engaged event like no other.
View the Pique fall edition media kit for participating artists’ press images, Pique digital assets, photos from past editions, and more.
ABOUT PIQUE
Launched in 2021, Pique is a forward-thinking, artist-driven quarterly event series featuring eclectic musical, visual and multimedia artists, produced by Debaser. Four times per year, Pique takes over the Arts Court building in downtown Ottawa for a pay-what-you-can and all-ages celebration of music, art and more.
ABOUT DEBASER
Since establishing in 2013, Debaser has become one of Ottawa’s leading independent and underground music presenters, best known for its experimental music curation and inclusive events. Debaser is a non-profit organization that exists to support underrepresented, equity-deserving and outsider art and artists, catalyze artist-driven and collaborative projects, and create inclusive and responsive community spaces that cultivate shared understanding, joy, and social impact.
