Montreal, October 30, 2025 — La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines is proud to present askîwan ᐊᐢᑮᐊᐧᐣ by Tyson Houseman.
It is an operatic multimedia performance created and directed by Tyson Houseman. It combines multiple live video feed projections, dynamic theatrical set pieces, and small scale object performance, an electroacoustic musical score performed live by Devon Bate, featuring lyrics sung in nehiyawewin (plains cree) by baritone vocalist Jonathon Adams (Cree-Métis), and string accompaniment by Leah Weitzner. The performance depicts mountainscapes from the foothills and Rocky Mountains to convey an ecological notion of non- linear, cyclical, deep time on a geologic time-scale. It interprets nehiyaw cosmological teachings from Elders about time, space, and connections to land at a critical moment of ecological crisis in human history.
Introducing Tyson Houseman
He is a nehiyaw (plains cree) interdisciplinary video & performance artist, puppeteer, and filmmaker from Paul First Nation and Ermineskin Cree Nation. Houseman’s practice focuses on aspects of nehiyaw ideologies and teachings – speaking to land-based notions of non-linear time and the interwoven relations between humans and their ecologies. His work embraces ephemerality, ranging from immersive interactive installations to multimedia live video performance events.
He has exhibited at various galleries, screenings, and film/media festivals worldwide. Most recently he participated in artist residencies at MacDowell, Wassaic Project, Vermont Studio Center, and Institute for Electronic Arts at Alfred University.
Houseman is a recipient of the 2025 “Open Call” commission at The Shed in NYC, a 2025 Forge Project Fellow, a COUSIN Collective Cycle IV awardee, and a 2025 MacDowell Fellow.
Along with producing his own works, Houseman directs documentary film and music videos, and is a touring performer on various live cinema performances created by DJ Kid Koala. He also spends his summers working with the historic Bread & Puppet Theater in Glover, Vermont. Houseman has an MFA in Fine Arts from School of Visual Arts in NYC and a BFA in Theatre Performance from Concordia University in Montreal.
Director and Performer: Tyson Houseman Baritone Vocalist: Jonathon Adams
Composer/Sound Design: Devon Bate Viola da Gamba: Leah Weitzner
AT LA CHAPELLE SCÈNES CONTEMPORAINES
3700 Saint-Dominique, Montreal
Box Office : 514.843.7738 | billetterie@lachapelle.org | lachapelle.org
Infos : https://www.lachapelle.org/en/shows/askiwan-
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