Margaret Dragu

Last updated

Margaret Dragu (born 1953) is a celebrated Canadian artist recognized for innovation in many disciplines including performance art, contemporary dance, social practice art, video art, installation art, independent publishing, radio, and interactive platforms like social media. Her work has been performed, screened, exhibited, and published in many countries. In 1998 her European tour was supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (now Global Affairs Canada) with the German Hessiche Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst and the Cultural Department of the Netherlands. [1] She has been awarded numerous funding awards from the Canada Council for the Arts as well as other arts funding agencies in Canada and Europe. [2] In 2002 she was the first artist to be honoured in the Canadian Performance Art Legends book series with La Dragu: The Living Art of Margaret Dragu (Paul Couillard, editor), by Fado Performance Inc. [1] [3] [4] In 2012 Margaret Dragu was the recipient of the Governor General’s Award for Visual and Media Arts. In the same year Dragu was designated Éminence Grise by 7A*11D International Festival of Performance Art. [3] In 2024 she delivered the International Women’s Day Address at Contemporary Art Conversations, Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University.

Contents

Margaret Dragu performing NEW NORMAL an embodied novel: dusk 2 dark. Photograph by Henry Chan. DRAGU photo by Henry Chan.jpg
Margaret Dragu performing NEW NORMAL an embodied novel: dusk 2 dark. Photograph by Henry Chan.

Early life and career

Margaret Dragu was born in Regina, SK in 1953. Her family moved to Calgary in 1963 where from 1969 to 1971 she studied dance under Yone Kvietys Young, a Calgary-based instructor of contemporary dance. [5] Kvietys Young ran two dance companies that Dragu was part of, Calgary Creative Dancers (for children) and Contemporary Dance Calgary (for adults). [2]  Under Kvietys Young, Dragu was introduced to German Expressionism, Dada influences, choreography by chance, and card play from John Cage and Merce Cunningham. [6] From Calgary, Dragu moved to New York in 1971, where she trained at the  Alwin Nikolais -Murray Louis Dance School. [2] She also studied choreography and musical composition with Laura Foreman and John Watts at the New School for Social Research. [2] Dance studies at Louis-Nikolas Dance School were influenced by German-based modern dance including the pioneer dance artist Hanya Holm. [5] In New York she became acquainted with the Judson Church, and participated in “happenings” The use of everyday and ordinary movement as a score for artistic work, which was prevalent in the New York scene at that time, had a formative and lasting impact on her approach to performance and art. [6] [7] Both dance mentors Yone Kvetys-Young and Laura Foreman demonstrated for Dragu an ease in working with visual artists and with situating their work in art galleries, and this affinity to art stayed with her throughout her practice. [5]

In 1973 with a bursary from the Alberta government Dragu moved to Montreal to continue to study dance with Eva von Genscy and Eddy Toussaint at Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. [5] During that time she met Tom Dean and performed with him in Un Petit Spectacle at Véhicule Art. [2] [5] At Véhicule Art, she also worked with experimental filmmakers including Bozo Moyle from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) who introduced her to the videotape Portapak, which was popular with contemporary artists in the 1970s. In 1974 Dragu contributed choreography in an art event created by Tom Dean for the exhibition Périphéries at Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC). Périphéries was produced in part with Véhicule Art and marked MAC’s first collaboration with an artist-run centre. [8]

In addition to teaching dance classes in a community art school called Art Dump Workshop and developing her contemporary art and dance practice during her time in Montreal she also began a career as a burlesque performer (striptease) artist. [5] [9] As a sought-after stripper Dragu performed in numerous venues (“strip clubs” and bars) in Montreal, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, Trois Rivieres and Chibougamau. [2] As an artist and burlesque performer, she honed skills in vaudeville and theatre, [6] and developed  cross-overs between art and burlesque. [10] In her words, “I wanted to cross-pollinate popular culture and fine art by inverting the sacred art gallery and the profane striptease club.” [10] She also developed feminist perspectives on burlesque and sex work which she later researched and documented with co-author A. S. A. Harrison for the book Revelations: Essays on Striptease and Sexuality. [9] With Heather Wells and Janet Walczeweski (director) she created an NFB-supported film on the subject, Theatre for Strangers (1978). Dragu was an organizer for strippers' rights with the help of the Canadian Labour Congress and the Association of Canadian Radio and Television Artists. The short-lived strippers’ union was called the Canadian Association for Burlesque Entertainers. [2] [10]

An insurance fraud-related fire that destroyed her residence in Montreal precipitated Dragu’s move to Toronto in 1974. [5] There she became affiliated with artist-run centres including A Space gallery and 15 Dance Lab. She taught dance and movement at Ontario College of Art [2] and classes in contemporary dance, tap dance,and burlesque at A Space. In Toronto Dragu met Granada Gazelle, members of General Idea, A. S. A. Harrison, Elke Town, Rodney Werden, Judy Holm, and the artists at Coach House Press. She met Kate Craig, Eric Metcalfe, and Hank Bull from the Western Front in Vancouver when they visited A Space. [2] [11] When describing her time in Toronto, Dragu declared, “I was a passionate collaborator, pair-ing and trio-ing with painters, sculptors, photographers, theatre artists, writers, sound designers, scenographers, fashion designers, film makers, video artists, and activists.” [5] She made the video Back Up in collaboration with Kate Craig at the Western Front in Vancouver on 1978. [2] While performing in Toronto Dragu was sexually assaulted by an audience member during a performance. [5] [7] The incident caused Dragu to retreat from performances in Toronto for a while, and then only resume in  solo works, with police or paid security officers available. [5] [12]

A move to the Vancouver region in 1986 took place after Margaret Dragu performed X’s and O’s for the Canada Pavillion at Expo 86. During the Expo 86 commission she met Jim Stewart Munro. [2] They lived together at Finn Slough, an historic fishing village at the mouth of the Fraser River in the southern reaches of Richmond, BC from 1987 to 2011. [5] [7] Their daughter Aretha Dragu Munro was born in 1988. [2] Margaret Dragu was an active community member during her time in Richmond, BC. In addition to community-engaged creative projects she worked as a fitness instructor and personal trainer for the South Arm Community Centre. [13]

Early Performance Art and Theater Productions (Toronto)

While living in Toronto (1975 to 1986), Margaret Dragu produced and performed in numerous theatrical and experimental dance and art performances that took place in theatre venues, artist-run organizations, national galleries, university theatres, and site-specific venues like botanical gardens, back alleys, and car parkades. Her works garnered critical attention and were recognized for their energy and intensity (Stephen Godfrey, The Globe and Mail, March, 1979). [2] One reviewer noted her as a “choreographer-actress” of cult status (Selma Landen Odom, Dancemagazine, January, 1982). [2] Her performance in Angel City (Sam Shepard) was recognized for displaying her versatility as a theatre performer, while recognizing her notoriety for erotic dance choreography and performance (McKenzie Porter, The Toronto Sun, May 25, 1979). [2] Her work in Toronto took on audience participation, reflecting the performativity of parades, movement classes, and erotic dancing. [6] Dragu’s first international production, Her Majesty/sa majesté (with Tom Dean) was performed at Le Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels, Belgium) in 1981. [4] [14] She was featured on the covers of Toronto weekly’s Now in 1982 and Broadcast Week Magazine in 1985. [4]

1972

1974

1975 [2]

1976 [2]

1977 [2]

1978 [2]

1979 [2]

1980 and 1981 [2]

1982 and 1983 [2]

1984 and 1985 [2]

1986 [2]

Mid-Career Art and Performance Art

In 1986 Margaret Dragu relocated to the Vancouver region but lived away from the artistic centre in Finn Slough. With this relative isolation and the birth of her daughter, her work in the years 1987 to 1990 took up writing, independent publishing, visual art, and video productions. With limited access to Vancouver's art events and networks, she nurtured connections with people closer to home who she met in her work as a fitness instructor and personal trainer. From her relationships with other mothers, she worked to form the Momz Radio Collective which produced the Momz Radio programs on Vancouver Coop Radio and other independent University and community radio stations in Canada and the US, and teh book Mothers Talk Back, which she edited with Sarah Sheard and Susan Swan [18] . She provided choreography for publicly-engaged productions such as Luminaries Lantern Festival and Masque of Red Death by Public Dreams at Trout Lake (Vancouver) which she worked on from 1991-93. [6] [2] While living at Finn Slough she focused on community-engaged and participatory art projects, including work for art galleries, as well as bringing participatory performances to local and international performance art festivals. It involved material practices including textiles, print publications, and mail art. [19] From 2004 to 2008 Dragu corresponded through textile art with Pam Hall, who was residing on the opposite shore of the continent in St. John’s, Newfoundland). The nearly 3000 stitched, printed, and painted textiles squares formed house structures in an exhibition Marginalia at the Richmond Art Gallery in 2008, and live performances in 2005, 2008, and 2010. [20]

In 2006, Dragu first appeared as Lady Justice, a persona she would regularly present with an evolving group of participating artists. Lady Justice was a feminist intervention that took place in multiple locations in Canada and Europe. For instance, she appeared during commemoration events at the site of Marker of Change, the women’s monument to those who died in the massacre at Montreal's École Polytechnique (Thornton Park, Vancouver). The first performance of Lady Justice was at Niagara Artists’ Centre/NAC (St. Catherines, ON) and SEXE!Action/VIVA!Art Action (Montréal). Another long-range persona was Verb Woman whose performance took many forms, often providing unexpected artist’s services or what Dragu called “Art Aktions” such as mending, wrapping, and fitness. [7] Verb Woman was first performed at Vancouver-based galleries and the LIVE! Biennale in 2009, the 2010 Cultural Olympiad (Vancouver), Vancouver Art Gallery (in 2018) and other Canadian and international sites (Berlin, Germany). [7] Verb Woman was the major theme and title of Dragu’s retrospective solo exhibition at Richmond Art Gallery in 2014.

1990 [2]

1991 [2]

1992 [2]

1993

1994

1995

1997

1998 [2]

1999 [2]

2000 [2]

2001 [2]

2002 [29]

2003 [29]

2004 [29]

2005 [29]

2006 [29]

2007 [29]

2008 [29]

2009 [29]

2010

2011 [29]

Later Performance Art and Exhibitions

Margaret Dragu moved from Finn Slough to Vancouver in 2021. The Richmond Art Gallery produced a retrospective exhibition of her work in 2014. Dragu’s later works further emphasized collaboration and participatory events, often including aspects of care and support in ways that blend her on-going work as a therapeutic personal trainer with reflections on aging and health. This is especially highlighted in the series of works called New Normal: an embodied novel which reflected Dragu’s experience of recovery from joint replacement surgeries and the pandemic lock down. In 2023, Margaret Dragu along with an international team of artist-researchers Britta Wirthmüller (Universität der Künste Berlin), Justine A. Chambers (Simon Fraser University), William Locke Wheeler (Tanazafabrik, Berlin), and Mikhel Proulx produced Try Leather an archive, performance, and on-line project resulting from 5 years of investigation and experimentation with an archive related to Dragu's 1975 performance of the same name. [38]

2012-2014 [29]

2015 [29]

2016 [29]

2017 [29]

2018 [29]

2019 [29]

2020 [29]

2021 [29]

2022 [29]

2023 [29]

2024 [29]

2025 [29]

Film

(Incomplete list)

Video

(Incomplete list)

Broadcasting and Digital Media Art

Margaret Dragu has produced broadcasts and recordings in series as parallel or alternative to more mainstream media. In an interview with artist Jeremy Todd for VIVO Media Arts Centre, Dragu described the origins of her interest in this format as dating back to the time she was living and working in Toronto, "I have dipped and dabbled in artists making a kind of news magazine TV Talk Show many times — originally, several series with Miriam and (late) Lawrence Adams of 15 Dance Lab in Toronto and also with them and John Faichney in the Artists’ Television Studio also in Toronto. I did hosting, writing, producing and even switching for several live TV series interviewing mostly independent dance choreographers broadcast through a live line from a local cable television station to the studios." [53] Dragu's broadcast-style media art projects include (incomplete list):

Writing

Independent Publishing

Margaret Dragu has issued independent publications (artist books and zines) under the publishing moniker, Same Day Edit [2] including:

References

[9] [18] [58] [59] [4] [60] [61] [62]

  1. 1 2 Dragu, Margaret (2023). "CV". Margaret Dragu. Archived from the original on 3 Aug 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Canyon, Brice (2002). "Yo Soy Eine Kleine Performance Artist [That's Entertainment]". In Couillard, Paul (ed.). la Dragu (Couillard ed.). Toronto: Fado Performance Inc. pp. 59–78.
  3. 1 2 FADO. "Margaret Dragu". FADO. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Couillard, Paul, ed. (2002). La Dragu: The Living Art of Maragaret Dragu. Toronto: Fado Performance Inc. pp. 6–7. ISBN   0-9730883-0-3.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Dragu, Margaret (2000). "Eye Yam, Eye Yam Not". LIVE at the End of the Century. Vancouver: Visible Arts Society grunt gallery. pp. 56–69. ISBN   1-895329-41-8.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Forkert, Kirsten (2004). "Margaret Dragu- The Joy of Local". In Mars, Tanya; Householder, Johanna (eds.). Caught in The Act: an anthology of performance art by Canadian women. Toronto: YYZ Books. pp. 206–215. ISBN   0-920397-84-0.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Ireland, Ann (2013). "Margaret Dragu and the Drama of Performance". Canadian Art. 30 (1): 104–107. ProQuest   1371811272.
  8. 1 2 "Tom Dean". MACrépertoire. Archived from the original on 23 April 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 Dragu, Margaret, ASA Harrison. Revelations: Essays on Striptease and Sexuality. London Nightwood Editions. 1989
  10. 1 2 3 Dragu, Margaret (1996). Brown, Brenda Lea (ed.). Bringing It Home. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press. pp. 89–105. ISBN   1-55152-034-6.
  11. ↑ "Nouvelles Brèves: Prix du Gouverneur général en arts visuels et en arts médiatiques 2012". Vie des Arts (226): 21. Spring 2012.
  12. ↑ Sheard, Sarah (2002). Couillard, Paul (ed.). la Dragu. Toronto: Fado Performance Inc. pp. 31–35. ISBN   0-9730883-0-3.
  13. 1 2 "Margaret Dragu". ada-x.org.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. 1 2 "Tom Dean". V Tape. Archived from the original on 20 April 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Richard, Alain-Martin; Robertson, Clive (1991). Performance Au/In Canada 1970-1990 (in English and French). Toronto: Coach House Press. ISBN   2-920500-04-X.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Canyon, Brice, ed. (2000). LIVE at the End of the Century: Aspects of Performance Art in Vancouver. Vancouver: Visible Arts Society grunt gallery. ISBN   1-895329-41-8.
  17. ↑ "Mixed Company Theatre". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. 2009. Archived from the original on 20 Jan 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  18. 1 2 Dragu, Margaret and Susan Swan and Sarah Sheard. Mothers Talk Back: Momz Radio. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1991
  19. 1 2 Dragu, Margaret; Hall, Pam (2009). Marginalia: Getting Out of the House. Richmond, BC: Richmond Art Gallery. ISBN   978-1-926594-03-3.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Marginalia". pamhall.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ↑ "Secret Kitchen". archivesgrunt.ca. Archived from the original on 19 Sep 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  22. ↑ "Secret Kitchen". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ↑ "Masque of the Red Death". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ↑ "Vancouver Performance Poets". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ↑ "Ms. Frankenstein". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ↑ "Eine Kleine Nacht Radio / Improvisation for X's and O's". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ↑ "LIVE at the End of the Century". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ↑ "ReciproCity/RéciproCité". 7a*11d.ca. 2001. Archived from the original on 2 Aug 2025.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Dragu, Margaret (2023). "Margaret Dragu: CV". MargaretDragu.com. Archived from the original on 3 Aug 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  30. ↑ "La Dragu: The Living Art of Margaret Dragu Book Launch". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ↑ "Marginalia - Getting Out Of The House". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ↑ "LIVE Biennial of Performance Art 2005". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ↑ "Pillowbook". grunt.ca.
  34. ↑ "Margaret Dragu a.k.a. Lady Justice PILLOWBOOK". bruntmag.com. 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ↑ "Exhibition - Margaret Dragu, Pam Hall - Marginalia: Getting Out of the House". richmondartgallery.org. 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ↑ "Hive 2". grunt.ca.
  37. ↑ "LADY JUSTICE GOES BUZZ-BUZZ". grunt.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. 1 2 "Introduction". Try Leather. 2023. Archived from the original on 14 Oct 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  39. ↑ "Ottawa". National Gallery of Canada. 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  40. ↑ "Exhibition - Margaret Dragu: VERB WOMAN: the wall is in my head/ a dance of forgetting". Richmond Art Gallery. 2014.
  41. ↑ "Not Sent Letters & Guests". VIVO Media Arts Centre. 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  42. ↑ "++May 10, 2015: PRA-B Programme Round-up++". Month of Performance Art - Berlin | The Blog. 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  43. ↑ "Transmitting Trio A (1966) with Sara Wookey". Fado. Archived from the original on 5 Aug 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  44. ↑ "All Membranes are Porous". Kamloops Art Gallery. 2016. Archived from the original on 19 Sep 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  45. ↑ "Performance - Margaret Dragu: The Library Project". CAGVancouver.org. 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  46. ↑ Dragu, Margaret (2017). Tweed Curtain Passport/Visa. Vancouver: Light Factory Publications. ISBN   978-1-988895-11-6.
  47. 1 2 "Making The Invisible Visible: Tweed Curtain". AGGV Magazine. 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  48. ↑ "Margaret Dragu / Justine A. Chambers / Kage: NEW NORMAL: an embodied novel, Chapter 4, the bed is a portal". SFU Galleries. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  49. ↑ "NEW NORMAL: an embodied Novel". Digital Carnival Z. Archived from the original on 7 Aug 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  50. ↑ "Skin and Bones A Chapter Four". sfu.ca. 2023. Archived from the original on 14 Sep 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  51. ↑ "More Cleaning and Loving (It) ...Again". Fado.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  52. ↑ "Mitochondrial Ontologies: Deep Time & the Digital". Critical Media Art Studios. Archived from the original on 22 Nov 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  53. ↑ Dragu, Margaret; Todd, Jeremy (2014). "A Conversation w/ Margaret Dragu". VIVO Media Arts Centre.
  54. ↑ "Past Works on the MPCAS". Mount Pleasant Community Screen.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  55. ↑ "Margaret Dragu Frugal Fridays". Mount Pleasant Community Screen.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  56. ↑ "Archives Access: Margaret Dragu". westernfront.ca. Retrieved 21 September 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  57. ↑ "Tick and Talk of Common Time". Digital Stories Canada.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  58. ↑ Brown, Brenda Lee. Ed. Bringing it Home: Women Talk about Feminism in their Lives. Vancouver Arsenal Pulp Press, 1996
  59. ↑ Anderson, Carol. Ed. This Passion: For the Love of Dance. Toronto: Dance Collection Danse Press. 1998
  60. ↑ Mars, Tanja. Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women. "The Joy of Local: Margaret Dragu." By Kristen Forkert. YYZ Books. Toronto Ontario. 2004
  61. ↑ Anderson, Carol. This Passion: For the Love of Dance. "Heart, Soul and Thighs." By Elizabeth Chitty. Dance Collection Danse Press/es. 1998
  62. ↑ Anderson, Carol. This Passion: For the Love of Dance. "The Passion List" By Margaret Dragu. Dance Collection Danse Press/es. 1998
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.