Artist Residency 2023/24: Oksana Augustine

Artists in Residence

Oksana Augustine

In residence Summer 2023 at Q7

Meet Oksana

Oksana Augustine is a queer emerging contemporary dance artist/teacher/choreographer, currently based in Vancouver BC, the unceded and occupied territories of the Sḵwx w̱ ú7mesh, xʷməθkʷəy ̓əm, and səl ̓ílwətaʔ Nations. As a graduate of Modus Operandi, they have spent time in rehearsal process with Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, Shay Kuebler Radical System Art, Khoudia Toure, Chimerik 似不像 Collective, Okam’s Racer, Co.ERASGA, and Zahra Shahab among others, as well as performed in the EDAM Spring Choreographic Series in 2022. Oksana’s work as a choreographer mainly focuses on neurodivergence, gender, pleasure, spirituality, and sensation, and has showcased their work in 12 Minutes Max, Boombox Split Screen, Gallery Series, The Happening Accelerate 4.0 alongside Kate Franklin, and Chalk It Up! Recently, Oksana has been hired as a choreographer for a play “Chlopczyca” directed by Anais West, and is also a recipient of the TSV training scholarship in 2022.

I’ll be working on:

I will be working in collaboration with Alder Sherwood on what it means to exist in a neurodivergent and queer body and mind. Using childhood toys for props, we will be exploring sensation, sound, texture, gender, sexuality, and grief. I hope to create an improvised score out of what we discover using our props, and connect the movement to each other. During this time in residence, I want to allow space for us to break free from social constructs and live as a child again. 

Photo by Yvonne Chew

Among a competitive pool of applications, Oksana was awarded residency space at New Works within the 2023-24 season. New Works strives to build process-focused artist-lead residency space that is responsive to the creative’s need. This may look like time in the studio, in the theatre, or a mix of the two, and may or may not include a public sharing.

A New Works residency is a safe space for creative risk taking. Oksana is still in process and will let us know if a public sharing is planned as part of their residency time. Keep an eye on this space for updates!

This season, New Works is supporting two artists with creation residencies at Q7 in partnership with Out Innerspace.