2025 Concurrence Gatherings
Monday, September 22, 7 pm
Monday November 10, 7pm
At 8EAST, 8 East Pender Street
Donate at the door
$**/$20/$10/FREE
Refreshments will be served
Concurrence Gatherings are concerts, talks and story-sharing events, featuring Indigenous Artists and improvising NOW Society Musicians. Presented and hosted by the NOW Society at the 8EAST Social Space for New Culture since 2019, these gatherings are curated by Tʼuyʼtʼtanat-Cease Wyss, Sophie Dow and Lisa Cay Miller.
September 22, 7pm
Tʼuyʼtʼtanat-Cease Wyss - synthesized plant sounds
Soloman Chiniquay - electronics and live samples
Daria Pasqua Whitestar - electronics and live samples
Allison Burik - saxophone
Fahmid Nibesh - guitar, percussion and electronics
November 10, 7pm
Jarrett Martineau - electronics
Francis Baptiste - songs
Justin Neal - narratives
With NOW Society improvising musicians
Artist Bios:
T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss (Skwxwu7mesh, Sto:lo, Hawaiian, Swiss) is an educator, interdisciplinary artist and Indigenous ethnobotanist engaged in community based teaching and sharing. Throughout Wyss’s 30 year practice, Wyss’s work encompasses storytelling and collaborative initiatives through their knowledge and restoration of Indigenous plants and natural spaces. Wyss has been recognized for exchanging traditional knowledge in remediating our relationship to land through digital media, site-specific engagements and weaving. Wyss has participated and exhibited at galleries, museums, festivals and public space such as Vancouver Art Gallery, Morris, Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Contemporary Art Gallery and the PuSh Festival to name a few. Their work can be found in various collections such as the National Library of Canada, Special Collections at the Walter Phillips Gallery, and the Vancouver Public Library. They have led the transformation of Semi-Public (半公開) during their Fellowship at 221a and they are the 2021 ethnobotanist resident at the Wild Bird Sanctuary. They have assisted in developing an urban Indigenous garden currently showing at the 2021 Momenta Biennale in Montreal. tuyttanatceasewyss.ca
Soloman Chiniquay is an afro indigenous documentary photographer and filmmaker from the Stoney Nakoda and Pomo tribes living between xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səl̓ilwətaɁɬ territory and his homelands of Treaty 7 territory. His lens-based work witnesses expressions of Indigeneity, creating imagery that attempts to candidly explore the land and the people, the ways people use and connect to the land, and the artifacts they leave on it. Chiniquay was a 2021 Wedge Artist in Residence, exhibitions include Queen’s University Racism is Garbage and New Growth 221A. soloman-chiniquay
Daria Pasqua-Whitestar (ANTI-NOTHING) the fiery DJ who fearlessly embraces her provocative persona, crafting cacophonous beats that defy convention and cater to the delightfully disruptive. With an avant-garde edge, her music is a bold fusion of chaos and rhythm, irresistibly drawing in those who revel in the unconventional. Unapologetically catering to the audaciously annoying, ANTI-NOTHING's sets are a magnet for those who dare to dance on the fringes of societal norms.
Allison Burik is a saxophonist, clarinetist, improviser, and composer based in Tio'tia:ke/Montreal, Quebec. Equally comfortable playing in indie rock bands as they are experimental music festivals, the multifaceted musician blends a plethora of influences and approaches in their own work. Their recent debut solo album, Realm, explores the sonic possibilities of the woodwinds through electronics and contact microphones, resulting in soundscapes that are both earthy and alien. Visiting from Montreal, as part of the Trading Places: Un Échange program. allisonburik.com
Fahmid Nibesh (based in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal) is an improviser primarily working with guitar, percussion instruments, electronics and voice. Whether alone with his instruments or in tandem with others, somatic attunement with his environment is at the forefront of his practice. Currently, he is fascinated by how feedback (via contact mic) informs and activates the geometry of objects and his real-time interaction with them. Visiting from Montreal, as part of the Trading Places: Un Échange program. fahmidnibesh.bandcamp.com
Jarrett Martineau is a creative multi-hyphenate and a leading voice in Indigenous music, media, and cultural production. He has worked extensively across the arts in music, radio, television, and digital media in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Berlin, and New York. Jarrett is a practicing sound artist and musician and one half of the electronic music duo CHXMERAS. They released their debut album Terminal City in 2024 and made their national live debut at the 25th Anniversary Edition of acclaimed electronic music festival MUTEK Montréal. Jarrett is nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) and Denesųłiné from Frog Lake Cree Nation in Alberta and he is currently based in Vancouver on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Indigenous Governance from the University of Victoria, he has been a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Columbia University and CUNY's Center for Place, Culture and Politics in New York City, and his academic research explores the role of art and creativity in advancing Indigenous resurgence and decolonization at the intersections of art, media, technology, and social movements.
Francis Baptiste is an Indigenous songwriter who covers topics of cultural reclamation, addiction, and fatherhood. CBC has said "Francis Baptiste is unsparingly candid." Of the single Lazy Lake, CBC called it "lushly hypnotic." francisbaptiste.ca
Justin Neal is a dramatic writer of offbeat narratives that weave comedy with high-stakes drama, creating uplifting tales of personal transformation. He grew up picking berries on the small farm his Skwxwú7mesh úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) grandmother, Dorothy Nahanee, and Filipino grandfather, Thomas Almojuela, secured after years of laboring in the fields on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Known by family in Eslhá7an (North Vancouver, BC) as Dot, she migrated to Bainbridge in 1942 with her grandmother, Agnes Moses Joe, to work on the berry fields. There, she met Thomas and had five kids: Thomas, Colleen (Justin’s mother), Ed, Ben and Denise.Justin juggled day jobs and amateur theatre in San Francisco and New York from 1998-2013 until he moved to his family’s ancestral homeland to study a joint MFA in Creative Writing and Theatre from the University of British Columbia, graduating in 2015. His feature The Skins Game received Telefilm script development funding in 2021 and was awarded a 2025 Telefilm Canada production grant in the Indigenous Stream. Co-owner alongside producers Jessie Anthony and Cole Vandale of SKINSGAME PRODUCTIONS INC., the company will go to camera with The Skins Game in 2026 with director, Jon Elliott. Justin’s original series for television, Boundary Bay, and his feature, The Traveller, have received development funding through the Indigenous Screen Office and Creative BC. The latter script was first drafted as a stage play through Arts Club Theatre Company’s Emerging Playwrights Unit. His series project, Hole in the Donut, a 2023 Creative BC Rogers Indigenous Film Fund recipient, was a 2020 WeScreenplay (LA) TV Writing Competition Finalist. holycrowarts.com/writer
~8EAST ACCESS STATEMENT ~
The 8EAST social space for new culture is a project of the NOW Society, located on the Territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh and səlil̓wətaʔɬ Peoples, in Chinatown, in the DTES, in Vancouver.
We are committed to making 8EAST a safe(r), welcoming and more accessible space. We do not tolerate discrimination based on age, gender, neuro a-typicality, disability, place of origin, cultural background, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. We do not tolerate racism, sexual aggression, assault, or harassment which can include unwanted touch or comments that objectify or sexualize. We adopt and follow the We Have Voice Collective Code of Conduct.
We can accommodate a variety of needs, including assistance dogs, walkers, wheelchairs, scooters, and strollers. To arrange for American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, please contact
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We recognize that access is an ongoing and evolving discussion and acknowledge that this statement may be insufficient. Concerns or suggestions can be addressed, discussed or expressed anonymously by emailing
c2FmZXR5IHwgbm93c29jaWV0eSAhIG9yZw==. 8EAST ventilation: Open windows and door, 3 HEPA air purifiers and UV lights on return air in the HVAC system. Mask wearing is recommend and masks will be available. Seating, wooden stackable chairs without armrests, is movable.
Seating is generally arranged in groups of two or threes with 1 meter between groups for easy mobility. Wheelchair seating is easily accommodated. The 34 inch wide main entrance to 8EAST has a threshold of approximately 0.5 inches high. There is no door automation. During events, the door is open or can be opened by the Front of House person. There are no ramps or stairs to navigate. Internal floors are smooth concrete. Outdoor plaza events are held on concrete pavers, some are uneven. Paths and hallways are kept free of impediments.
GETTING THERE AND PARKING:
8EAST is located within 50 meters of buses 004, 007, 019, 022, 209, and N19 on Pender Street. Stops for buses 003, 008, 014, 016, 020, N8, N20, and N35 are located within 250 metres on Hastings Street. Stadium–Chinatown SkyTrain Station is approximately 400 metres away. General metered street parking is available on surrounding streets. A passenger drop-off zone without a curb is located within 50 metres at 531 Carrall Street. To arrange for HandyDART transportation and accompanying assistants, please contact
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There is a bike rack on the SW corner of Pender and Carrall Street, viewable while inside 8EAST and on the Plaza. Covered bike parking is available at the Main Street – Science World Skytrain Station. From there, one can take the #3 bus, then walk West down Pender to 8EAST (c. 5 mins), walk to 8EAST (c. 15 mins) or ride one skytrain stop to Stadium – Chinatown and walk Northwest to 8EAST (c. 5 mins). The closest Bike Locker to 8EAST is located at VCC Clark. From there, one can take trains to Stadium – Chinatown Skytrain Station and walk NorthWest to 8EAST.
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