Gatherings: Archival and Oral Histories is a seven-year SSHRC Partnership Project (2024–2031) that documents and preserves the diverse histories of performance. Building on work from the Partnership Development phase (2018–2024), the project develops archives, oral histories, and publications that foreground performance practices across regions, genres, and communities—extending beyond traditional urban and institutional contexts. From vaudeville, circus, and community festivals to Indigenous, immigrant, refugee, and settler performances, Gatherings seeks to capture the breadth of performance culture, particularly in areas and traditions often overlooked by mainstream scholarship.
Supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Gatherings works in partnership with the national organizations Canada’s Theatre Museum, Dance Collection Danse, and Playwrights Canada Press; the post-secondary institutions the University of Victoria, Queen's University, Trent University, the University of Lethbridge, and Dalhousie University; and the local heritage organizations the Art Gallery of Ontario, The ArQuives, the Dalhousie Art Gallery, Directors Lab North, the Elgin County Archives, Fort Edmonton Park, the Inuit Art Foundation, the Nanaimo Museum, the OKâlaKatiget Society, the School House Museum, and the Nozhem: First Peoples' Performance Space, with the potential for more. The project serves as a hub and resource for scholars, students, and community researchers with a goal to create inclusive, ethical, and accessible infrastructures that preserve and share our performance heritage, while fostering collaboration across academic and community contexts.
Gatherings' principal investigator is Dr. Stephen Johnson (professor emeritus, University of Toronto), and follows a co-directorship model currently with Dr. Seika Boye (University of Toronto), Dr. Jill Carter (University of Toronto), and Dr. Alexandra Kovacs (University of Victoria). To learn more about the project's organization, including our co-investigators, collaborators, and contributors, please visit the project website at gatheringspartnership.com.
Website: gatheringspartnership.com
X: @GatheringsP
Instagram: @gatheringspartnership
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/gatherings-partnership
