Through the CORVID-19 project, Ed seeks to prove these statements to be true:

1. Crow knowledge is superior to human knowledge

2. Crows know how to get us out of the jam we’re in, if we’ll only listen

3. You have to find a quiet place to be able to hear them

4. They’re OK with him sharing some of their secrets with you

5. Birds are not dirtier than humans

In May 2022, Ed will ground his explorations during a four-day, exposed residency in the woods at Camp Colton, our partner residency campus. He’ll be listening to the fire, the water in the stream, and roosts of crows for their nighttime storytelling. And he’ll be gathering the items that float down to him, be they treasures or detritus. He believes that this is how wisdom (and garbage) are passed down to us.

The Project Residency program responds to artists and creatives needs by providing dedicated space and support via artist honorariums, facility and land access, and administrative assistance. We look forward to sharing more from Ed as his project develops.

ABOUT ED BOURGEOIS

Mohawk-descendant performer/playwright, creative, and arts administrator, Ed has served as Managing Director of PAʻI Foundation (Honolulu, HI), General Director of Anchorage Opera, and Director of Programs at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. He established the Alaska Native Playwrights Project, which trained emerging Native playwrights in Alaska and on Pine Ridge Reservation (SD), and produced ʻAu I Ke Kai (Crossing the Distant Seas), bringing together Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian performers for the Talking Stick Festival (Vancouver, BC) and Moʻolelo Storytelling Festival (Honolulu). His plays have received staged readings at Native Voices at the Autry (Los Angeles), LaJolla Playhouse and Oklahoma City Theatre Company’s Native American New Play Festival.

Ed has been program manager of Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) at Western Arts Alliance since October, 2018.