Common Pulse is a weekend-long arts festival in Durham that includes exhibitions, performances, workshops, a symposium and more. It's a conversation exploring new ideas around media, technology, art and culture. It's a celebration, an inquiry and a dialogue about the arts – all in a beautiful rural setting - and you're invited!

The Common Pulse Festival will be held in and around the Durham Art Gallery on the weekend of June 10 to 12 and kicks off with two engaging multimedia exhibitions featuring the work of seven artists from Ontario, Manitoba and Vienna, Austria. CrissCross is a show by the participants in the Common Pulse Artist Residency. Five artists from Ontario, Manitoba and Austria worked in Durham from May 19 to June 8. Laura Kikauka, Jessica Field, Ken Gregory, Andrew McPherson and Karo Szmit transformed the Gallery into a shared studio space and created all sorts of dynamic new works including robots, soundscapes and a light show! InterPlay features the interactive artworks of Steve Daniels and Isabella Stefanescu. Sessile, by Daniels, is a network of interconnected “creatures” that respond to our presence and each other. The Notebook Project, by Stefanescu, invites participants to leaf through a virtual artist notebook using an irresistible tactile interface. The Festival weekend includes a performance by cyborg-suit-clad artist, songwriter and performance poet Alexis O'Hara from Montreal. O’Hara gathered questions from the audience via a 1-800 number in the weeks leading up to the festival and will answer them in her live act. Also on the bill is Parsons and Morel, Durham's own hilarious and much-loved musical comedy duo. They will re-interpret the best of their material through a multi-media performance. Resident artist Karo Szmit from Vienna, Austria will conduct two public performances: one at the exhibition opening and one the next day at the Country Garden Herb Fair where she'll create Facebook avatars for the public with an entertaining real-time performance. Another resident artist, Guelph-based Andrew McPherson, will present From Mali to Mumbai, a tapestry of dub, funk, jazz and cinematic electronics with his band Eccodek in a Saturday evening performance at the Durham Town Hall. Prepare to dance! FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: http://www.commonpulse.ca/ Phone the Durham Art Gallery at 519-369-3692 or email info@durhamart.on.ca to reserve your space for any COMMON PULSE event. Space is limited. RSVP early!