Anakana Schofield

Rereading the Riot Act & On: Top Canadian art book for fall

This was a bit of a thrill. Rereading the Riot Act & On the book I, in collaboration with Jeremy Isao Speier, published with Publication Studio Vancouver on Workers Day was selected by  Blouin Art Info as a top 6 Canadian art book this fall. 

What was great about this mention is it reminded me of our public actions during the project and of that night, the night we, (Leannej, Carol Sawyer, Lori Weidenhammer, My Name is Scot, Jeremy Isao Speier) reread the riot act at our performance art cabaret as the Riot Act was being read. You couldn’t make this up! And yet, strangely or not so strangely, the media was uninterested in the fact our event took place the same night of the Stanley Cup Riot. I did write a blog for the LRB who were interested.

It also reminded me of the months I spent going through archives and newspapers learning about the labour history events in 1935.

It was also amazing because approximately 5 people will have opened this book.

I want to do more interrogations into local labour history. Working class history seems to be somewhat erased, like many histories.

Thank you Blouin Art Info and to the mysterious writer/reader/critic who opened and read our paste-up book and the others on the list including Coach House one about Will Munro, “Frank Shebageget” from Univ of Winnipeg, “In Different Situations Different Behavior Will Produce Different Results: A Chapbook”  from Paper Pusher & two more.

(Just when you think no-one is reading … the miracle of a single reader)