Mushtari focuses in developing site-specific and interventionist choreographic projects within everyday public spaces, with the goal of facilitating encounters between pedestrians, audiences, and city dwellers with the ‘invisible’, the ‘strange’, and the ‘unexpected’. These projects involve a variety of approaches, including individual research, collaborative knowledge sharing, critical idea exchanges with performers, and both participatory and non- participatory performances.
For example, in 2023, Mushtari was commissioned by the Ontario Culture Days Festival to orchestrate a two-day choreographic intervention which she titled ‘Choreo-xperience Public Spaces’ within the public spaces of the City of Pickering. Serving as a Creative in Residence from 2022 to 2023, she collaborated with five dancers to execute solo dance interventions along sidewalks, boulevards, and in front of commercial establishments and restaurants on the first day, followed by group interventions in The Esplanade Park on the second day of the festival.
Solo Research
Solo research plays a pivotal role in Mushtari’s public space centred choreographic work. Prior to initiating rehearsals with performers, she immerses herself in understanding the social, spatial, and political dynamics of the targeted public spaces she intends to artistically engage with.
Whether it’s parks, streets, squares, or transitional areas, Mushtari explores these spaces with curiosity and critically through multiple visits, often at different times of the day. This enables her to grasp their unique ambiance, uncover everyday narratives, and envision alternative possibilities.
By physically interacting with overlooked and hidden spaces, as well as engaging with the social dynamics of these environments, Mushtari embraces a process that resonates with social anthropologist Sarah Pink’s concept of “emplacement” — the sensuous interrelationship of body-mind-environment.
Rehearsals
Rehearsal sessions commonly take place within public spaces that Mushtari chooses for choreographic interventions. In each session, she fosters co-creation opportunities among performers.
Mushtari brings new propositions to each session, encouraging dialogue and collective exploration of various facets of the chosen public areas. Through these exchanges, performers gain insight into the spatial, social, ecological, and political dimensions, constituting these spaces.
This accumulated knowledge prompts performers, alongside Mushtari, to engage in corporeal responses, facilitating artistic interventions that introduce ‘dis-measures’ within the ‘measured’ and ‘calculated’ nature of everyday public spaces within our cities.
Final Performance
Process Documentation
In Progress