Nuit Blanche
October 5, 2024

FakeKnot is the umbrella entity for collaborative performance works that play with the complexities of identity and culture through costume, sound, technology, and movement. FakeKnot is grounded in street, commercial, and contemporary dance techniques that honours the queer, POC, Philippine diasporic identity of Artistic Director, Ralph Escamillan. Collaboration as a practice of knowledge co-creation is essential for FakeKnot in the ways it can generatively bring differences together. The company is a non-profit and registered charity, and gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver.

Ralph Escamillan is a queer, Canadian-Filipinx performance artist, choreographer and teacher based in Vancouver, BC. His work questions notions of identity, tradition and clothing, and the influence of pop culture in a globalising world. As the artistic director of FakeKnot, he develops collaborative performance works that have been presented both nationally and internationally. 

Karim Olen Ash is making waves in Toronto’s electronic music scene. Drawing inspiration from a diverse musical background, Karim seamlessly melds house, techno, club, and disco, striking a harmonious balance between intensity and tranquility. Alongside Chippy Nonstop, Karim co-founded Pep Rally, curating a celebrated rave that brings together top artists in contemporary club music. Annually, Karim produces the legendary World AIDS Day Ball in December.

xLq is a pop art performance duo — two matching electro-pop superstars from the future. We are party girls and theatre makers. We create interactive theatrical playgrounds with a queer pop aesthetic. We have facilitated the Creator’s Unit at the Paprika Festival for the last three years, including this year’s show: FAST. FASHION. xLq is premiering our new large-scale interactive theatrical game show ARE YOU THE ONE? at Downstage Theatre in Calgary in March of 2025.

Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, TV, film, and fashion. A three-time Canadian Screen Award winner, Vivek is the creator and writer of the new CBC Gem Original Series How to Fail as a Popstar, which had its international premiere at Cannes. She has collaborated with musical icons Jann Arden, Peaches, and Jully Black, and was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize. Her best-selling book I’m Afraid of Men was heralded by Vanity Fair as “cultural rocket fuel,” and she is the founder of the award-winning publishing imprint VS. Books, (featured on CBC’s Canada Reads) which supports emerging BIPOC writers.

Christopher Sherman is a Canadian queer photographer, videographer and writer located in Toronto Canada. Collaborations include Interview Magazine. Saint Laurent. Vogue. Numéro Berlin. Brother Vellies. Gayletter. The Face. Audemars Piguet. Allure. New York Times T Magazine. Hello Mr. Purpose & Perspective. KALTBLUT. Dear Boy. and many more.