Refuge of Meaning: Live performance by the Re:Imagine Collective

Experience a unique musical and dance performance, 75 feet underground, inspired by the Diefenbunker’s creation and the themes of protection and belonging. 

Refuge of Meaning is a performance work that explores parts of the history, creation, and inspiration of the Diefenbunker through music and dance. 

Dancer and choreographer Elizabeth Emond-Stevenson and loop pedal violist and composer Kathryn Patricia Cobbler explore the strength and resonance of the feminine voice through this work. As well as highlighting the Critical Path Method that was instrumental in the development of the Diefenbunker, Refuge of Meaning holds space for voices that may have been less present during the facility’s creation. Unpacking themes of protection, care of the land, and care for each other, this work invites audiences to contemplate their own definitions of safety and security, while collectively answering the question . . . “do I belong here”? 

Date: Thursday, June 12, 2025 

Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. 

• Doors open at 6:30 p.m. 

Cost: $30.00

• Tickets must be reserved in advance, as there are limited spots available. 
• Parking is always free! 

 Details: 

• The evening will begin with remarks from the artists.
• The live musical and dance performance will take place in the Bank of Canada Vault. The performance is about 45 minutes long.
• Coffee and tea will be available.

>> RESERVE TICKETS 

Funded in part by the City of Ottawa.

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Meet the artists

Hear from Elizabeth Emond-Stevenson and Kathryn Patricia Cobbler as they introduce themselves and explain the artistic process behind their work.

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About the Re:Imagine Collective 

The Re:Imagine Collective is an artistic ensemble that reanimates still and silent public spaces — sharing impulses, and reacting and responding to their surroundings through multidisciplinary performance of improvised and precomposed mediums. This multidisciplinary trio captures the beauty of their surroundings while interpreting scores with a modern lens through the intersectional voices of two contemporary female artists and their use of fragmentation, improvisation, and responsiveness.

Photographs by Curtis Perry.

Elizabeth Emond-Stevenson

Through her work in inclusive dance, cross-disciplinary collaboration and broad learning from multiple perspectives, Elizabeth has sought to redefine what dance looks and feels like for herself, and to allow space for others to do so as well.

An independent Franco-Ontarian dance artist from traditional unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory (Orléans, ON), she creates/performs/collaborates through connections between people/places/artforms from accessible, intersectional feminist perspectives. An alumnus of the Quinte Ballet School, The School of Dance, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks’ Professional Training Program, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, Elizabeth has also trained extensively in inclusive dance techniques/teaching through Propeller Dance, Candoco (UK), AXIS Dance Company (USA), and Stopgap Dance Company (UK). She was mentored by Tedd Robinson from 2021 to 2022.

Elizabeth is currently entering her fifth season as a company dancer for Propeller Dance, working on a project with 10 Gates Dancing, and was commissioned by Ottawa Dance Directive to create a new duet for their Series Dance 10 in September 2023. She is a member of multidisciplinary group Ghost Rooster Collective, supported by Canada Council of the Arts, the City of Ottawa, and Digital Arts Resource Centre.

She creates dance works, films, and interdisciplinary collaborations that have been supported/commissioned by a wide range of organizations and arts councils, including the National Arts Centre, CPAMO, TACTICS, Théâtre Wakefield, Theatre 4.669, Dark Horse Dance Projects, Ottawa Dance Directive, Free Flow Dance Theatre, Dancers Studio West, Lisbon Dance Platform (Portugal), Skylines Dance & Film Series, HUFF Festival, NextFest, Social Distancing Festival, the City of Ottawa, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council, and Bourse Tontine. Her community practice includes working with Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre, the City of Ottawa, creating and co-facilitating Conversations, a discussion series for and by Ottawa-Gatineau dance artists, and INTERFACE, a research intensive for emerging Adawe-area dance artists. Elizabeth has danced for Ottawa Dance Directive, Allison Burns, Lois Chan, Kaja Irwin, Shara Weaver, Chelsea Passmore, Par B.L.eux, Corps Bara Dance Theatre, Pixie Cram/Tina Le Moine, Tara Luz Danse, and The Ghomeshi Effect, among others. She has served as rehearsal director/outside eye for Propeller Dance and Allison Burns.

Kathryn Patricia Cobbler

Hailing from Canada’s Capital region, loop pedal violist, visual artist, composer, and educator Kathryn Patricia Cobbler has crafted a singular niche in music improvisation and classical performance. She obsesses over creating uniquely arresting soundscapes, whether in solo recitals, composing and performing for art installations, and more. Named a CBC Trailblazer in 2021 and a recipient of one of Ottawa Arts Council’s Emerging Artist awards, she has been featured in Canada’s most notable Concert Series, including Chamberfest, Music and Beyond, and NUMUS Concerts, to name a few.

Named one of “3 Classical Musicians You Should Know” in 2022 by SHIFTER Magazine and the NAC, Kathryn is a seasoned performer, speaker, presenter and workshop facilitator. As a performing artist and educator, Kathryn is a performance instructor at Carleton University and an artist on the MASC Artist roster. As a composer, Kathryn has been featured in the Boston-based concert series Castle of Our Skin’s Black Composers Miniature Challenge, which resulted in the world premier of her piece A Home Called “Wander” for solo viola and spoken word. Most recently, Kathryn was commissioned by the National Art Gallery of Canada to compose a piece of music for their exhibit, Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment.

Kathryn holds degrees in viola performance from Western University (B.M.) and the University of Ottawa (M.M.), and was a 2022 fellow of the Global Leaders Institute. She is currently a PhD student in Critical Studies in Improvisation through the University of Guelph. Kathryn performs on a viola by luthier Sibylle Ruppert and a Boss RC-600 loop pedal.

kathrynpatricia.com 

Rachel Gray

Rachel Gray is a Canadian interdisciplinary artist based in Algonquin Territory/Ottawa. Navigating the world with Dyslexia has led her to explore art as a way to create customized language. Through drawing, performance, installation, and storytelling she tries to speak into the places that language leaves blank. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Rachel is also an author, animator, and illustrator, with her graphic novel Jess adapted into a musical work commissioned by Pacific Opera Victoria. She is the librettist and co-creator of Raccoon Opera, premiering at Salle Bourgie in Montreal in spring of 2024. Rachel is a founding member of Ghost Rooster Collective.