Edward Burtynsky's In the Wake of Progress at the Canadian Opera Company Theatre, June 25 - July 17, 2022 (Thursdays through Sundays).
Enveloped by 30 foot screens, audiences will be taken on a journey through images and films from throughout Burtynsky's 40 year career bearing witness to the stark impacts of human industry on the planet, choreographed to a striking original score.
Audiences will then be invited into a specially-curated gallery of Burtynsky photographs and high-resolution murals, including some new and never-before-seen work and two unique augmented reality (AR) experiences that explore the impacts and legacy of the internal combustion engine.
The experience will also include a space called the Change Station, where visitors will be encouraged to become positive agents for change in their own local environments. The Change Station will present simple, tangible and engaging calls to action from select organizations, supported by the artist, all of which are designed to answer one question: "what can I do now?"
Co-produced by Canadian music legend Bob Ezrin, featuring an original soundtrack by Phil Strong with vocals by award-winning Cree Métis artist iskwē and performances by musicians of The Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory of Music, In the Wake of Progress marks Burtynsky's most extensive and ambitious retrospective project to date and challenges us to have an important conversation about our legacy and the future implications of sustainable life on Earth.
Commissioned and Co-Produced by Luminato Festival Toronto