In a world where our origins are integral to our expression, TD Incubator Fellow, Migguel Anggelo, invites both artists and audiences to delve into deeply personal questions of identity and belonging. With the first show of the 2024-25 TD Amplify series coming up on November 22, we asked Migguel for a peek behind the curtain of Origins: Mind, uncovering an exploration of artistic reflection and introspection that will guide the performers on a journey into their inner worlds.

Why is this artistic vision important to you, and how does your work speak to these themes?

I think the recurring word "origins" actually speaks for itself because, as an artist, I always need to connect from my origins. I need to be cool with my mind, I need to have courage, and I need to have the strength to express myself with my free spirit. So if I am at peace with my spirit, and I'm okay with my mind, I find my courage to express what I'm feeling. So these four themes connect a lot with my work –– mind, courage, spirit, and freedom. For myself as an immigrant, freedom is living without fear, and having the courage to speak one's mind comes from freedom as well. This is inside any of the work I create, whether you look at a theatrical concert I am creating called English with an Accent, or if you look at my body of paintings. 

Now that you’ve been in Calgary for a week, in what ways have you seen your artistic vision in the every day and in the artists that you’ve been able to connect with?

Listen...I can understand now why people come here to Calgary, especially artists. I've been fascinated by this city. I have been here for two weeks at this point, and I have already written five songs. I started making oil paintings as part of my residency, and in the beginning, I used a brush; but halfway through, I started using a little stone –– a literal rock! –– that I found in the street to finish these paintings. I remember I was walking outside when I found that little stone. I say to myself, "This is so beautiful. It looks kind of like the anvil of a pallet hammer. So I took it, and I started finishing all of my paintings with just the rock. So it's something in the air –– which, as someone with allergies, I can tell you is oddly dry and moisturizing at the same time.

As I've walked around the city, I have been fascinated with a lot of murals here, especially with the backdrop of these mountains. For me, it's been a very long time since the mountains have been in my foreground in daily life, which brings me back to my youth in Venezuela and my time in Europe.  And there's been the changing leaves with their beautiful colours.

You know, I kind of see this city as a kind of artist, who is inviting you to see their work wherever you look.  It's been very clear to me, especially as I meet the artists taking part in this program, that they are hungry for connection, for inspiration, and for community. And in these stories I've just shared, I think I better understand why some of them have been drawn to come and live and work in Calgary. So this program just underscores and supports this natural allure that Calgary has to offer its artists –– a city that, like I said, is a kind of artist itself.

Can you speak to how the title of the first TD Amplify performance, Origins: Mind, connects to your overall vision for the season? What excites you most about these artists connecting to the theme? 

I think that the title for this first performance group connects with the overall vision I wanted to set for this season. When we ask each other "Where are you from?", we are basically asking for each other's origin stories. But not only the physical place where we're coming from but also where we are coming from mentally –– our language, our accent, our experience, our education, your journeys. As artists, and also as humans, we are all connected with our minds when we want to say something, and when we want to create something. It's a process where we are trying to understand the world out there and understand the world inside of ourselves, which is so intimately connected with our mental states. We always connect with our mind and then we just show our work.

I think Origins: Mind is very powerful because we are going to find out where these artists performing and exhibiting everybody are coming from, as sharing their minds will allow us to discover what kinds of artists they are. I have met the artists, in person and on Zoom calls. Some of them are photographers, some are directors, or they are singers, or songwriters, or painters. Some of them are very outgoing and very expressive. Some of them are very quiet and mysterious. And through their personalities and connecting with their minds, I find these beautiful connections –– not only to the theme, but also to my work, and to me personally. I can see in their eyes and the expressions that they approve of the theme I have set, and my presence as a mentor. It has been a beautiful connection.

With the first TD Amplify show coming up on November 22, what do you want audiences to walk away with? 

Well, first of all, I'm excited to see how those artists, each and every one of them, are coming to one of the individual themes: mind, courage, spirit, and freedom. In this case, with the first performance, I hope the audience walks away with a kind of relief, you know? And I say relief because I think these artists are creating something spectacular, and the audience won't have to "fight" at all to find the deep connection. I have told these artists in our meetings: "You don't need to focus on creating something spectacular, or something beautiful. Even if it's simple, or if it's not simple, it doesn't matter. All you need to do is connect –– you need to connect to the audience.”

In my case, I have told them that when I create something, I always put myself as an audience member, imagining myself, Miguel, wanting to see something when he goes to a show. So, in all our Zoom connections these past weeks, I have told these artists that they need to connect with their mind first. What that means is they need to believe themself. They need to believe what they are creating. Because when they believe in what they are creating –– and when they love themselves and trust themselves –– that’s when they are going to show the audience that transparency and their truth.

Now, not everyone in the audience may understand all of what is contained in these artists' work, just like we cannot know everything about a person's mind. Maybe even some will say, "You know, I don't understand, but I appreciate it." And that goes back to the fact that we as humans all appreciate the truth. These 23 artists, I'm telling you…they're so spectacular. And this shows how this beautiful TD Incubator program has created so much diversity with so many people with so much to say. And I hope that it truly incubates the arts for this city. Whether they can get other people involved, like agents or managers, to help them continue to create work, or just to expand the body of their work. Because the world needs more art. I always say to everybody: a nation without art is a poor and empty nation. Okay?

Origins: Mind premieres on November 22 in the Engineered Air Theatre at Arts Commons. Join us to dive into the minds of Error 404 Dance Found Collective  (Consisting of Zaria Rajha and Mario Lemvar),  Hip Hip Thursday (Consisting of Anthony Kha, Ella Jean, Harry Casey, Naomi Derksen, Nyle Segovia, and Tobi Sinclair ), Tehillah Chiwele, Liza Heeler, and Zach Polis. 

Complete with galleries to peruse, an art market to discover your new favourite creator and an after-show Scratch party with DJ Friend, we’ve got your Friday evening covered. Learn more at artscommons.ca/amplify.

Thank you to TD Bank for sponsoring the TD Incubator program and TD Amplify series at Arts Commons.