BJ’s Gym
BJ’s Gym (1972-2011), East Village, Calgary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.J._Annis
In 2011, Angie Annis invited Drunken Paw to participate in an informal residency at BJ’s Gym in the East Village, located in the SE quadrant of Downtown Calgary. Angie Annis is the daughter of BJ Annis, owner of the soon to be demolished gym. Prior to Drunken’s paw’s arrival, the gym’s owners and staff had removed all equipment, furniture etc., leaving a ghostly shell of what was once the central hub of Calgary’s professional wrestling community. DP worked onsite over numerous sessions throughout the month of November as the building was slated for demolition in December of that year.
Drunken Paw moved throughout the building, responding to the maze of rooms and spaces that resonated with the history of the gyms storied past. Angie would often stop by to regale us with tales of the buildings history, and the people who occupied it. As we drew, we were acutely aware of the rich history of this community with the Annis and the Hart family at its centre, the heritage of Stampede Wrestling, the commitment of the athletes both to the sport and to the space, and their eventual displacement due to gentrification. This was a unique situation for all of us, as our presence there seemed suspended somewhere in that liminal space where past, present and future mingle. Stepping into this building was like being in another world in another time. It was a ghostly place to us.
Because the Gym was scheduled for demolition that December, Angie decided to throw a party and art exhibition in commemoration of the rich history BJ’s Gym embodied and in honour of her childhood home. Drunken Paw and Angie Annis named the show, conjuring the well known expression of Stampede Wrestling’s famous commentator Ed McMahon, “Ring-A-Ding Dong Dandy”. The celebration took place over the weekend of Nov. 25 and 26, 2011. True to the spectacle that is professional wrestling, the event spilled over with art, live music, burlesque dancers and fire performers.
Pieces produced
