“Seeing” Colonial Violence in Architecture: The Case of the Citadel Theatre

Through an investigation of the Citadel Theatre of Edmonton, one of the largest North American theatres, I investigate works of architecture as physical indices of colonial violence. This investigation is made through a postcolonial and ecomaterial framework that enables me to focus on the materials used in the building of the Citadel Theatre: both their geographical origin (Medicine Hat, Alberta, and California) and the labor that has gone into its extraction. Labor and extraction tie buildings to their inherent violence towards peoples and lands. The talk is accompanied with plans, elevations, and facades of the building as well as archival photographs and advertisements.