“We are a fourth way school in the Chisti tradition. We publicly front as an arts collective with nothing to prove.”
— Jason Ford
The name Elkdonis derives from the ancient Greek word Helkdonis, which carries the meaning of objective prayer — prayer not for the self, but outward, selfless, directed toward something greater. It is this orientation that undergirds everything the collective does.
Jason Ford and Dana McCool officially founded the Elkdonis Arts Collective as a duo of artists working at the cutting edge of experimentation — minimizing habitual elaboration so that the viewer's experiential expectations, previously stored perceptual patterns, may be confronted and temporarily dissolved, allowing direct perception of self in the moment.
The collective has since grown into an international network with key members based in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Paris — operating across disciplines of performance art, creative writing, music, philosophy, digital infrastructure, and marketing.
Our signature practice: gravity-defying formations of stone and rubble, delicately balanced in public and natural spaces. These ephemeral sculptures reach the viewer on deeper levels of being and cultivate a transcendental view. Viewers become respectful of the magnificence and exaltation — the sculptures disarm and take one's breath away.
Performance laboratories, energy healing rituals, immersive readings, and creative writing workshops that embody our collective's anarchist and reductionist principles. Art as vehicle — using creative expression to access deeper states of consciousness and inner transformation.
Workshops, reading groups, and seminars accessible to all. A nomadic reading room and open-concept bookstore, online workshops for freelance writers and artists, and entrepreneurial development programs for independent creatives. A sanctuary where beauty and inquiry can meet.
An in-progress documentary — Earth, Art, and Anarchy: Between Worlds with the Elkdonis Collective — capturing balance assemblage performances across Canada alongside paratheater, music, and philosophy, to introduce the collective and its vision to a global audience.
Auto-didactic creatives, occultists, musicians, performance artists, writers, and historians — embodying rhizomatic, non-hierarchical learning across three continents.
Inventor of the balance assemblage sculptural performance and game. Jason brings expertise in performance art, paratheater, rock balancing, and facilitation. He leads the Elkdonis Labs curriculum.
Historical tour guide, storyteller, and autodidactic researcher focused on folklore, sociology, art history, colonialism, and land-based knowledge. European outreach lead and content creator.
Music educator offering drum circle and rhythm attunement programs (sangrehouse.com) as well as enneagram workshops (hiddenenneagram.com). Active in seeking funding and exposure in the US.
Lead architect of the collective's digital infrastructure and web design vision. Developing a unified book-themed website concept and may host an artist residency at the ashram.
Overseeing the Nextcloud infrastructure and co-leading the legal incorporation of the collective as a Canadian not-for-profit organization.
Professional marketing strategist with academic and career experience. Leading the development of the collective's outreach strategy and social media presence.
“The collective is committed to using art as the means of inquiry. Each inquiry focuses on a particular question that is grounded in what it is to be human. We are unique in our purpose and are not commercial. Our works are intended to be experienced, not sold.”
Elkdonis Arts Collective — Founded, Toronto