The Only Animal

The Only Animal (TOA) is an interdisciplinary arts company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 2005 by Kendra Fanconi and Eric Rhys Miller, it began as a vehicle for large-scale, site-specific theatre events designed to disrupt everyday life and change how audiences relate to the world around them. Its early work included 'Other Freds', a clown show with a cast of 135, boats and a bicycle ballet on False Creek, and a play-in-a-pool titled 'The One That Got Away'. Over time the company's focus shifted toward the climate crisis, and it now describes itself as 'your companion through the climate crisis', making 'slow art & community on unceded Coast Salish lands'. TOA's mission is to bring art and artists to the heart of the climate crisis. Its current projects explore how place-based creativity can set the stage for climate care and sensitize relationships between people and place. The company prioritizes long-term, porous relationships with the public and its artist collaborators, shifting what it does in response to local curiosities and needs. Its programming spans residencies, community gatherings, installations, research and artist support and training. Among its named projects are Community for Climate 2026, Kiosk Residency, Slow Social Club, Slow Socials, The Growing Season (with Sunshine Coast Arts Council), Slow Social: Around Sound, DREAM TECH, Luddite Land Assembly, At the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl 2025, Growing on the Roadside: How to Combat Plant Blindness, AWSS (Autumn-Winter, Spring-Summer) Installation, Kúme Research, Listening in Relation, FLEET Residency: Edmonds Park, Burnaby, Exquisite Pressure × The Only Animal, Core Artist Work Placements and Worlding. It also presents shows and maintains a web archive described as holding eighteen years of art and action. The company operates on unceded Coast Salish lands and works with a range of collaborators and partner organizations, including Music on Main and the Sunshine Coast Arts Council. It is a not-for-profit-style arts organization rather than a commercial entertainment brand, sustained through public support, subscriptions to its newsletter and community engagement. Its public identity is closely tied to Vancouver's contemporary theatre and community-engaged art scene.

The Only Animal was founded in 2005 by Kendra Fanconi and Eric Rhys Miller. According to the company's own account, it started as a way to change the world through the creative disruption of everyday life with large-scale site-specific theatre events. One of its earliest and most distinctive productions was 'Other Freds', described as a clown show with a cast of 135, boats and a bicycle ballet on False Creek. Another early work was a play-in-a-pool titled 'The One That Got Away'. Over the following years the company built a body of work rooted in particular places and communities, and its orientation gradually shifted toward environmental and climate concerns. Its current mission is to bring art and artists to the heart of the climate crisis, with projects that explore how place-based creativity can set the stage for climate care and sensitize relationships between people and place. The company emphasizes long-term and porous relationships with the public and its artist collaborators, adapting its activities to local curiosities and needs. By the mid-2020s TOA's programming included a wide range of formats: residencies such as Kiosk Residency and FLEET Residency: Edmonds Park, Burnaby; community gatherings such as Slow Social Club and Slow Socials; collaborative projects such as The Growing Season with the Sunshine Coast Arts Council and Exquisite Pressure × The Only Animal; installations such as AWSS (Autumn-Winter, Spring-Summer); research such as Kúme Research and Listening in Relation; and artist support and training through Core Artist Work Placements. It also presented shows and participated in events such as the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl 2025. The company maintains a web archive that it describes as filled with eighteen years of art and action, and it continues to invite public support and newsletter subscriptions. It operates on unceded Coast Salish lands and collaborates with organizations including Music on Main. Its identity is that of a not-for-profit-style, community-engaged arts company rather than a commercial entertainment enterprise.

• 2026

  Community for Climate 2026 and a Slow Social Club event featuring Noelle Lee are scheduled.

• 2025

  The company participates in the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl 2025.

• 2005

  The Only Animal is founded by Kendra Fanconi and Eric Rhys Miller.

• Early production 'Other Freds' is staged as a clown show with a cast of 135, boats and a bicycle ballet on False Creek.

• Early play-in-a-pool 'The One That Got Away' is produced.

An interdisciplinary, community-engaged arts company positioning itself as a companion through the climate crisis, making slow art on unceded Coast Salish lands.

• Other Freds

  A clown show with a cast of 135, boats and a bicycle ballet on False Creek.

• The One That Got Away

  A play-in-a-pool.

• Slow Social Club

  A recurring community gathering program.

• Community for Climate 2026

  A climate-focused community project scheduled for 2026.

• Kiosk Residency

  An artist residency program.

• The Growing Season

  A project with the Sunshine Coast Arts Council.

• DREAM TECH

  A named company project.

• Luddite Land Assembly

  A named company project.

• AWSS (Autumn-Winter, Spring-Summer) Installation

  An installation project.

• Kúme Research

  A research project.

• Listening in Relation

  A research project.

• FLEET Residency: Edmonds Park, Burnaby

  An artist residency in Edmonds Park, Burnaby.

• Exquisite Pressure × The Only Animal

  A collaboration project.

• Core Artist Work Placements

  Artist support and training placements.

• Worlding

  A named company project.

1. 1The Only Animal / Hometheonlyanimal.com
2. 2The Only Animal / Abouttheonlyanimal.com
3. 3The Only Animalwikidata.org