Date: 2011 — Spring 2011 by archive evidence (fantasia2011.mp3 on APRIL CO-EDS 2011, file dated May 4, 2011). Tom Murphy’s 2016 Westword preview characterizes the 2011 incarnation as a ‘video-art show,’ distinct in form from the 2012+ multi-room installation events.
Where: Rhinoceropolis
Confirmed by archive evidence: the alphabets release APRIL CO-EDS 2011 contains a track titled fantasia2011.mp3 (file date May 4, 2011), confirming a Fantasia event occurred in spring 2011. This is the earliest directly dated Fantasia in the archive.
Format clarification (updated 2026-05-13). Tom Murphy’s September 2016 Westword preview of Fantasia 2016 (the “fifth installment”) characterizes the 2011 incarnation specifically as a video-art show — distinct in form from the 2012 installation event and from the 2014/2016 multi-night festival format. “The 2011 incarnation of Fantasia was as a video-art show, and in 2012 the event evolved into something more.” This means 2011 was smaller-scale and visually focused, not yet the immersive multi-room “life-size diorama” framework that the 2012+ events established.
Archive Evidence
Primary: fantasia2011.mp3 — track 05 on the APRIL CO-EDS 2011 monthly album (file dated May 4, 2011). A track named specifically after a year-stamped Fantasia event, created within days of the event’s apparent date.
Earlier reference: run it run it fantasia mixx — a track on NOV09 (November 29, 2009). The first known mention of Fantasia in the archive; establishes the concept as active by late 2009 before the named annual event began.
Fantasia as a Concept
The archive shows a continuous thread:
- November 2009: “run it run it fantasia mixx” on NOV09 — Fantasia named explicitly, with a “mixx” suggesting it was already a recurring or imagined event with associated music.
- 2010: Fantazia 2010 — album-release showcase format; 18-track folder + soundtrack subfolder.
- Spring 2011 (this entry): video-art show variant; year-stamped audio artifact.
- March 24, 2012: Fantasia 2012 — first installation event at Rhinoceropolis; the “evolved” form that defined the series going forward.
- June 6–7, 2014: Fantasia 2014 — two-night format; fully Bree-Davies-documented.
- September 9–11, 2016: Fantasia 2016 — three-night format spanning Rhinoceropolis + Club Scum + Glob; Tom Murphy explicitly counts this as the fifth installment (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016).
Notes
- Confidence medium: the event is confirmed by archive artifact + retrospective Westword-2016 framing; the venue is plausible but not confirmed.
- Tom Murphy’s “fifth installment” framing of Fantasia 2016 (Sept 2016) resolves the long-standing question of whether 2013 and 2015 happened: they did not. Five installments = 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016.
Research Gaps
- Exact date of Fantasia 2011. Spring 2011 is the closest bracket from the archive timestamp.
- Confirmed venue. Most likely Rhinoceropolis, but Colin was not yet a resident there in spring 2011.
- Lineup beyond Colin’s solo set. Stephan Herrera’s involvement in 2011 is unconfirmed (his named co-curatorship begins with 2012).
Should a “Fantasia 2010” stub be created?RESOLVED (2026-04-22): Fantazia 2010 now created.Did Fantasia 2013 and 2015 exist?RESOLVED (2026-05-13): No. Per Tom Murphy’s “fifth installment” framing in the Sept 9, 2016 Westword preview.