First known as a poet and printmaker (Mostra Grafica, Biennale di Venezia, 1972; National Gallery of Canada tour 1971-72), in 1974 Vera Frenkel presented String Games: Improvisations for Inter-City Video, three live transmissions from Bell Canada Teleconferencing Studios in Montreal and Toronto with cumulative playback at Montreal’s Galerie Espace 5. The piece was notable for, amongst other things, its early use of media and corporate sponsorship. As the first to use the Bell Studios this way, Frenkel referred to issues of long-distance manipulation and control, along with irony and humour, leading viewers to new interpretations. String Games was prophetic of Frenkel’s use of traditional games or stories, her ability to rework formats and direct other participants, and her ability to recontextualize-here, re-working the conventional operating procedures used in the Bell facility to accommodate her insights.