ShOUT – Queer West Young Adult Unconferences @ Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre
Posts tagged gay youth
News: Queer Lit! Wednesday Aug 11, 2010 Toronto Queer West arts Fest event
Aug 2nd
Queer West Shout Youth Program
ShOUT! (Un)Conference Series
Wednesday August 11, 2020 —Queerly Lit!
All Positive & Respectful Folk are Welcome to attend!
Tonight’s event is one of many events held during Toronto’s 5th Annual Queer West Arts Festival This year arrives for NINE DAYS in August on the THEME of QUEERING BOUNDRIES with arts shows, dance, music, spoken word, drama, laughs, film, community fair, books, and, of course, cabaret! The LARGEST of three dedicated queer arts festivals in ALL OF Canada.
August 2010 will mark the 5th annual QUEER WEST ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL – To mark this historic event, Toronto’s “West End” will be (re)claimed, (re)presented and (re)named as “queer” over the course of 9 days (Saturday August 7 to Sunday August 15, 2010)
Wednesday August 11th—Queerly Lit!
Where: the Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar
Address: 1214 Queen Street West
Doors: 7:30
Start Time: 8pm
Host: Queer West’s very own, Jaqlin Walters
NO COVER
Granny Boots is early evening entertainment for queer folk who like to be in bed by 11. Tonight’s Host: Queer West’s very own, Jaqlin Walters you and your Granny get to be home early AND entertained all in one night! Tonight GRANNY BOOTS starts at 8 PM sharp and ends at 10 PM.
Event Description: Granny Boots and the Queer West Young Adult ShOUT! (Un)Conference Series, host an evening to celebrate the boundless world of the queer imagination with Vivek Shraya, Tamai Kobayashi, and Alec Butler authors talk about how we read situations, contexts, truths, politics, literature, but above all people?
Queer-ness challenges not necessarily what we read but how we read. Who is doing the reading and who is doing the writing, or does it matter? If so, why/if not, why not? What about the labels we give narratives and whether or not the labels/categories we attach to particular narratives are an insight into the labeling and categorizing of bodies. Like literature, how do we read bodies? As fictional, as non-fiction, as a cover story, as poetry, as an ad for ROOTS, as punk, as a queer, as a girl as a boy?
Vivek Shraya, is a transplanted prairie boy living in Toronto. Active in the local queer community, he’s also a musician who has toured North America, showcased at NXNE and CMW, and appeared with Tegan and Sara, Dragonette, and Melissa Ferrick. Shraya has released five records, including 2009’s Keys & Machines, and was recently featured on ABC’s Private Practice. His now the author of a short story compilation, titled “God Loves Hair”, which explores gender politics, queer theory, religion and regionalism. http://blog.vivekshraya.com/
Tamai Kobayashi, author of Quixotic Erotic and Getting Wet: Tales of Lesbian Seduction, to name of few of her works, explores the erotic in ways that some have described as “ranging from tender and sultry to coolly surreal”. Born in Japan in 1965 and raised in Canada, Tamai Kobayashi is a writer, songwriter, and videomaker who lives in Toronto. Her writing has appeared in a number of lesbian anthologies and literary magazines. Kobayashi is one of the founding members of Asian Lesbians of Toronto. Her story “Panopte’s Eye” is an excerpt from a novel-in-progress. www.ryerson.ca/library/events/asian_heritage/kobayashi.html
Alec Butler, Playwright born on Cape Breton Island in 1959, Nova Scotia , now living in Toronto. She began her life as a woman (Audrey Butler) but in 1999 completed gender reassignment and changed her first name to Alec. Butler is co-artistic director of Temperamental Journey, a playwright-centred company devoted to creating provocative and entertaining theatre in the spirit of social change and artistic excellence. The Globe and Mail has called Mr. Butler a “lesbian [sic] punk iconoclast.” He has had many of his plays published in journals. His work Radical Perversions: 2 Dyke Plays, was published in 1990 by Women’s Press. He was also a finalist for the Governor General’s Award , 1990 for Black Friday? Plays include: Black Friday? (premiered at Dangerous Dreamers, Sydney, Nova Scotia, 1994, directed by Bryden MacDonald); Hardcore Memories ( Women in View , Vancouver, British Columbia, 1993, directed by the author); Claposis ( Fringe of Toronto Festival, 1990, directed by the author).
The Details: Where: the Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar. Address: 1214 Queen Street West. Doors: 7:30. Start Time: 8pm. Host: Queer West’s very own, Jaqlin Walters. NO COVER. Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
ShOUT is brought to you by our Fabulous Sponsors
news: Queering Urban Geographies/Spatializing Identity
Apr 28th
Queer West Shout Youth Program
Queering Urban Geographies/Spatializing Identity
Wednesday May 26, 2010
Queer in the City
All Positive & Respectful Folk are Welcome to attend!
Update Thursday May 27 – Very good turn out for ShOUTs unconferences Queer in the City - Urban planning series last night, more than 40 people. We will be organizing the 3rd in the series on urban planning, likely before Christmas, a committee, is being formed to choose next topic. Contact Jaclyn to get on committee …qwshout@gmail
Taken March 31, 2010
“ShOUT is an Unconference” A Participant-Facilitated Discussion
OUTtv.ca and Youth Employment Services and the Gay West Community Network Inc. (Queer West) have initiated a series of monthly community events through the SHOUT Unconference Program for Young Adults.
In a nutshell, ShOUT! Queer West (Un)Conferences is a grassroots, non-profit, entirely volunteer-fuelled project. In collaboration with Queer West Arts and Culture Centre we initiate a monthly series of free and public participant-facilitated panel discussions on a spectrum of queer/feminist topics that loosely connect to the theme of gender and sexuality in the arts and in culture.
Each of the guests may take up to 15 minutes to display/perform artwork and/or reflect informally on a variety of discussion questions (Which we post for you each month below. We proceed by entering into a q/a/comment period facilitated by a moderator. The program is primarily meant to create an enriching social and educational space for queers in South West Central Toronto (emphasis on Parkdale) on top of sparking a much needed community dialogue on topics pertinent to young queer experiences.
SHOUT YOUNG QUEER ADULT UNCONFERENCE SERIES has Challenging topics that really make you think. Where Everyone is a Guest speaker in a Welcoming Circle.
ShOUT Wednesday May 26, 2010
All ages, genders and orientations welcome to attend.
May 26 Poster
Artwork by Jaclyn Isen
click to open
Topic: ” Queering Urban Geographies/Spatializing Identity” Tonight’s Topic, is the second in a series on Queer in the City – Urban Planning – (1st) “The Future of Queer Neighbourhoods in Toronto.” January 29, 2008.
Suggested Questions on this topic:
How do particular spaces/places become queer(ed)?
How do our sexualized and gendered identities shift as we pass through a variety of environments, contexts (public/private, urban/suburban/rural)?
Is there still a need for a distinct and geographically concentrated gay culture in an increasingly diverse an accepting wider society?
Is there a difference between “gay” and “queer” spaces/ places/ events/ groups?
What is the historical relationship between “bohemian” city spaces and cultures of “alternative”/non-normative sexualities?
UnConference Guests
Adrienne Comars (Moderator)
Graduate Urban Studies & Geography, York University
Adri an urban enthusiast, has just finished an Honours BA in Urban Studies and Geography from York University. Her interest in urban issues grew out of her experience of working with local children in Singapore. After noticing the socio-economic/cultural/social polarizations that were happening, she wanted to have a deeper theoretical understanding, thus returning to studies. It is hoped that her next big step will be a Masters degree in Urban Design focused particularly on public spaces.
John Paul Catungal (Presenter)
PhD Candidate, Department of Geography
University of Toronto.
John Paul (JP), originally from Burnaby BC, moved to Toronto for his graduate studies. He holds a BA Hons from Simon Fraser University and an MA from the University of Toronto. He is currently pursuing his dissertation research on the complex nexus of racial and sexual politics, focusing in particular on social service provision for and by queer people of colour. He has also conducted research on homophobia and urban public space; cultural economy, urban governance and social exclusion; university-community relations and student voluntarism; and violence against immigrant Filipinos in Canada.
Outside academia, JP is involved in frontline work with a local queer youth organisation and is a member of the Qu(e)erying Religion group.
Guests
Robert Lidstone (Presenter)
PhD student in the Department of Geography at York University Robert is an enthusiastic new resident of Parkdale and lives in a co-op house on Pearson Ave near Mitzi’s. His MA thesis, “Refugee Queerings: Sexuality, Identity and Place in Canadian Refugee Status Determination”, examined sexual orientation-based asylum through interviews with lawyers and claimants and observation of refugee hearings in Toronto and Vancouver. He is currently considering ways to further develop this topic for his doctoral dissertation research. Robert’s recent writing has attempted to theorize how the city functions as a place of refuge for queers and examine the relationships between identity, security, space and belonging.
Alexis Mitchell (Presenter)
Toronto-based media artist
Alexis Mitchell is a Toronto-based media artist whose video works and documentaries have screened all over Canada, the U.S and internationally. She has been creating performative documentary and hybrid visual works that focus on queerness, performativity, the body, the carnivalesque, architecture and queer notions of diaspora. Alexis is currently in the midst of completing an Master of Fine Arts in Film and Video Production at York University.
Collaborations she was worked on: A commissioned video project entitled Queeropolis: Toronto 1972-2008 – a topological study of the queer, urban fabric of Toronto, as well as a 3-part video installation queering notions of homeland and diaspora with Sharlene Bamboat entitled Inextricable. Alexis is currently working on her MFA thesis project, which merges architectural and queer theory to forge possible acts of transgression within contemporary Jewish culture and politics.
Catherine Jean Nash (Presenter)
Associate Professor of Geography, Brock University.
Catherine teaches social and cultural geography with a focus on urban issues. She has a law degree from the University of Ottawa, an M.PL in Urban Planning from Queen’s University and a PhD from Queen’s University in urban geography. Her area of interest is urban social and cultural geography with a focus on sexuality, gender and space, as well as queer, feminist and trans geographies. Professor Nash currently teaches Social Justice Theory. Catherine has published a number of articles and book chapters on historical aspects of Toronto’s “gay ghetto” and on contemporary queer spaces such as the Toronto’s women’s bathhouse.
Michel F. Paré (Facilitator)
President & Founder, Queer West Arts and Culture Centre.
Michel F. Paré (M.L.S. & M.Phil), a 30 year gay activist. Michel helped establish the Queer West Village (A non designated tourist area, unlike Church & Wellesley). Michel is an advocate for our West Toronto queer community, and a strong proponent of creating change, by bringing people together. A Member of Gay Equality in Mississauga (GEM) 1976 to 1990, served as President in 1990. The following year was Founding Chairman of the new GALA WEST Gay and Lesbian Association West, that served the Etobicoke/Mississauga area. He is the Publisher of OUTeXpressions newspaper, a social enterprise of Queer West. Michel works for himself as a backend, web content editor / designer, three days a week and runs the Philosophy Cafe, Wilde Chats in his spare time.
Jaclyn Alia Isen (Facilitator)
Vice President of Gay West Community Network Inc (Queer West) and ShOUT Project Director
Jac holds a Masters of Arts in Women’s Studies from the University of Western Ontario. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in Adult Education and Community Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto (OISE).
The evening will include a screening of a provoking video installation titled “Queeropolis” by Toronto based media artists Alexis Mitchell and Tori Foster
Reminder: Any Arts Collective volunteer, any of the guests or participant are invited to Rhino’s Bar & Grill after the talk, to socialize and continue chatting over libations. 1249 Queen St W. A 2 minute walk, from the centre. www.therhino.ca
Queer in the City – Source Information
On Tuesday Jan 29, 2008 Queer West came up the idea for a unique queer public forum topic, which was held at the Gladstone Artbar, 1214 Queer St. W., titled: ”The Future of Queer Neighbourhoods in Toronto.” The event was covered by the Toronto Star and various bloggers. (Guest speakers at that event were: Kevin Stolarick, PhD., MaRS Centre; parkdale Politico John Colautti; queer west Toronto Business women Dawn Chomitsch and Tanya White. Over 70 people attended, the room held 35.
Related Link: http://sexgeek.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/from-gaybourhood-to-queer-diaspora/
There was study was done on Gay Toronto in 2005 titled Gay politics and ethnic minorities: The struggle for gay identity in Toronto in the late 1970s’ Gender, Place and Culture. and in 2006 ‘Toronto’s gay village (1969 to 1982). Plotting the politics of gay identity.’ Author: Dr. Catherine J. Nash
Between 2008 and 2011 researchers from Brock University are doing a study of Queer West Toronto. Titled: “Leaving the gaybourhood: Queer politics in Toronto”.
The Event Details: ShOUT is Free and Runs on Last Wed of every month from 6:30 pm to 8.30 pm at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre, 220 Cowan Avenue (Toronto Parkdale) Wheelchair accessible. Yummy Vegan refreshments provided. Street Map Families welcome too. RSVP Jaclyn Isen qwshout@gmail.com Help line 416-879-7954 Brochure Queer West, Toronto Ontario We are on Facebook
Teaser Video
The 2007 “Queer in the City series” brought together business people, leaders in San Francisco’s tourist promotion, activists, and scholars to explore the political, cultural, and economic values of queer neighborhoods for cities. This dialogue will help develop consciousness around why queer neighbourhoods bring vitality to cities and how governments and communities should value them — The entire presentation is viewable here: www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DD8042DA184AF37E
ShOUT is brought to you by our Fabulous Sponsors
OUTeXpressions Newspaper | Queer West Arts and Culture Centre| Youth Employment Services| OUTtv.ca | Naco Gallery & Cafe| IvarDesign.com| | Lesbian Social Business NetworK (LSBN) | Parkdale Liberty Villager Newspaper | Swagger | Community One Foundation
News: shOUT! UnConference series Wed. Apr. 28, 2010 Sex Positive Activism from the Streets to the Sheets!
Apr 15th
Queer West Shout Youth Program
Wednesday April 28, 2010
Sex Positive Activism from the Streets to the Sheets!
All Positive & Respectful Folk are Welcome to attend!
“ShOUT is an Unconference” A Participant-Facilitated Discussion
OUTtv.ca and Youth Employment Services and the Gay West Community Network Inc. (Queer West) have initiated a series of monthly community events through the SHOUT Unconference Program for Young Adults.
The Program offers Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Intersexed, Queer, Questioning and Two-Spirited (LGBTTIQQ2) youth and their friends and allies (ages 20 to 30 something) residing in West-Central Toronto with a focus on Parkdale, an innovative series of live monthly events that aim to stimulate a needed community dialogue on a wide range of pertinent topics to them.
Each month a wide range of topics pertinent to young adults with an emphasis on the theme of gender and sexuality in the arts and in culture in doing so, ShOUT! provides a safe, supportive and enriching context in which its participants can foster new knowledge, skills, and above all, meaningful relationships in their community.
The fun of Unconferences is: YOU and Tonights Guests are Panelists. So don’t be sfraid to express yourself.
SHOUT! Free’s your mind! Once a month, Queer Youth and Young Adults will leave this unConference series, with new things to think about and a growing sense of community. And that’s really the goal.
ShOUT! Queer West (Un)Conferences for Young Adults
Presents….Sex Positive Activism from the Streets to the Sheets!
Join us for a titillating discussion about how sex positive thinking, is changing the face of the business of pleasure
Flyer by Michel
Jen La Fauci Gordon (Presenter)
An Outreach Worker at Maggie’s: The Toronto Sex Workers’ Action Project
The Toronto Prostitutes’ Community Project
298 A Gerrard St. E. 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5A 2G7
maggies@rogers.com 416-964-0150 www.maggiestoronto.com
Maggie’s is an organization run for and by sex workers. Our mission is to assist sex workers in our efforts to live and work with safety and dignity. We are founded on the belief that in order to improve our circumstances, sex workers must control our own lives and destinies.
For as long as she can remember, Jen La Fauci Gordon has been a rabble-rousing pain-in-the-ass. She doesn’t take injustice lightly, and the only thing she takes lying down is her clients. As a sex worker, she has been able to meet people from all walks of life, and she uses this experience in her activism. While she is currently a Peer Outreach Worker at Sistering (a women’s drop-in centre in Toronto’s west end), and an Outreach Worker at Maggie’s: The Toronto Sex Workers’ Action Project, in the past she has worked with PUEBLO in Oakland, San Francisco Needle Exchange, the Halifax Anti-Poverty Initiative and Food Not Bombs (too many cities to count!). In all of these roles, she has challenged the status quo and gotten people to think outside the box (ahem)!
OUTLINE:
“I will be talking about the links between internalized prejudices and outward action, and showing people how their preconceptions can keep them from realizing their activist potential”. Jen Said.
Her main topic is sex work. She wants you to examine your own prejudices and preconceptions about sex work and sex workers. From there, she will do some basic myth-busting and provide a little background on the sex work activism movement. Drawing parallels to other movements, and show that sex workers’ rights have everything to do with the fight for GLBTQ rights, women’s rights, and, when you get to the core of the matter, human rights.
” I’m looking forward to the 28th; it sounds like it’s going to be a fabulous evening!” Jen said.
Please feel free to share your thoughts with Jen tonight. If there is anything you think is extraneous, or anything you think Jen should cover that isn’t mentioned ask her about it.
Reese Jones (Presenter)
Reese is the manager and educational outreach coordinator of Come As You Are.
701 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M6J 1E6
(416) 504-7934 www.comeasyouare.com
The worlds only cooperatively and democratically owned and run sex shop!
Talking about sexual empowerment and owning your own body and knowing yourself, because this community centre is safe place in queer west Toronto — non-judgmental, open and welcoming.
We think that really aligns with our guest presenter from [Come As You Are] values.”
Come As You Are has an educational and community focused mandated and is an accessible space.
In addition to running in-store workshops on a not for profit basis we do conduct workshops in the community on the topic of sex toys and positive sexuality.
Reese’ s talk will focus on toys for pleasure, who, how and why people may use them. Includes a tour of all the latest sex toys, plus juicy sex tips for all genders, orientations, and tastes.
Event Details
ShOUT is free and Runs on Last Wed of every month from 6:30 pm to 8.30 pm at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre, 220 Cowan Avenue (Toronto Parkdale) Targeting 20 to 30 something age group, but no one turned away. Street Map Families welcome too. RSVP Jaclyn Isen qwshout@gmail.com Program Help line 416-879-7954 Queer West, Toronto Ontario.
Educational Videos
Below is a teaser video: Sex Toys for Men – Learn about different sex toys that guys can use with their partners or alone.
Below is a teaser video: Sex Worker Open University July, 2009 (UK) At London’s first ever Sex Worker Open University, over two hundred sex workers and allies from the UK and abroad took part in workshops, discussions and actions. This film presents an alternative and empowered image of the sex worker.
The SHOUT evening is Free and Wheelchair Accessible. Vegetarian food, cupcakes and green tea, will be provided.
The Event Details: Every month, a group of young folks gather for a discussion on topics pertaining to gender and sexuality in the arts and culture. ShOUT is free and Runs on Last Wed of every month from 6:30 pm to 8.30 pm at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre, 220 Cowan Avenue (Toronto Parkdale) Targeting 20 to 30 something age group, but no one turned away. Street Map Families welcome too. RSVP Jaclyn Isen qwshout@gmail.com ShOUT Queer Youth Program Help line 416-879-7954 Brochure Queer West, Toronto Ontario
ShOUT is brought to you by our Fabulous Sponsors
OUTeXpressions Newspaper | Queer West Arts and Culture Centre| Youth Employment Services| OUTtv.ca | Naco Gallery & Cafe| IvarDesign.com| | Lesbian Social Business NetworK (LSBN) | Parkdale Liberty Villager Newspaper | Swagger
News: shOUT! Unconference series Wed Mar. 31, 2010 Culture Jam!
Mar 13th
Queer West Shout Youth Program
Playful young feminists discuss how to jam culture @ Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre Wednesday March 31, 2010
All Positive Respectful Folk Welcome to Attend
“ShOUT is an Unconference” A Participant-Facilitated Discussion
OUTtv.ca and Youth Employment Services and the Gay West Community Network Inc. (Queer West) have initiated a series of monthly community events through the SHOUT Unconference Program for Young Adults.
The Program offers Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Intersexed, Queer, Questioning and Two-Spirited (LGBTTIQQ2) youth and their friends and allies (ages 20 to 30 something) residing in West-Central Toronto with a focus on Parkdale, an innovative series of live monthly events that aim to stimulate a needed community dialogue on a wide range of pertinent topics to them.
Each month a wide range of topics pertinent to young adults with an emphasis on the theme of gender and sexuality in the arts and in culture in doing so, ShOUT! provides a safe, supportive and enriching context in which its participants can foster new knowledge, skills, and above all, meaningful relationships in their community.
ShOUT! Queer West Young Adult (Un)Conference Series
Presents…
MAKE CULTURE JAM!!
Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn
is welcome and invited to join the discussion on…
Guerrilla Art, Media-Making and Creative Resistance
Carly Stasko - Culture Jammer
“As consumers of empowerment, our autonomy is only expressed through the act of choosing. By creating new choices for ourselves, and expanding opportunities for empowerment outside of the consumer sphere, we can be activists in the best sense of the word.” ~Carly Stasko
In her article, Action Grrrls in the Dream Machine,
Part of Turbo Chicks: Talking Young Feminisms (Sumach Press 2001)
ShOUT poster by Jaclyn Isen
Using the culture-jamming inspiration of our participating guerilla artists and independent media-makers, our discussion tonight will focus on a plethora of subversive expressions (zine-making, graffiti, stencil and sticker art, print, performance and blogging, are a few examples) through which marginalized folk exert their voices and insert themselves into a cultural landscape where they are seldom seen, heard or validated.
Together, we will explore the extent to which these creative practices work as a “queer” tactic of resistance and as a process of personal and political transformation and healing.
Discussion Sparkers
1) First and foremost, what exactly IS a Culture Jam?
(hint: think about the multiple meanings of “jam” as a metaphor for what a culture jam might aim to accomplish)
i—a sweet preservative, ii—a predicament, iii—a blockage wedged into the machinery
2) What makes a particular Jam successful and why? Do all examples of parody and satire necessarily count as jams?
3) Feminist artist and academic, Allyson Mitchell, has called writings on public spaces by lesbians and feminists and other forms of political graffiti “emergency story-telling”. Why do you think the impulse to tell our stories is so urgent? In what ways does the exercise of personal narrative, which we see in a variety of jamming mediums (including zines, and blogs) function as a potent political tool?
4) What is a “zine”? The “DIY-Movement”? and “craftivism”? and what is their relationship to an anti-corporate/anti-capitalist politic and sub-culture?
5) Many jammers and independent cultural producers, work to reconfigure, denaturalize, mess with, and “queer” conventions that dictate who gets legitimate space carved out in urban environments, who really belongs there, and whose voices are authorized to speak and be heard. Considering this, how are the artistic processes and methods used by jammers as important as the messages themselves that they communicate?
For example, think about why a jammer would choose a particular site (either physical, visual or virtual) as the setting for their jam. Why is it significant that zines are often hand-written rather than typed? How can scissors and glue be political tools as much as they are crafting instruments? How does a xerox machine function to legitimate the illegitimate?
6) Some critics may see zine making and blogging and artistic expression in general as merely a narcissistic catharsis for the self indulgent, rather than as a form of politics. To what degree can the various creative resistance practices we’ve discussed, actually be reframed as a valid form of activism, despite that that they may not enact policy change directly?
7) Toronto culture jammer, and media tigress, Carly Stasko, implied in the opening epigraph (see above) that empowerment is a commodity to be consumed. What does she mean by this? How can we develop a critically queer eye for the ways in which LGBT lifestyles are being co-opted by those in power? At whose expense do certain identities and bodies gain visibility?
Thought Provoking Topic Resource Links
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Local Toronto artist, Daryl Vocat does a lot of guerillla-type art. Visit his web site Infestant Propaganda
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Another group of performance artists/jammers called “Finger in the Dyke Productions“www.fingerinthedyke.ca/ they internationally known, (Famous for their “Lesbian National Parks and Services… piece).
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Similar, Professor Allyson Mitchell a Toronto maximalist artist, into radical and lesbian feminisms, through alternative curatorial projects. www.allysonmitchell.com/AMbio.cfm
Presenters Biographies
Sarah Pinder (Presenter)
Sarah Pinder is a writer, editor and small press publisher based out of Toronto, ON. A zine maker of nearly 10 years, her work has been part of the Distroboto project, and shortlisted for the Montreal Small Press awards, as well as NOW Magazine’s Best of Toronto.
Her writing has been published in She’s Shameless, invisible city, Canadian Woman Studies, and underCurrents. Once an editor for Existere magazine, Sarah now writes for Broken Pencil. A graduate of McMaster’s Labour Studies MA program. Follow her here: bitsofstring.wordpress.com
Lauren Hortie (Presenter)
Lauren Hortie (aka DJ Sigourney Beaver) as Presenter, she makes queer themed posters for events around the city (Like Steers & Queers, Granny Boots and West Side Story Video) and has a ‘zine series titled “My First Lesbian Colouring Book”. Teaches art at Oasis Alternative Arts & Social Justice school for at-risk youth Web Site: www.laurenhortie.com
Victoria Gray
Victoria Gray (Presenter)
Victoria Gray is a Toronto freelance journalist. She will be talking about her recent volunteer assignment two weeks ago (The DREAM Project) in Domincan Republic. While there, she taught high school students, about the power of social media and photography. micro-blogging as a “bottum-up” tool of reclaiming voice.
Victoria holds a BA from Ryerson University in Counter Cultural Philosophy. She is currently doing post graduate studies in Journalism at Ryerson U. When not studying she freelances for The Toronto Observer, The East York Observer, and Blog T.O. and is Managing Editor of The Courier.
“Social media, art and institutions like Queer West shOUT Program are some of the best ways for people to make change in society, because when groups like this have the numbers, big business will adapt.” said Victoria
Special Guest: Prominent Toronto Culture Jammer, and Media Literacy activist, Carly Stasko will be present at the event, though will not be presenting anything formally http://www.intrinsik.net/
Jaclyn Isen, shOUT! Project Director
Jaclyn Alia Isen (Moderator)
Queer West Vice President and Shout Project Director
Come meet the visionary behind tonight’s new Queer West Young Adult Program Unconferences.
Jaclyn Alia Isen is one of Queer West Arts Collective’s newest members, joining the Board of Directors and initiating the ShOUT! Young Queer Adult (Un)conference Program in December 2009. Jaclyn is a creative and eager generation Y’er and a proud Parkdalian with an ongoing craving for queer and feminist theory and community.
Jac holds a Masters of Arts in Women’s Studies from the University of Western Ontario, has taught an introductory undergraduate tutorial in Women’s Studies and has participated in a number of conferences on the topics of gender and sexuality.
She has developed a great deal of experience in organizing arts-based community programming in her role as the Community Outreach Coordinator for a wonderful independent feminist business on the Danforth called Red Tent Sisters.
Jaclyn is a woman-loving-woman, and generally a people-loving-person, who holds a fierce belief in the power of the arts to educate, cultivate, heal and transform community. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in Adult Education and Community Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto.
The Event Details: Every month, a group of young folks gather for a discussion on topics pertaining to gender and sexuality in the arts and culture. ShOUT is free and Runs on Last Wed of every month from 6:30 pm to 8.30 pm at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre, 220 Cowan Avenue (Toronto Parkdale) Targeting 20 to 30 something age group, but no one turned away. Street Map Families welcome too. RSVP Jaclyn Isen qwshout@gmail.com ShOUT Queer Youth Program Help line 416-879-7954 Brochure Queer West, Toronto Ontario
The SHOUT evening is Free and Wheelchair Accessible. Vegetarian food, cupcakes and green tea, will be provided.
PICTURES TAKEN AT THIS EVENT ARE - HERE
Teaser Videos
In Video Below In 2009, Abraham Ingle brought Berlin’s Papergirl Project to Portland. Over 200 pieces of original 2d art were displayed in a gallery, then rolled up, and distributed via bicycle to randomly selected people on the streets of Portland, Or. It is a question of chance and luck who will eventually catch such a roll of art, but the excitement of making surprising presents, is actually what Papergirl is all about!
In Video Below: Featuring footage from the 2007 Portland Zine Symposium, a zine bicycle tour of Portland, and activities bringing zine culture to life. An original documentary culled from over 64 hours of footage. Best suited for people with a new interest in zines, pros, and novices. Artwork by Cristy Road and music by J Church and Defiance, OH! Created by Basil Shadid, Rev. Phil Sano, Nickey Robo, and Joe Biel.
In video below, Toronto Culture Jammer Carly Stasko is a self-titled Imagitator who agitates imagination as a Toronto-based but globally inspired artist, writer, activist, producer and holistic educator. Carly is interested in love, healing, jamming with culture, as well as working and playing towards environmental and social justice through education and the arts. You might find her presenting workshops on media literacy and indymedia activism in high schools and universities across North America. Visit her web site: http://www.intrinsik.net/
ShOUT is brought to you by our Fabulous Sponsors
OUTeXpressions Newspaper | Queer West Arts and Culture Centre| Youth Employment Services| OUTtv.ca | Naco Gallery & Cafe| IvarDesign.com| | Lesbian Social Business NetworK (LSBN) | Parkdale Liberty Villager Newspaper | Swagger
Jobs: Volunteer positions with Queer West year round
Mar 5th
Queer West Shout Youth Program
Queer West Motto – Building a Community. Strengthening the City
We appreciate our volunteers. They make a real difference in our community and in the lives of our queer youth.
We’re looking for enthusiasm, dedication and a commitment to Queer West’s ShOUT Young Adult Program & Unconferences. and Queer West Arts Festival 2010 Values of team work, trust, excellence, sustainability and creativity. There are many shoes to fill and we need talented people to fill them – one of them could be you. The volunteer positions are available year round SHOUT is the first of its kind in the west-central neighbourhoods of The City of Toronto. We are the first LGBTQ organization in the Western Hemisphere to hold Unconferences.
It offers a safe, secure, positive space for Queer Young Adults, their Friends and Allies. Ages 20 to 30 something.
Note Bene: We are not a member Volunteer Toronto and have no interest in joining. This volunteer position is not listed on their web site. We get one to three applications a week for volunteer positions or students placements via email with Queer West. Please let us know if you heard about this opportunity, via Volunteer Toronto. Thank you. What’s in it for me?
Here are just a few benefits to volunteering with shOUT!
Video: Benefits of volunteering
Training in a variety skills transferable to many professional work environments.
Ongoing professional development opportunities.
- A connection to the community.
- Supporting those without a “voice.”
- A letter of reference.
- New friends and a supportive team environment.
- Opportunities for growth.
shOUT Volunteer Crew
1. You will be working as youth facilitator; finding guest speakers for our monthly topics.
2. Introducing/facilitating/moderating the panel discussions.
3. Organizing workshops; art, artists art and art exhibitions, community fairs etc.
4. Organizing special field trip and workshops on Toronto Island and around town.
5. You will work with a team of volunteers as a collective, pooling ideas and sharing events.
6. You will be sharing your knowledge and experience with queer youth.
7. Helping to recruit volunteers.
8. You will be involved promotional activities.
9. You will be member of the shOUT! Advisory Committee.
2010 Queer West Arts Festival Volunteer Crew
Set Up – Put out tables and chairs for vendors, artists and community groups at Community Fair and other events. Stage set up. Help participants as needed and general clean up of grounds. Greeters Welcome people to the Festival. Let them know what it’s about. Answers questions such as what’s happening
Door People – Collect monies & cash donations during an event.
General Help – To be on call and available as needed to assist with various duties such as helping with set up for performers, getting supplies, poster neighbourhoods with our flyers and general errands.
Participant and Attendee Surveys – Go around and get people to answer a few questions on the Festival. It will take a maximum of one minute to complete. You will be provided with the survey sheet and pens.
Tear Down after events – Put away tables and chairs for vendors, artists and community groups tear down, help participants as needed, and general clean up of the grounds at Community Fair.
Volunteer shifts are 4 hours, but can be flexible based on individual requirements. Certificates provided for all volunteer hours, free food and beverages at events.
It’s not absolutely necessary you have a university degree. You could have high school or college diploma. Placement students welcome too.
We looking for creative people to help brainstorm ideas for themes of each monthy event, help in researching that topic and reachout to invite community-leaders/experts/artists/scholars/activists… what-have-you to act as panelists on that topic (ie- wide range of topics pertinent to queer gen-Y-ers youth and young adults.
shOUT Support Volunteers are asked to commit to approximately 3 to 5 hours per month. The program is For Young Queer Adults (Run by Generation-Y Volunteers ages, 20 to 30 something)
The Queer West (Beehive) Arts Collective now meets every two weeks, on a week day evening.. The shOUT! Queer Youth unconference series started on Wednesday February 24, 2010. The (Un)Conferences is held on the last Wednesday of every month From 6:30 pm to 8.30 pm at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre, 220 Cowan Avenue (Toronto Parkdale) Queer West Office 416-879-7954 http://shout.queerwest.org If interested, send a cover letter, resume (CV) to ShOUT Project Director: Jaclyn Isen: qwshout@gmail.com to set up an interview. Student placements welcome too. (Volunteers) Code of Conduct
News: shOUT! Unconference series Wed Feb 24, 2010. Out on the Streets. Young, Queer and Homeless in Toronto.
Feb 23rd
Queer West Shout Youth Program
Queer West Motto – Building a Community Strengthening the City
Wednesday February 24, 2010
We were thrilled that 31 Generation-Y queer youth (Ages 18- to 27) turned up tonight at ShOUT Three drove all the way from St Catherine’s ON, 53.1Km.
There were a few curious guests from other agencies wanting to know more about shOUT and talking about their work with homeless youth. The evening ran smoothly, no lags. Our young facilitator, did an excellent job, the poets were great, and there were songs, rhythmic clapping and spoken word. A few former homeless youth had good opinions about system. The QW Board was present to answer questions
Accolades are starting to come in via Facebook: Thank you to an engaging audience. Let’s continue to raise awareness to the issues of LGBTQ youth homelessness in Toronto. Ilona Abramovich
Attendence over 40 people. Not a bad start tonight. The event will surely grow and creating more excitement as the months roll by. See you Wed March 31 for the next one topic and guests TBA – Posted by Queer West
“ShOUT is an Unconference” A Participant-Facilitated Discussion
We feel it’s time to move on and do something new and exciting again. Combing the best of our former Queer Peers Mentoring Program and Java Knights Public Forum. We have moved into the future of queer public forums by adopting Open Space Technology, Unconference a facilitated participant-driven face-to-face conference around a theme or purpose. Our new Shout Youth Program and Unconferences are now held in the Toronto Parkdale – Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre to serve the whole community better.
The Agenda Tonight
Mix and Mingle with our panelists, poets and the members from the ShOUT Beehive Collective, who worked hard putting tonight’s event together for you. All Generation-Y volunteers. The Queer West Board of Directors will also be present. Philip Cairns, Jaclyn Isen and Michel F. Paré.
- Poster by Sam Gorrie
There will be Art Show and Works by Ilona Abramovich and Spoken Word Readings by Max Baru and Dani Mas
There will be 30 minute exclusive documentary film on life and times of Ilona, Young, Queer and Homeless and living on the streets Toronto and the solutions, she is now seeking to help queer youth. Film director and writer, Ilona Abramovich, not available on any video hostings sites.
The Feb 24 poster is by Sam Gorrie a Shout Volunteer and professional caricature artist. Click in it to see larger version.
Tonights event will be video taped, by Casey Reid (With permission of Panelists and Participants) Casey is a 2008 UWO graduate with Honours, Specilaization Film Studies.
The SHOUT evening is Free and Wheelchair Accessible. Vegetarian food, cupcakes and green tea, will be provided.
Wed. Feb 24 event. Runs from 6:30 pm to 8: 30 pm at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre, 220 Cowan Avenue (Toronto Parkdale) Street Map It then runs on the last Wednesday of every month. Families welcome too. Queer West Office 416-879-7954 Program Manager and Queer West, Vice President : Jaclyn Isen: qwshout@gmail.com
Tonight’s Topic: Out on the Streets. Young, Queer and Homeless in Toronto
Some LGBT youth find their sexual orientation an additional barrier within already limited services for homeless. There are no queer youth shelters in Toronto
Please note that participation in ShOUT! Queer West Youth and Young Adult Program does not necessarily reflect the sexual orientation or gender identity of its participants in any particular way.
Presenters Biographies
Ilona Abramovich (Guest Panelist/Filmmaker)is a PhD student in the Adult Education and Community Development program at the University of Toronto – OISE.
Her research interests focus on LGBTQ youth homelessness, youth culture, and support services. The main question that drives Ilona’s work and passion is “where is the support?” She strives to find where the support is for LGBTQ youth who are homeless in Toronto and to help share the voices of a population of people who are often silenced and unheard.
She paints on canvas, wood, and concrete – using acrylics, spray paint, nails, wire, and screens. Ilona is inspired by pink skies, observation, and hope. Her Web Site: http://www.ilona6.com/
Max Baru
Max Baru (Guest Poet/Panelist) was born in Moscow on November 4th, and currently resides in Toronto.
Baru is a member of Parkdale Street Writers group (A weekly writing workshop for local youth 16-25 years of age.) His work focuses on contemporary fiction, and explores unconventional romance, issues of identity, and gender as well as attempts to distort social perceptions. Baru’s work often contains undercurrents that reflect his views on mental health issues, and although often presented through a dark motif emphasizes self-preservation. Baru is currently a volunteer at Dandyhorse (Cycling) Magazine and most recently his poetry has been featured by the Hot-Sauced Words poetry reading series. Baru was an attendee at our Queer Expressions a night of Poetry and Spoken Word at The Press Club on January 24, 2010
“Writing for me has been a band-aid as much as it has been a way to communicate. It’s been dangerous and comforting, a way to slow down, connect, live many places, genders, and hair colors. It lets you revolt in your own unique way and thank the ones dear to you in the most personal way. Working with the Parkdale Street-Writers has been a thrilling experience.” Said Max Baru
Jaclyn Isen
Jaclyn Isen, Queer West a Vice President Shout Project Director
Come meet the visionary behind the new Queer West Young Adult Program Unconferences.
Jaclyn Alia Isen is one of Queer West Arts Collective’s newest members, joining the Board of Directors and initiating the ShOUT! Young Queer Adult (Un)conference Program in December 2009. Jaclyn is a creative and eager generation Y’er and a proud Parkdalian with an ongoing craving for queer and feminist theory and community.
Jac holds a Masters of Arts in Women’s Studies from the University of Western Ontario, has taught an introductory undergraduate tutorial in Women’s Studies and has participated in a number of conferences on the topics of gender and sexuality.
She has developed a great deal of experience in organizing arts-based community programming in her role as the Community Outreach Coordinator for a wonderful independent feminist business on the Danforth called Red Tent Sisters.
Jaclyn is a woman-loving-woman, and generally a people-loving-person, who holds a fierce belief in the power of the arts to educate, cultivate, heal and transform community. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in Adult Education and Community Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto.
- Emily Pohl-Weary
Toronto author Emily Pohl-Weary (Guest Panelist) grew up and still lives in the city’s west end. She’s currently writing a four-issue girl pirate comic (illustrated by Willow Dawson). Her young adult mystery novel, Strange Times at Western High, was published by Annick Press in the fall of 2006. Emily started art/lit hybrid Kiss Machine magazine in 2000. A slim collection of her poetry, Iron-On Constellations, was published in late 2005.
Her first novel, A Girl Like Sugar, was released in 2004.Pohl-Weary currently coordinates a free weekly writing group for west-end Toronto youth called Parkdale Street Writers. She also facilitated writing workshops at Evergreen Youth Shelter and Street Outreach Services in 2007 for Toronto Youth Street Stories /Youth Pathways Project, an arts-based research study conducted through the Centre for Mental Health and Addiction and University of Toronto, which focused on issues of ethnic and sexual diversity, drug use, and mental health faced by youth living in high-risk environments on or close to the street.
She is currently working on a new novel, a film script, and is completing a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia. Visit Her Web Site: http://www.emilypohlweary.com/
Y.E.S.
(Guest Panelist) Whitney Pyper, Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Toronto Youth Employment Services
YES is a premier sponsor of the SHOUT Youth Program. Pyper has ample experience with youth job applications and resume writing and will share with us her useful tips and real world experience.
Dani Mais
Dani Mas (Guest Poet/Panelist) Born Danielle Thomas in St. Thomas Jamaica, the third of seven siblings some of whom she’s yet to meet. She currently resides in a nameless neighbourhood, west of Roncesvalles in Parkdale. She is musician and fond of producing outsider art. As a writer she is Partial to writing fiction, she is intrigued with societal structure the complexities and contradictions of the human condition, particularly obsessed with the ideas of truth and love. She is a constant student of life and in the literal sense. A member of Parkdale Street Writers youth group and a big fan of Pride Toronto and Queer West Fest. Dani is member of Parkdale Street Writers
Suggested discussion questions to ask ourselves:
Creative expression initiatives like SKETCH and Parkdale Street Writers seem like peculiar ways of addressing the needs of street-involved youth. (1) Do you think arts-based programming is a valuable/necessary social service, why or why not?
(2) What do you think the reasons are that queer youth are largely overrepresented in the overall population of homeless youth? (3) What additional barriers do they face in accessing social resources? (4) How are their experiences and needs unique and how can we address them uniquely?
-Queer youth migrate to urban centres like Toronto from all over Canada and abroad. (5) How can we begin to draw attention to the problem of queer youth homelessness as not just a municipal but a national and even international issue?
(6) How might challenging/re-working traditional conceptions of “home”, “family”, and “community” be significant exercises/themes for queer subjects more broadly (whether literally with a “home” or not)
(7) Are there particular gender and race differences we need to recognize between the experiences of Queer Street youth in addressing their needs?
(8) In what ways does discrimination or violence against queer youth in schools contribute or increase their vulnerability, affect their academic performance, and/or the risk of ending up on or near the streets of Toronto? (9) How can we make schools safer for queer youth?
It is necessary to address the hostility that queer youth may experience daily, beginning with equal treatment in Canadian schools. We must address systemic causes of discrimination and promote respect for others from an early and critical stage of development. As van Wormer & McKinney, 2003 wrote “Rejection by peers, teachers and parents (or even the fear of rejection) is often internalized as self-hatred and externalized as self-destructive behavior.”
(10) What are some proactive measures that can be taken in the areas of education, social services, employment and housing to mend the current queer epidemic of homelessness?
The following link on queer youth and school safety may be of interest to you: http://www.owjn.org/owjn_2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=67
The SHOUT evening is Free and Wheelchair Accessible. Vegetarian food, cupcakes and green tea, will be provided.
The Event Details: Every month, a group of young folks gather for a discussion on topics pertaining to gender and sexuality in the arts and culture. ShOUT is free and Runs on Last Wed of every month from 6:30 pm to 8.30 pm at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre, 220 Cowan Avenue (Toronto Parkdale) Targeting 20 to 30 something age group, but no one turned away. Street Map Families welcome too. RSVP Jaclyn Isen qwshout@gmail.com ShOUT Queer Youth Program Help line 416-879-7954 Brochure Queer West, Toronto Ontario
ShOUT is brought to you by our Fabulous Sponsors
OUTeXpressions Newspaper | Queer West Arts and Culture Centre| Youth Employment Services| OUTtv.ca | Naco Gallery & Cafe| IvarDesign.com| | Lesbian Social Business NetworK (LSBN) | Parkdale Liberty Villager Newspaper
News: Toronto Youth Employment Services teams up with ShOUT
Jan 31st
Y.E.S. teams-up with Shout
Another great sponsor joins Shout that will complement our Program.
Toronto Youth Employment Services Whitney Pyper Marketing and Outreach Coordinator and Centre Manager Manager, Shoshana Fainsilber were very impressed with the presentation made to them by Michel F. Paré and Jaclyn Isen, Queer West Board members on Friday January 29. This sponsorship package is not just a link and logo. ShOUT will be working alongside them supporting each other’s Initiatives, in helping Toronto youth, gay or straight. Their door is open to help us any way they can; community table some of their special events, counseling for any youth in our program, their resource centre is open our events and topics working with youth seeking employment skills and training. They will be our guest speakers at our launch February 24 (name biography to be posted soonest)
In 1968, The Rotary Club of Toronto founded the first youth employment centre in Canada, Youth Employment Services YES. From that time, it has been our mission to transform the lives of young men and women…and not just for the moment, but transformed forever.
At YES, we provide young people with professional counselling and training to help them realize their potential and get back on track. Our training techniques have been so beneficial to our clients that we are used as a teaching model for other employment services across Canada. We are regularly asked by all levels of government to host international delegations from around the world to share our extensive knowledge of effective practices addressing youth unemployment.
YES was the first to both recognize and address that being out of work is often the result of factors beyond the control of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged youth. Low self-esteem, a mental or physical disability or simply being in need of bus fare to get to a job interview can all have a tremendous effect on youth employment.
At YES our mentorship approach gets to the root of these issues and offers a range of solutions customized to meet the needs of each individual. We continuously develop and deliver programs for thousands of youth each year in several of Toronto’s high-risk neighbourhoods. Since our inception in 1968, YES has helped over 100,000 people.
We proudly boasts an 81 per cent success rate helping youth find work or return to school.
In 1998, we opened Canada’s first Youth Business Centre – this coincided with our 30th Anniversary. The Youth Business Centre helps young entrepreneurs to start a business or self-employment.
2008 marked 40 years of operations for Youth Employment Services YES. Over our 40 years as service providers we’ve pioneered new, innovative programs that stay in touch with the problems and challenges that youth face daily.
YES has also opened up its Teaching Centre to students in Universities and Colleges across Canada. By providing this opportunity to Universities and Colleges, students have the opportunity to do their practicum in Canada’s first youth employment counselling centre.
News: OUTtv Teams up with shOUT Team
Jan 26th
OUTtv teams up with shOUT Queer Youth Program
Gay West Community Network Inc (Queer West) Press Release. Tuesday January 26, 2010.
Queer West Board of Directors shelved the Java Knights Forum and our Queer Peers Mentoring Program. “Looking back on the history of our first two programs, they were the Model T automobile (Tin Lizzies) of queer public forums.” said the President of Queer West, Michel F. Paré.
“Your program may be local, but your topics are of national interest to our 1.5 million (Nielsen numbers) gay and lesbian viewers across North America, we would like to partner with you. “ said David Taylor Senior Director, Broadcast Advertising OUTtv Canada’s Premier National gay and lesbian television Network, during a private meeting with Shout Innovators on Monday January 25, 2010 at OUTtv offices in Toronto ON.
The sponsorship package would include future display advertising on the main site. Several one minute spot announcements and interviews with ShOUT guest speakers on national topics of interest. OUTtv’s David Taylor, will be one of the guest speakers on a future topic for discussion: Queer Representation on TV/film. Jaclyn Isen is doing a follow up proposal for David Taylor, outlining future topics and guest speakers .
We have moved into the future of queer public forums and programming. Shout has a completely new concept, that queer television audiences and forum attendees will be excited about. OUTtv has new deals in the UK, Europe, and South America.
The Project Innovators, Michel F. Paré (Queer West’s Founder and President) and new SHOUT Program Manager and Queer West new Vice President, Jaclyn Isen, started developing the revised concept on Friday December 11, 2009. They are reinventing how gay and lesbian-focused public forums are produced and presented to the community. The long range plan is a weekly drop in program, expanded services, paid staff and volunteers.
SHOUT a public forum for Queer Youth and Young Adults. Will offer Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Intersexed, Queer, Questioning and Two-Spirited (LGBTTIQQ2) youth and their friends and allies (ages 18-27) residing in West-Central Toronto with a focus on Parkdale, an innovative series of live monthly events that aim to stimulate a needed community dialogue on a wide range of pertinent topics to them.
Thematically-relevant community leaders, scholars, activists and artists will be invited to act as panelists and performers at each unique event that will be wholly planned, promoted and facilitated by the Queer West Arts Collective. In doing so, ShOUT! will provide a safe, supportive and enriching context in which its participants can foster new knowledge, skills, and above all, meaningful relationships in their community.
