In the Blog
Ladyfest Toronto Schedule Announced
The Ladyfest 2008 schedule has been announced! This year’s festival is going to be completely amazing, with events starting Sunday September 14 and art shows running until September 27th.
Ladyfest Toronto is a multi-disciplinary celebration of feminism and the arts, showcasing the varied experiences and talents of women* and trans male artists. Happening September 14th-21st in various venues across Toronto, Ladyfest is pleased to offer almost all wheelchair accessible venues and is also providing a large number of all-ages events.
Check out a sampling of the fantastic events after the break.
Young Ladyfest: Sunday, September 14th, Beaver Hall A showcase of youth performers and artists featuring:
Queer Youth Digital Video Project: a group of queer youth selected by the Inside and Out Film and Video Festival and Charles Street Video who are lead through workshops of film development, editing, and post-production. Their final project will be featured at Young Ladyfest.
Art Gallery of York University’s Architecture of the Imagination: a program of new video works by twenty-six grade eight students from Brookview Middle School. Music: September 18-21, Various Venues Ladyfest is proud to offer a festival in support of musical collision: 4 separate nights of varied sounds, spaces, and contexts. Highlights include (but are not limited to):
Lal: the musical collective with a sound surpassing borders of jazz, hip hop, dub, soul, international folk, and experimental music. Known for their political potency and the community outreach ethos from which they operate, Lal returns to Ladyfest after their 2001 contribution, since releasing their well-crafted, critically acclaimed third full-length album Deportation early this summer.
Halifax’s GHOST BEES are Romi and Sari Lightman’s telepathic twin sisters paired with antique mandolin and classical guitar who have spent the summer touring extensively to such festivals as Sappy Fest and Peterborough Folk Festival. The sisters tour in support of their first full-length release Tasseomancy, an intricate collection of spot-on vocal harmonies and eerie mandolin-driven melodies that tell tales of ancestry and fantasy.
Known as one of the only transgendered country singers that has toured Canada and internationally, Rae Spoon is returning to Ladyfest this year with a new sound and new album. Known for his brilliant songwriting and personal lyrics, Rae recently escaped a Canadian winter in East Germany where he found inspiration to replace his banjo with a computer and conjure Superior You Are Inferior, his fourth full-length release set to be out in October 2008.
Asian Arts Freedom School is a Toronto group of Asian/ Pacific Islander (API) activist rappers, spoken-word artists, musicians, writers and beatboxers. Organizing from the Kapisana Centre in Kensington Market, AAFS operate in support of South/East/West/Southeast Asian youth in the G.T.A. and host workshops to teach and learn arts, history, and activism.
Visual Art Exhibit: September 14-21, Beaver Hall Ladyfest Toronto is pleased to introduce Ooh-La-La, a show of works by lady-identified artists not confronting issues or feminism and femininity…well, not implicitly.
Ooh-La-La is an art show of mutual support. The Ladyfest art committee believes that an artist showing their work in the context of a feminist festival is still, in 2008, a brave gesture. We have chosen works that reflect a valuable contribution to various conversations in the visual arts and are showcased based on the originality and advancement of dialogues, regardless of the ‘feminist-ness’ of the artist or work. We think that this is a welcome change for artists and our festival, and an invaluable lesson to us in the tendencies of external politics to shortchange the richness of group shows.
Artists Paige Gratland, F Square, Christy Kunitzky, Lyndsey Cope, Liz Knox, Tamiko Winter, Jennifer Linton, Anita Agrawal, and Diann Chea offer sculpture, drawing, photography, and even performance in a exhibition that will reassure you that ‘sisters are doing it for themselves’. Or at least, they are discussing issues from Edward Gorey, to 60s girl groups, racially specific femininities, the evidence of human interference in a space, and of course, sexuality and motherhood.
Supplement Film Night: Monday, September 15, Beaver Hall Ladyfest is pleased to offer a series of short films of varied dialogue including artists Sarah Boothroyd - Down and Derby, Andrea Bennett and Kaitlin Schwann - Change Now/Now What?, Audrey Huntley - A Warrior Woman’s Journey, Sarah Claudon - FtoM, Caroline Koebel - hole or space.
Readings, Spoken Word, and Performance Night: Tuesday, September 16, Beaver Hall Featuring Farzana Doctor reading from her recently released novel, Stealing Nasreen Jennifer LoveGrove reading from her novel in progress, Watch How We Walk, U of T’s LGBT Dance Crew, and a talented crew of spoken word artists taking on his- and her-stories of gendered and racialized oppressions. Crafter’s Market, September 20, St. Stephen’s In-the-Fields Church This do-it-yourself crafter’s market features local venders selling crafts, art work, zines, and other handmade items with an accessible price-point of $2-$75. The event is free, all-ages, and also includes a loonie auction and bake sale! Workshops: Sunday, September 21, St. Stephen’s In-the-Fields Church This year, Ladyfest is hosting a series of provocative and hands-on and workshops. Workshop highlights this year include:
Audio & Sound Engineering Basics Bike Basics for Women (facilitated by women from Bike Pirates) Homo-Hop: Beginner Breakdancing for all Queers & Allies Daily Detox: A Guide to Incorporating Detox into Everyday Life Women of Colour in Politics
By Women*, For Everyone *Our definition of women includes trans women
