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10th Annual Regent Park Film Festival Spotlights Inner-‐City Experiences with FREE Lineup of Canadian and International Programming

October 26, 2012 • Julia Horel

About the Regent Park Film Festival

The Regent Park Film Festival is dedicated to bringing high-quality independent films to communities throughout Regent Park and beyond. In addition to the annual festival each November, the Regent Park Film Festival hosts year-round school and community screenings, workshops and discussions at no cost. The Regent Park Film Festival is Toronto’s only FREE multicultural film festival.

All programming is FREE and free childcare is provided during all screenings.

OPENING NIGHT – COMMUNITY STORIES: YOUTH MEDIA ARTS PROGRAM
Wednesday November 7, 2012 @ 6:30pm

Community Stories: Youth Media Arts Program features work by filmmakers who are 26 years of age or younger. It is a tradition at the Regent Park Film Festival to begin our four-day festivities by celebrating young voices with this program.

This year’s Community Stories explores a diversity of themes such as ambition, love, violence, and feelings of loss. What unites these pieces is the filmmakers’ ability to connect individual stories to the larger context in which they exist: to find social resonance in personal stories and vice versa. A discussion with the youth filmmakers will follow the screening. (more inside…)
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Homebound: Poetry Workshop Series for Young Muslim Women with Shadi Eskandani

October 5, 2012 • Ronak Ghorbani

(Outburst! Young Muslim Women Safety Project)

Outburst! Young Muslim Women Safety Project Presents:

Join us to create, dream and write!

Homebound is a six session workshop series that will focus on the writing of poetry as a form of artistic expression, craft and healing. In our biweekly gatherings we will use our pens and voices to explore the theme of “Home” with the intent of publishing work(s). We strive to make this is a safer space for everyone to use their creative voice and be heard. This group will be a place to honour our experiences and hear our peers’ truths. The workshops are open to anyone (16 - 26) who self-identifies as a Muslim woman through the spectrum of familial, spiritual, political, cultural, ancestral connections.

Receive

TTC tokens
Childcare (upon 48 request)
Language Interpreters (including ASL) available
Opportunity to be published
Opportunity to create a digital video of a poem

Dates for workshops

Saturday Oct 6th & Oct 20th: Writing Workshop 489 College Street 1 - 4
Saturday Nov 3rd & 17th: Writing Workshop 489 College Street 1 - 4
Saturday Dec 1st & 15th: Writing Workshop 489 College Street 1 - 4

Pre-registration is required please contact us to register 416-323-9149 ext 234 or outburst@schliferclinic.com

Homebound ~ Poetry Workshops for Young Muslim Women is one of several workshop series by Outburst!. Outburst! Young Muslim Women Safety Project is a movement of young Muslim women in Toronto who are breaking silence and speaking out about violence. As young Muslim women we want to determine the ways in which we define and access safety. Outburst!, a program of the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, is an opportunity for us to build community through art, education and research.

Shadi Eskandani is an Iranian-born, Toronto-based poet/writer/youth support worker. She holds a Masters degree in Social Anthropology from York University. Her publications appear in Voices of Resistance: Muslim Women on War, Faith and Sexuality, as well as upcoming publications in in the seventh annual Diaspora Dialogues anthology, TOK: Writing the New Toronto. She has also translated Iranian children’s book, Good Night Commander. Shadi facilitates poetry workshops around the city, and as well, has performed her poetry at various events in Toronto. Shadi is currently completing a collection of her poetry, and working on a novella.

Funding for Outburst! Young Muslim Women Safety Project provided by Trillium Foundation and Laidlaw.

Tumblr http://outburstm.tumblr.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/outburstmovement
Facebook Event https://www.facebook.com/events/289960414450790/

Twitter @OutburstM
Zines! DIY! Revolution! Activity book! - Shameless Magazine at Nuit Blanche

September 28, 2012 • Ronak Ghorbani

If you’re in Toronto for Nuit Blanche the night-to-morning art festival, make sure to drop by the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. W.) at 9 p.m. for the 12 Hr. Zine Machine!

Shameless Editorial Director Sheila, and Arts Editor Ronak are working alongside two super rad teens Kaya and Sahlla (the mastermind behind the Fight Like A Girl zine) to craft together a zine activity book on DIY interactive guides to revolution. We have one hour to make it and would love for you to come by and tell us your thoughts, opinions, and what revolution means to you.

Tweet us at @shamelessmag use the hashtags #DIYrevNB #12hrzinemachine to let us know what revolution means to you and what you’d like to see in the zine!

Also, make sure to check out the 12 Hr. Zine Machine website throughout the night to download the finished zines being made throughout the night!

The only thing 12 Hr. Zine Machine participants can make ahead of time is the zine cover. This is ours!

____________________________________________________________________

More info on the event:

Drop by the Gladstone Hotel and behold the vibrant and bustling “12 HR Zine Machine” as ten featured Toronto artist groups are challenged to create a handmade zine art book every hour, all night long!

Join the zine machine by writing your suggestions on a large “Idea Board” in the workroom or tweeting them to @maddycollective. Nuit Blanche audience members are also invited to sit with the zine artists and contribute their own drawings and writings.

Free limited edition copies of each hour’s unique zine
will be given out to Nuit Blanche guests. The books will also be uploaded online and downloadable throughout the night on our project website at: www.12hrzinemachine.com.

Featured ZINE MACHINE artist groups are:

CAROUSEL MAGAZINE (http://www.carouselmagazine.ca/)
FIONA SMYTH (http://www.fionasmyth.com/)
KOYAMA PRESS (http://koyamapress.com/)
MAMMALIAN DIVING REFLEX (http://mammalian.ca/)
PAPER PUSHER/PAPIRMASSE (http://paperpusher.ca/, http://papirmasse.com/art/)
SHAMELESS MAGAZINE (http://www.shamelessmag.com/)
STATIC ZINE (http://staticzine.com/)
STEEL BANANAS ART COLLECTIVE (http://www.steelbananas.com/)
TORONTO COMIC JAM (http://www.torontocomicjam.com/about.html)
VSVSVS (http://vsvsvs.org/)

Learn more about the 50+ artists included in our project and read our workshop extravaganza zine on: www.12hrzinemachine.com

Part of Gladstone Hotel’s “Fly by Night”

Organized by Madeleine Collective: www.madeleinecollective.com
Interview: 2qtpoc-montreal show

September 4, 2012 • deb singh

Hey Shameless Blog Readers,

Having sadly been unable to attend the awesome 2qtpoc-montreal Show for the city’s Pervers/cite, I did get the opportunity to connect with one of the amazing artists from the show, Textaqueen. Their website reads:

“Texta” is Australian for felt-tip marker and TextaQueen is Australia’s felt-tip super-hero. Renowned for use of the humble felt-tip marker to boldly re-interpret the tradition of the salon nude, TextaQueen explores politics of sex, gender and identity in tangent with ideas of self-image and inter-personal relationships. Texta’s practice articulates delicate interplays between vulnerability and empowerment, intimacy and exhibitionism, and subjective and collective expressions of feminist, queer, and cultural identities.

I asked Textaqueen some questions about their work and involvement with the show. Check out what they had to say!

What interested you in being part of the 2-qtpocmontreal show?
Elisha Lim and I had been excitedly in contact via the internets, having had friends show us each other’s work. I am usually showing work in such a different context; not particularly 2 spirit / queer / trans or people of colour focused, so to be amongst rad 2qtpocs in this context is “refreshing.” While my “bigger” art shows bring my work into “broader” contexts, it is important to me to show my work in contexts where people seeing it may relate to it from their own experience. Showing my work alongside other people talking about queer and racialised identities is a rare dream come true. In other contexts the queerness of the work has literally been called quirky or kooky, and in my more recent work that talks about race, they may be sold on their edgy exoticness. It’s great to be part of a show where those themes are centered when being queer and racialized are central themes to my life. I’m not quirky and exotic to myself, and it’s great not to have me or my work treated that way here.

What would you like to see from people, in terms of sharing your work at the show? In 2-qtpoc communitites? In white queer communities? How do you want your work to help shape peoples’ thinking?(more inside…)
Free media-arts and storytelling program for youth next week in Toronto!!

July 31, 2012 • Sarah Feldbloom

Finding Words is a free media-arts program for immigrant and first generation youth (age 13-29) who identify as women. We’ll be running the second phase of our pilot project on the 7,8,&9 of August from 12-4pm at 10 Old Meadow Lane, right near Lawrence West subway station.

We’ll be creating a blog which will feature stories told through sound, video and text about immigration, which will be used as a resource for organizations that serve immigrant youth.

Bus fare is available for those who don’t live near the program space, and volunteer hours will be given to high school students or others who request them.

If this sounds like something you or someone you know would be interested in, send an email to findingwords.mam@gmail.com to register.
- Arts
- Gender
- Media Savvy
The Surprising Appeal of Brave

July 30, 2012 • Manisha Aggarwal-Schifellite

Much was made of Pixar’s latest release, Brave, before and after its premiere, for a number of different reasons. Prior to the film’s release, viewers knew that this would be Pixar’s first animated film to feature a female protagonist (a slightly embarrassing admission considering how many great films have come out of that studio), and also the first film to really master the animation of human hair. After the film’s premiere, many critics complained that the film was “uninspired” and “conventional”. While I agree that some aspects of the story were not exactly groundbreaking (spells, witches, marriage issues), and the Scottish history may have been a bit murky, Brave is actually more innovative than some of Pixar’s earlier releases, just not in the way that many were expecting it to be.

(more inside…)
- Arts
- Event Listings
Audition/Event: Spotlight on Summer Talent: Hot Talents Exposing Hot Issues

July 6, 2012 • Julia Horel

On Sunday, August 19, we will be hosting “Spotlight on Summer Talent: Hot Talents Exposing Hot Issues.” FYI and Redwood Women’s Shelter have partnered to put on this amazing event! With female-only performances, we hope to raise awareness about violence and discrimination against women. Performances are meant to empower and inspire girls from all across Toronto and the GTA to showcase their talents in a female dominated space.

We are inviting young women to come out and audition for this show. Auditions will be on Thursday, July 12 from 3pm- 7pm and on Saturday, July 14 3:30pm-7:30pm, and is open to female performers ages 14-24. Ladies will compete in a friendly match for AMAZING 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. It would be a great opportunity for our girls to connect with others around Toronto and the GTA.

Please note that all performers identifying as women are welcome to audition to perform.

To book an audition, contact Ashley at 647-200-2642 or ashley@foryouth.ca

Auditions will be held at For Youth Initiative:

1669 Eglinton Ave West (Dufferin/Eglinton)
Toronto, Ontario M6E 2H4

Poster text:

Spotlight on Summer Talent: Hot Talents Exposing Hot Issues
Female-only performances

Calling ladies 14-24 years old - this is your chance to share your talent!

Amazing 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for winners!
Audience prizes! Free food!

Auditions:
Thursday, July 12th 3pm-7pm
Saturday, July 14th 3:30pm-7:30pm
At 1669 Eglinton Ave. West

*All talents welcome, ie. singing, dancing, spoken word, rap, play an instrument, etc.!

Talent Show:
Sunday, August 19 from 1pm-5pm
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
12 Alexander St. (Wellesley/Yonge)
Reserve your ticket at
http://spotlightonsummertalent-eorg.eventbrite.ca/?ebtv=C

For Youth Initiative - The Bridge
1669 Eglinton Ave. West
Toronto, ON
M6E 2H4

Contact: Ashley at 647-200-2642 or ashley@foryouth.ca
The Greatest Band You’ve Never Heard Of: Fifth Column

June 15, 2012 • Guest Blogger

Before Bikini Kill, before MEN, hell – before the Indigo Girls – there was Fifth Column. Fifth Column was a queer-as-hell punk band comprised of young art students from Toronto in the early 1980s, now immortalized in the recent documentary film, She Said Boom: The Story of Fifth Column directed by Kevin Hegge.

Fifth Column was an all-girl band, which was just about the most political thing that could happen to the misogynist music industry of the 1980s. A rock musician from the 1980s is usually imagined as a metalhead dude with long, puffy hair, and tight jeans. Bands like Mötley Crüe and Poison even forming their own subgenre of “cock rock,” characterized by callous displays of male aggression and heterosexuality. Even hardcore music, which was rock music for misfits, wasn’t particularly friendly towards women. In this climate, Fifth Column stands out not just for being comprised of women, but women who were outspokenly feminist and queer.

(http://thetfs.ca/2012/04/27/he-said-boom-talking-fifth-column-fe)

In true punk rock fashion, Fifth Column began without the band members knowing how to play their instruments. (more inside…)
UPDATED WITH GOOD NEWS: Sales team for independent Canadian book publishers defunded

June 14, 2012 • Julia Horel

GREAT NEWS!

Today, the Literary Press Group was given word that the Heritage Minister has overturned the decision and the sales force will be funded for this year! I’ll leave this post as an informational post about what indie publishers in Canada do and how precarious their survival is!

The LPG’s statement is here.

xo Julia

Dear Shameless readers,

Some of you may be aware that my day job is in book publishing. I work for the distribution arms of the Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG), an organization of independent Canadian literary publishers that provides advocacy and professional development, as well as operates a national sales team that sells the books published by 47 LPG publishers into the trade: bookstores like Chapters/Indigo, Amazon.ca, independent bookstores, school and libraries.

Last week, the LPG got word that the sales force has been defunded by the Department of Canadian Heritage with no warning and no reason. Six of my eight colleagues are being laid off. (My job is safe for now - my company is a subsidiary of the LPG and I have my own funding.)

Why is this bad news for people who don’t consider themselves part of the literary community? Well, indie Canadian publishers are often the first to publish new and up-and-coming authors, some of whom stick with these presses, and some of whom go on to sign with larger houses. Ever read anything by Margaret Atwood? Michael Ondaatje? Jane Urquhart? They all started with independent presses who gave their work a chance to be read.

And indie presses are more likely to publish books that showcase a diversity of voices and perspectives. These are some of the types of publishers who are members of the LPG: (more inside…)
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Halifax teens: Write Now!

May 30, 2012 • Julia Horel

Hey Teens!

Are you interested in writing? Stories, song lyrics, journals, poetry, spoken word, graphic novels or whatever else you can think of? Are you creative? Do you love to express yourself?

Why not join Write Now! Halifax this summer?

WHAT
A writing club that brings together creative youth and adult writers to learn, share and collaborate on creative writing of all kinds.

WHO
Youth ages 13-18

WHEN
Tuesdays, 6-8 pm
July 17 to August 21

WHERE
Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia
1113 Marginal Road, Halifax
Bus tickets provided

WHAT WE’LL DO
-write poetry, stories, song lyrics - any and all forms of creative writing!
-share our work
-connect and collaborate with professional writers
-publish a book collecting what we write

TO REGISTER
The program is FREE, but please email to register at writenowhalifax (at) gmail.com

Check out the tumblr site for the program as well.