Ladyfest isn't over!
Well, the performances and events are over, but you can still catch the amazing exhibit at Beaver Hall (29 McCaul Street, north of Queen) until September 27th! The gallery is open from 10am-6pm every day, and is wheelchair accessible.
Thank you to everyone who participated in Ladyfest, whether as an artist, a workshop facilitator, an attendee, a volunteer, etc!
TONIGHT:
Saturday, September 20 (9 p.m.)
Tranzac
$5-$10
SITA BLACK (www.myspace.com/sitablack)
PARTY TIME (www.myspace.com/partytimemusic)
DINAH THORPE (www.myspace.com/dinahthorpe)
LISA BOZIKOVIC
RAE SPOON (www.myspace.com/raespoon)
This night is a collection of amazing solo performers. Sita Black is a singer-songwriter whose wonderful voice and matching acoustic arrangements will be a wonderful contribution to the night. Party Time's is a special performer in our city--playing regularly alongside such great musicians such as The Weather Station, Antler, and Sandro Perri, her incredibly beautiful voice and transparent lyrics are balanced by her amazing sense of humour. Dinah Thorpe has an incredibly unique sound combining a computer's electronics and a folk-y ukulele--all the while lyrically touching upon personal and political issues.
Rae Spoon returns to Ladyfest since last year's festival, but is leaving his banjo at home. After spending a winter in Germany, Rae has changed things up and has replaced his banjo with a computer. In support of his fourth full-length set to be released in October 2008, Rae continues to move his audiences with his brilliant songwriting and bare-bones lyrics--always a pleasure.
Updates:
Tomorrow night (Sunday) all ages show has been moved to Beaver Hall (Queen and McCaul). All other details remain the same:
$5-$10, ALL AGES
SUNNY D (www.myspace.com/sunnyd)
FAT FEMME MAFIA (www.myspace.com/fatfemmemafia)
DOOM TICKLER (www.myspace.com/spasticcolons)
UTI (www.myspace.com/urinarytract)
JASMYN BURKE (of HOT MONOGAMY)(www.myspace.com/hotmonogamy)
This night is CRAZY messy in the most exciting way. From hip-hop woman Sunny D, to FAT FEMME MAFIA and their sexy, fun-loving performance, to Jasmyn Burke of Hot Monogamy...WOAH WOAH WOAH
Also tomorrow (Sunday):
Workshops:
Ladyfest Toronto presents a diverse and exciting day-long series of practical and provocative workshops hosted by talented and diverse women from across the city.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
10:30am - 7:30pm
St. Stephen's in-the Fields Church
Admission to the entire series is PWYC ($15 suggested). Please come early as space is limited.
And:
3pm
The Canadians For Choice Monologues
Beaver Hall
$5
Tonight at Ladyfest:
Beaver Hall, 7 p.m.
$5-10 sliding scale
ASIAN ARTS FREEDOM SCHOOL
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. This collective reak of talent and political potency--you simply can't miss this night.
Updates:
The Evolutionary Girls Club show has been cancelled. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Isla Craig has been added to the Saturday all-ages matinee, and Lisa Bozikovic has been added to the Saturday evening show!
more details about those shows here
Ladyfest is well under way and it's been a great festival so far!
Here's what's happening tonight:
Gallery opening reception - Ladyfest Ooh-la-la
7pm
Beaver Hall: 29 McCaul Street (North of Queen, west of University)
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.
And, tonight in music....
The Boat
$5-$10 Sliding Scale
LAL (www.myspace.com/lalforest)
EMMA MCKENNA (www.myspace.com/emmamckenna)
MIAU MIAU (www.myspace.com/isabellenoel)
THE I LOVE YOU TWOS
and DJs Droppin' Dimez
Lal just released their third full-length 'Deportation' this summer, Emma McKenna (of Galaxy) spent her summer in the East Coast touring with such lovely bands Katie Stelmanis, Bruce Peninsula, and Ghost Bees, and Miau Miau's is working on a remix collaboration with Kids On TV. This night is going to be HOT HOT HOT.
LADYFEST 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.
Workshops!Music!Film/craft fair/art/spoken word! Venues!
Beaver Hall: 29 McCaul Street (North of Queen, west of University)
St. Stephen-in-the-fields: 103 Bellevue Avenue (College, west of Spadina)
The Boat: 158 Augusta Ave (North of Dundas, west of Spadina)
Tranzac: 292 Brunswick Avenue (south of Bloor, between Bathurst and Spadina)
Toronto Free Gallery: 1277 Bloor Street West (@ Lansdowne)
For a printable schedule:
click here!Facebook events:
Art!Dance/spoken word/performance art/readingsMusicWorkshopsMore art!Asian Arts Freedom School
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.
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—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