a festival celebrating gender equity + creative mobilization + the art of positive change
This International Women’s Day, take part in an exciting festival that will inspire, educate and mobilize our community to creatively tackle gender-based inequities, and bring about positive change.
Explore creative expression through three dynamic days of intersectional feminist discussions, performances, workshops and art exhibits. Buy your all access pass now for our MAIN EVENT Saturday March 9, 10am-5pm!
The event organizers would like to acknowledge that this event will take place on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people.
Thursday, March 7
Museum Of Anthropology | Doors 7 PM | $10 – free for students*
Sound House: International Women’s Day Edition
It’s women front and centre for a thrilling night of music at this special edition of Sound House, MOA’s new monthly music series. Bring your friends and dancing shoes for this fantastic line-up of local women musicians who will wow us with all night with jazz, funk-soul and hip hop.
*Admission to MOA on Thursday nights is $10 – or free if you are UBC staff, faculty, a UBC resident or an Indigenous person.
Friday, March 8
The UBC Life Building | 2-6:30 pm | FREE
TURN IT UP IN LIFE
The Life Concourse will be animated with installations and booths representing groups, clubs and artists from on and off campus. This day also features a special collaboration with students from Dr. Mary Chapman’s English 490 course on US Suffrage Literature who present a modern day spin on timeless techniques of mobilization as well as an exhibition of work by Jessie Tarbox Beals, a Canadian photographer who was one of the first women in the United States to have a career as a photojournalist.
Come at 4:30 for the Femme Cabaret hosted by Missy D in the Student Life Building. Featuring:
Missy D. Sandy Scofield. Black Student Union. Mariah Dear. Anjalica Solomon and Angelica Poversky. Turunesh. Jaime Silverthorn. Angela McIlroy-Wagar. Theresa Keliya. Interactive Latin Dance with Yula. Old Soul Rebel.
Saturday, March 9
THE MAIN EVENT | Arts and Culture District Venues | 9:30am – 5pm | $10-30
DISRUPT THE DISTRICT
Buy your tickets online and save $$$
students: $10 online/$15 at door
faculty + staff: $20 online/$25 at door
UBC residents + alumni : $20/$25 at door
general public $25/$30 at door
Prices are exclusive of taxes and fees. $5 surcharge at the door. If you are facing a financial barrier that might prohibit your participation in this event, please do not hesitate to contact us at adrienne.ahn@ubc.ca
Buy Tickets | Box Office: 604.822.2278
MORNING
Meet us for complimentary coffee, tea and a quick bite in the Old Auditorium lobby 9-10am
UBC Food Trucks will be on site for lunches 11am – 2pm
Moderator: Dr. Saranaz Barforoush, has co-taught courses on integrated journalism, new media and society, social media and international reporting and worked as a reporter and translator for more than a decade in Tehran, where she reported on various subjects such as women’s issues, arts, culture and technology. Panelists: Jillian Christmas, Artistic Director of Versəs Festival of Words, organizer & activist; Alex Dauncey, Program Coordinator, SASC’s Healthier Masculinities; Shane Sable, 2Spirit Gitxsan artist and activist & member of Virago Nation; Neila Miled, UBC PhD candidate, Educational Studies.
This opening panel discusses the opportunity before us now. How do we creatively amplify a momentum towards gender equity that is truly inclusive, particularly for those who have been traditionally underrepresented? How do we push for meaningful shifts in our culture from all angles and sides of the issue? How do we inspire and strengthen a movement where everyone is onboard? Coffee and pastries provided by Scholar's Catering!
DISSOLVE follows a college girl on a night out, one actress morphs between a flurry of 16 characters the girl encounters, both highly comedic and seriously compelling. Designed to provoke thought and dialogue about sexual consent, DISSOLVE entertains while challenging us to change our thinking and behavior surrounding alcohol, drugs and sexual assault. Directed by Renee Iaci and now starring Lucy McNulty. Brought to you by Shameless Hussy Productions.
Learn the basics with DJ O Show! Come to The School of Remix where Orene Askew aka DJ O Show teaches us that empowering diversity makes beautiful music. Understand more about what it's like to be a DJ and how you can get started in this exciting industry.
Author Leanne Prain (Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit, Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery, and Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles) will take you on an exploratory tour of how artists and designers can use their work to activate social or political change.
Shane Sable of Virago Nation will lead this session which will provide participants with tools and confidence to prioritize and execute a self-care program with a decolonial lens that specifically addresses the lived experiences of colonized individuals/communities/cultures.
Actress Lucy McNulty and Tour Stage Manager Mimi Abrahams (shameless hussy productions) discuss the play and take questions. Moderated by Ariana Barer (Educator, UBC Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office
Raindrops have traded in their parachutes hoping to be called Ocean. Islands wake from dreams of being named Archipelago. Angela Davis perches lip against ear: “It is in collectives that we find reserves of hope and optimism”. Can you feel the flock of birds budding on your tongue? Come, gather, write, play, collaborate and pay thoughtful attention. This workshop, designed for creative connection releases us from private story into a shared narrative of joy, and possibility. Jillian Christmas executed programs in partnership with Toronto Poetry Project, The Chan Centre, Vancouver Opera, and more. Jillian has performed and facilitated spoken word workshops for youth and adults across the country and beyond. Her
forthcoming debut book of poetry will be released in Spring 2020 with Arsenal Pulp Press.
AFTERNOON
In collaboration with the UBC Art History Students Association, Visual Arts Students Association, the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, and concurrent with Art+Feminism events worldwide, the Belkin Art Gallery invites participants of all genders and expressions to join in a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at the Gallery. Annually each March, art and feminist communities around the world converge to correct Wikipedia’s gendered biases, to bolster the coverage of under-represented persons indexed within the ubiquitous online resource, and to encourage editorship. Join us and help balance the gender imbalance by creating and editing Wikipedia articles about female artists, feminist art movements, histories of cis and trans women and non-binary persons around the world. We will provide help for beginner Wikipedians, reference materials and refreshments. Bring your own laptop, power cord and ideas for entries that need updating or creation. FREE! Learn more about what to bring + how to prepare.
Trans Scripts is a critically-acclaimed verbatim theatre (similar to the Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler), constructed from the words of real people. The play centers on the lives of seven transgender women characters whose true stories, told in their own words, are honest, funny, moving, insightful and inspiring. But most of all, they are human, shedding light not on our differences, but on what all people share. Co-Directed by Cameron Mackenzie (AD Zee Zee Theatre) and Fay Nass (AD The Frank Theatre) and featuring Carolynn Dimmer, Amy E. G. Fox, Morgane Oger, Jaylene McRae, Quanah Napoleon, Lisa Salazar and Sabrina Symington.
Come and watch films that discuss culture, identity and feminism made by UBC students Aly Benson, Nazanin Oghanian and Merissa Victor.
Co-Directors Cameron Mackenzie (AD Zee Zee Theatre) Fay Nass (AD The Frank Theatre) as well at their Trans Scripts cast of trans women discuss the play and take questions.
Join UBC's Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) in activating a facilitated self-navigated survivor solidarity and art space. This participatory environment will be oriented around different modalities of self-expression aimed at supporting survivors and taking action to co-create a culture of consent at UBC.
Alex Dauncey of AMS SASC's Healthier Masculinities program brings us an advance screening of The Bystander Project, a mini documentary produced by the AMS Sexual Assault Centre (SASC) and the Ubyssey celebrating interveners who have stood out and stood up against sexual violence, as well as those who didn't. In providing real stories from real students, this exploration of bystander intervention hopes to resist the tidy narratives of bystander intervention and show all the messiness, doubt, struggles, and successes that student have experienced. In this interactive session Dauncey leads a workshop exploring the lessons we internalize around masculinity, dating, violence, and sexuality and explores tangible strategies and techniques to resist violence. Alex Dauncey is recent graduate of UBC's Department of Psychology and the coordinator of SASC's Healthier Masculinities Program.
Founded in May 2016, Virago Nation is on a mission to reclaim Indigenous sexuality from the toxic effects of colonization. Virago Nation is a collective of Indigenous artists creating performance through burlesque, theatre, song and spoken word as well as workshops, and community networks rematriating indigenous sexuality. Through humour, seduction, pop culture and politics they will show that Indigenous women will not be confined to the colonial virgin-whore dichotomy but will design a new dynamic and multi-faceted sexual identity rooted in their own desires. Starring Sparkle Plenty , Manda Stroyer , Ruthe Ordare , Shane Sable and RainbowGlitz!
Marking the Infinite features the work of nine Aboriginal women, each from different remote regions of Australia. They are revered matriarchs and celebrated artists who are represented in the collections of the Australian National Gallery. The artists bring their ancient cultural knowledge into their contemporary artistic practice, and continue to create art to ensure their languages, land and knowledge survive in an increasingly digital world. Their works are steeped in the traditions of their communities and yet speak to the universal themes of our shared existence, revealing the continued relevance of Indigenous knowledge in understanding our time and place in this world. The exhibition is ongoing and admission is free this day with Festival Pass.
Join the conversation on Facebook and share with friends!
Notes about event venues and accessibility:
Old Auditorium
- There is a ramp leading into the building main entrance. There is an elevator in the lobby that can take anyone down to the basement for the accessible restroom.
- There are no stairs inside the theatre and there is a reserved section for wheelchairs and walkers etc.
- Parking at Fraser Parkade: There is a parking lot located a 5 minute walk away on Memorial Drive that has accessible parking.
Museum of Anthropology
- MOA is a fully accessible building.
- Parking: Three accessible paid parking spaces are available in front of MOA.
- Attendants: MOA participates in the Access 2 Card program and grants free admission to attendants accompanying people with disabilities.
- Wheelchairs: We have two wheelchairs that may be borrowed free of charge.
- Seating: Racks of lightweight, portable seats are found in several locations within the Museum for your use.
LASR Frederic Lasserre
- All 3 building entrances are level and accessible, but there is Automatic Door Openers (ADO) for only one set of doors on the west side of the building (directly across from School of Music).
- There are no automatic door openers (ADO) in LASR #105.
- All workshops will be in classroom spaces on the first floor so elevator access is not required.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have questions around accessibility or need a special accommodation. For further questions please e-mail adrienne.ahn@ubc.ca.
This event would not be possible without the generous support of our partners and sponsors:
Equity and Inclusion Equity Enhancement Fund
The Faculty of Arts
UBC Arts and Culture District
Campus and Community Planning
Centre for Community Engaged Learning
UBC Wellbeing
UBC Life Building
UBC Food Services/Scholars Catering
UBC Sustainability Initiative
UBC Sexual Violence Prevention and Response
