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Join hosts, Jotika and Divya on Friday, March 22 at 6pm, co organized with Peernet BC for My Petals are Bruised and I'm Still a Flower: A night of storytelling & Art celebrating sick and Disabled QTBIPoC. The event will take place at 312 Main St. in the Reach room from 6-9pm PST.
This event is free but registration is mandatory! Registration here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/my-petals-are-bruised-and-im-still-a-flower-tickets-857398390667?aff=oddtdtcreator
Centering and celebrating Sick & Disabled QTBIPoC ( Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) Storytellers and artists.
This will be an in-person event & with the ability to zoom in. Community care! Masks are Mandatory, we can provide one if needed.
**We have confirmed ASL interpretation for in person- Plz indicate on the registration if needed.**
The title of the event is adapted from a line in the song Persephone by Allison Russel, Queer, Black, Artist, Musician and Activist.
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Lately, it’s been rough. The world is full of a lot of trauma, grief and inequity. It's hard to know how to hold it and what to do. The Grief is palpable, from ongoing climate disasters, many folks deciding covid is irrelevant and it doesn’t exist and the ongoing genocide of folks in Palestine, the Congo, and many other places.
I (Jotika) have to take breaks from social media and remind myself to breathe. So, I can keep regrouping and accessing what's my role in all of this?
All of us have our own struggles in our lives, family, interpersonal relationships, work, etc. etc. and as the world gets more and more expensive, affording basic essential items such as food, rent, clothing, meds etc. get harder and harder to access.
For Sick and Disabled, Mad, Crip QTBIPoC2S (Queer, Trans, Non-Binary, Black, Indigenous, People of colour and Two Spirit folks) having a body, period, is hard. Dealing with all of our health conditions and care needs can be exhausting and overwhelming. Alongside, just trying to survive under capitalism, navigate the healthcare system and figuring out how to take care of ourselves. I don’t know a lot of folks around me who are thriving right now.
I’m grateful to be organizing events and spaces again, I missed it immensely. Community Gathering spaces are sacred spaces and that feeling of being together virtually and in person fills my heart. Connecting with each other is essential for my heart and spiritual care. Masked spaces are community care in action and unfortunately far and few between these days. Queer centered, BIPoC centered spaces for Sick and Disabled, mad and crip people are so important.
We need spaces to share the realities of our lives, to have & provide support, reassurance, community care and to get to feel a deep acceptance of who we are.
As Spring returns, that beautiful darkness decreases and we embrace the return of the sweet, nourishing light. Gather with us! Virtually and in person, let’s sit in circle together as we share how we are fumbling, blooming, raging, growing, hibernating and resting. Here on the west coast Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh lands, Vancouver, as the barometric pressure lowers, the days are wet, rainy, gray and the cold can feel like it's seeping into your bones.
As a spoonie and disabled person, the joint pain, the ache, and the SAD, all on top of regular spoonie stuff, can be overwhelming. I sit many days with my heated blanket, all the hot and cold drinks, and many, many pillows to tend to the ache and provide some softness and slowness for my weary body.
Spring is coming, Spring always comes and I can feel her starting to show us she’s close by. Flowers will start to germinate, petals will bloom, green leaves will return. There are days the sky is so brilliantly blue, gray, and white that I feel like I can take a deep breath and actually relax into it.
Gather with us as we share stories, songs, and poems. The themes of this evening will center around lived experiences with disability and, through song and poetry, performers will delve into the ways we are more than surviving, the moments where we are getting to thrive, and how we remind ourselves and the world that we are still here.
At My Petals are Bruised and I'm Still a Flower we will explore through performance, visual art and self reflections as Sick & Disabled, Mad and Crip QTBIPoC what does our activism look like? How are we tending to the grief that feels complex, overwhelming and relentless? Where do we find hope? How do we continue to fight, live and take care of ourselves and community in our disabled, beautiful bodies? What is community for you? What does it look like in this covid era and how do we continue to build nets of care and mutual support?
Disabled folks are sacred. We are powerful, strong and resilient. We take care of one another, we make space for one another and whatever our spoon level is, we take care of our people, while tending to our own needs and care. We show up for each other on the phone, in bed, emails, texts, group chats, zoom body doubling, walks, sharing playlists, sending food, making medicines, sending up prayers, rituals and for collective healing.
What the night will look like:
The night will consist of performances, some time for reflection through visual art and writing and resource sharing and discussion. We will have arts supplies and lots of paper to draw and write on and space for you to reflect on how you are fumbling, blooming, growing, hibernating and resting in these times. This is a time to share space and be in community.
The group discussion and shared space is a time to connect with new folks and reconnect with old friends. It’s a space to speak candidly and share honestly about what we’ve been experiencing and what are the myriad of ways we continue to take care of ourselves and one another. Join us!
Registration:
We ask that folks register for the event, so we know who will be attending. Registration will have an in person and virtual option.
Registration here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/my-petals-are-bruised-and-im-still-a-flower-tickets-857398390667?aff=oddtdtcreator
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Our performers for the evening: KeAloha & Adonis
@Iamkealoha
KeAloha opens portals of Indigi-pop wonder that traverse hope & lament, heartbreak & remedy. A Two-Spirit and Mahu person, a chronically ill time-bender and shapeshifter, music is part of KeAloha's commitment to collective liberation. Their upcoming debut album, “Pieces of Who I am” is a fierce & tender soundtrack for the revolution of our youth. https://kealoha.ca / IG @i.am.kealoha / tiktok: @iamkealoha
Adonis
Adonis Critter King is a Black and Queer multi-disciplinary poet, theatre creator, director, and activist. Their poetic works explore the joys and complexities of mad and disabled QT2MBIPOC life, the unsettling nature of becoming, and the difficult choices we must make to liberate our futures. IG @critterandchaos
We will have some amazing vendors:
Lucky Munyi, ziencefictionart & Aliza
Lucky Munyi aka Gal (they/she) is a queer Chinese artist and tattooer working on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Their art reflects their cultural heritage and identity and is also used for local Chinatown advocacy. Their tattoos range in style with a focus on cybersigilism
Aliza is a queer non-binary Filipino mixed race artist with multiple chronic disabilities. Their art focuses on mesmerizing colors and textures that invite tactile exploration. Aliza's art encourages people to engage with their senses fully, inviting touch as a way to connect more deeply with their artwork. They are passionate about building community through art.
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Access information
This event will be at 312 Main, on the 1st floor in the Reach room
We will have ASL interpretation in person for this event
This is a mask mandatory event, masks keep our community safe and are mandatory (N95 masks are recommended as they offer the best protection). We will provide a mask if you do not have one. We ask if you are showing cold or flu symptoms, that you stay home.
The entrance (accessible) is off Cordova by the bus stop. The front desk is staffed 24/7 and you will be buzzed in upon arriving. The entrance is on the north side of the building
There is a ramp at the Cordova entrance
All-gender washrooms are located by the front entrance beside the front desk and at the southeast corner of the ground floor.
Filtered water bottle filling station is in the southeast corner of the ground floor.
Indoor guest bike parking available.
We ask that folks come scent free/scent reduced for the safety of our community members that have MCS - multiple chemical sensitivities
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
312 Main, 312 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2T2, Canada,Vancouver, British Columbia