Hello my name is Barb Snelgrove and I am handling the promotion of the 2019 Queer Arts Festival running June 17th – June 28th 2019 at the Roundhouse Community Arts Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver).
I am writing to submit for your consideration, events the Arts Festival has coming up for the deaf and hard of hearing community. Should you have any events calendar available to your members, I am hoping you could include these events in them?
We have a robust selection of events that are text based, that will have full ASL services available.The link to the ASL interpreted events calendar is here at the link https://queerartsfestival.com/category/asl-interpreted-events/ and I have also provided here below.
There is one event in particular, JESSE – An ASL Opera, which should be of great interest:
Mon Jun 24 | 7pm | with Landon Krentz and re:Naissance Opera | Pay What You Can
JESSE – AN ASL OPERA is a workshop reading by Landon Krentz, Heather Molloy & Paula Weber resulting from a two-week experimental process that gathered Deaf and Hearing artists to explore how poetry, music, English and ASL intersect. Bi-cultural and bilingual, this experience reflects a creative process that was both riveting and uncomfortable.
“You have failed the hearing test”.
No apologies required, it is fact. You look around seeking validation and a sense of belonging but you know that this result will never change. You will always fail. With both hands tucked beneath your buttocks, you feel the world closing in. You can’t remember the last time you felt warm and safe. It hits you, how strained and lonely it is inside this black box in the audiology department.
Jesse – An ASL Opera is about one man’s journey of self-discovery as he navigates Deaf culture, queerness and the rhythms of being human. The opera explores how language is seen, heard and understood by combining the movement, rhythmic structure and meter present in all ASL poetry and music.
In the midst of another all-too-frequent trip to the audiologist’s office, Jesse can’t help but wonder: when does it end? Jesse is a young man who has no choice but to navigate the hearing world as he explores the inner world inside his mind. This tension between his inner and outer worlds begin to manifest into an signed opera. The story inside him becomes more and more real as his mind wanders and fuels his desire for communication. Jesse is made possible by generous support from the City of Vancouver and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Other ALS supported events we have at the Festival this year include:
Queer Songbook OrchestraFri Jun 28 | 7pm | Concert | $40 – $30
Celebrated national chamber ensemble Queer Songbook Orchestra unearth the queer backstories and personal narratives inspired by musicof the past several generations. Weaving together stories told by local narrators with arrangements by Canada’s foremost composers.
ARTIST TOUR – Visual Art Exhibition | Curator Roundtable | Thu Jun 20 | 7pm | Led by Elwood Jimmy | QAF visual artists and curator Elwood Jimmy convene for a panel discussing the visual art exhibition.
YOUTH TOUR – Visual Art Exhibition | Wed Jun 19 | 4pm | led by Elwood Jimmy | Curator Elwood Jimmy leads tour for LGBT2S youth to see their identities reflected in art, organized in partnership with Broadway Youth Resource Centre and Directions Youth Services.
A NIGHT OF STORYTELLING | Wed Jun 19 | 7pm | Literary Readings | Pay What you Can
Danny Ramadan brings his much-loved nights of readings to the Queer Arts Festival. Featuring Kai Cheng Thom, Andrea Jenkins, Tash McAdam, Monica Meneghetti and Michael V. Smith.
Art Party! Opening Night Gala | Tue Jun 18 | 7pm | Free Gala Opening Reception
Join us for the Queer Arts Festival’s opening Art Party!, where art and conviviality converge at the grand opening. Art Party! marks the opening night of QAF’s curated exhibition, Relational rEvolutions, curated by Elwood Jimmy; the Pride in Art Community Exhibition; and is the kick off for the incredible exhibitions, performances, and Satellite Academy outreach initiatives that make up the Queer Arts Festival. Our opening night galas are one of Vancouver’s best attended visual arts events, making this a party you don’t want to miss!
I thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide in getting this information out to our deaf/hard of hearing audience. Should you require any further information, or interviews for media, please reach out
Best regards,
Barb
Barb Snelgrove | CEO
megamouthmedia consultingSocial: @megamouthmedia | Cell: 604.838.2272
Honoured to work and live on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh & Musqueam First Nations peoples.
