On Friday, March 24 at 6pm, join Massy Arts Society, Massy Books and artists Jotika Chaudhary Samant, KeAloha, and Phiroozeh Petigara for My Petals are Bruised and I’m Still a Flower, a night of art, performance, and healing that brings together three Queer, Disabled Artists who are South Asian, Fijian of Indian descent and mixed-Indigenous.
Gather with them as they 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, how we are just living, and how we remind ourselves and the world that we are still here.
This will be an in-person event with a virtual option to attend the livestreaming. Please see registration links.
ASL interpretation will be available for this event. Please request ASL interpretation on the event registration page by March 13th.
This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet a été rendu possible grâce au gouvernement du Canada.
The title of the event is adapted by a line in the song Persephone by Allison Russel, Queer, Black, Artist, Musician and Activist.
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A message from event co-organizer Jotika
Lately, I have been feeling pretty sad, a little overwhelmed and a lot exhausted. The days are still quite short and rain and darkness still set in quite early in the evening. Most days, it feels like I should be getting into bed at 6pm because it feels like 10pm.
Winter is for hibernating and rest, and for some of us we are doing that as best as we can. For most of us, we still have a lot to take care of. And 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.
Here on the west coast Musqueaum, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh lands, Vancouver, as the barometric pressure lowers, the days are wet, rainy and cloudy and there’s a sort of cold that seeps into your bones. As a spoonie and disabled person with joint pain, ouch!, the ache in my joints and the SAD, all on top of regular spoonie stuff, can be overwhelming. I sit many days with my heated blanket, hot drinks, and many, many pillows to tend to the ache and provide some softness for my weary body.
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, growing, hibernating and resting as Queer, Disabled folks of Colour in these covid times and through this winter,
The night will consist of performances, and some time for reflection through visual art and writing and will end in a group info, resource share 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 is a space to break some of the isolation so many of us have been feeling. 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.