Sudbury Social Justice News - July 5, 2015

EVENTS & MEETINGS:

1) Monday, July 6: Two Calls for Support at Sudbury Planning Committee Meeting
2) Monday, July 6: Meeting of the Sudbury Revolutionary Network
3) Friday, July 10: Queer Landscapes, Queer Journeys: Reflections on LGBTQ Rights and Struggles in Ontario Today Art Exhibition
4) July 17 to July 26: Fierté Sudbury Pride Week 2015

NEWS, ANALYSIS  & CALLS TO ACTION:

None this week!

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Monday, July 6: Two Calls for Support at Sudbury Planning Committee Meeting

Time: 2pm
Location: Council Chambers, Tom Brady Square (200 Brady Street, Sudbury)
 

Two groups are looking for your support at the July 6 Planning Committee meeting, 2:00p.m., Council Chambers.

-  The Planning Committee will be voting on a proposed 171 unit development on the Keast peninsula on Ramsey Lake.  With no watershed study to direct the decision, and both the sewage lift station and storm water pond proposed in the floodplain next to the lake, the Ramsey Lake Stewardship Committee and others have concerns over water quality in the lake, a major drinking water source.

-   The Planning Committee will also be deciding on whether to endorse a number of proposed solar projects.  Valley residents are hoping Council does not endorse a proposal for a solar farm on a piece of forested land with wetlands and wildlife (MaxLight solar project, on Kenneth Drive, Val Therese; item C-7).

-  N.B.  Both of these items are later on the agenda.  If you are planning to attend to show your support, you may wish to check the livestream coverage to judge when to arrive:  http://agendasonline.greatersudbury.ca/?pg=agenda&action=navigator&id=870&lang=en

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Monday, July 6: Meeting of the Sudbury Revolutionary Network

Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Location: 84 Station Cafe (84 Elgin Street, Sudbury)

At this meeting we will attempt to finalize our strategy and perspectives for laying the groundwork for building combative mass movements of the working class. We will consolidate everyone's input from the past weeks' discussions into the overall plan and forge ahead to test our ideas in the heat of struggle in the coming months.

If you have questions or comments, or to receive a copy of the agenda, or if you are interested in attending but cannot make it, send us an email at sudburyrevnet@gmail.com or a PM via Facebook (at http://www.facebook.com/SudRevNet). Suggestions or amendments to the agenda are welcome and will be incorporated into the agenda at the start of the meeting.

This meeting is open to all. SRN meets every other Monday, same time and place!

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Friday, July 10: Opening Reception for Queer Landscapes, Queer Journeys: Reflections on LGBTQ Rights and Struggles in Ontario Today Art Exhibition
 
Time: 6:30pm
Location: The Open Studio (93 Cedar Street Unit 303, Sudbury)

Ongoing viewing opportunities: July 10-26: Mon-Wed 11am-2pm; Thurs-Fri 4-6 pm; Sat 12-3 pm and by appointment.

The opening reception will be on Friday, July 10, 6:30 pm (in conjunction with the Pan Am Games opening ceremonies, which will be live streamed into Open Studio).

Presented as part of the PrideHouse TO: Sudbury Celebrates! events around the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games with regional outreach to communities throughout Ontario.

To celebrate Pride in the Ontario Public Service Pride Network in partnership with John B. Aird Gallery, Open Studio | Cambrian College and PrideHouse TO: Sudbury Celebrates! present an art exhibition exploring contemporary experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, families, and communities in Ontario. Featuring the work of 22 artists from across the province, the exhibition reflects a diverse range of perspectives and themes, bound together with beauty, courage, humour, and pride.

This is the second instalment of Queer Landscapes, Queer Journeys: Reflections of LGBTQ rights and struggles in Ontario today Art Exhibition with the first presented at the John B. Aird Gallery in Toronto. The Sudbury instalment at Open Studio | Cambrian College exhibits a large segment of the original exhibition with 22 of the 30 artists represented.

In June 2003, Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America – and one of the first in the world – to legally recognize same-sex marriage. This was a key milestone in the history of LGBTQ rights, one that reverberated throughout Canada and continues to do so internationally. Queer Landscapes, Queer Journeys provides a snapshot of LGBTQ experience in the context of this new era. The exhibition celebrates increased acceptance, inclusion, and recognition of LGBTQ communities, but also highlights several ongoing issues and challenges that are often overshadowed by the focus on marriage equality.

Ontario has served as the backdrop for a multifaceted landscape of LGBTQ experiences in recent years. While many of the themes highlighted in the exhibition extend beyond provincial borders, they have resonated in unique ways within the Ontario context. As you explore this collection of artworks, you are invited to reflect on the journeys they represent, and consider how we can continue to chart pathways to support diversity, inclusion, and self-expression.

Featuring work by:
Ben Benedict, Jonathan Brett, Harry Chahal, Justin de Lima, Pamela Dodds, Michel Dumont, Andy Fabo, Paul Foster, Hannah Goodick, Vera Graham, Jowenne Carpo Herrera, Caitlyn Jean , Shane Patrick McClurg
Daniella Mitchell, Claude LeBlanc, Fiona Legg, Sue Lloyd, Mariam Magsi, Lucy McSweeney, Walter Segers, Alexander Scott, and Thomas Smith.

Juried by: Syrus Marcus Ware, Steph Rogerson, Sarah Munro, Binh Lu, and Kevin Cherry

Syrus Marcus Ware is a visual artist, community activist, researcher, youth-advocate and educator. He is the Program Coordinator of the AGO Youth Program, Art Gallery of Ontario. As a visual artist, Syrus works within the mediums of painting, installation and performance to explore social justice frameworks and activist culture. His work has been shown widely, including at the Art Gallery of Windsor, the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Art Gallery of York University and The Gladstone Hotel. Syrus’ recent curatorial projects include The Church Street Mural Project (Church-Wellesley Village, 2013), That’s So Gay: On the Edge (Gladstone Hotel, 2014) and Re:Purpose (Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2014). He is part of the PDA (Performance Disability Art) Collective and co-programmed Crip Your World: An Intergalactic Queer/POC Sick and Disabled Extravaganza as part of Mayworks 2014. In 2005, Syrus was voted “Best Queer Activist” by Now Magazine, and in 2012 he was awarded the Steinert and Ferreiro Award for LGBT community leadership and activism.

Steph Rogerson is a PhD Candidate in the joint graduate program of Communication & Culture at Ryerson/York Universities. She attended the Summer School for Sexualities, Cultures and Politics in 2014 at IPAK Centre in Belgrade with Jack Halberstam, Eszter Timar and Bracha L. Ettinger. She was co-curator for the exhibition Rare & Raw with Kelly McCray at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York in 2013. She has written articles for AfterImage: The Journal of New Media and Cultural Criticism, Border Crossings and C Magazine, among others.

Sarah Munro is a Toronto-based archivist, curator, arts administrator, and writer. She holds a BFA in Image Arts from Ryerson University and an MA in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management. Sarah Munro acts as Associate Curator for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, as well as Public Engagement Coordinator for the Koffler Centre of the Arts. She plays an editorial role within the Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art’s biannual publication, Prefix Photo magazine. Her interest in foregrounding the artworks and artifacts of marginalized and conflict-ridden communities informed her prior positions at the Ontario Jewish Archives, the UK’s Holocaust Centre, and the Genocide Archive of Rwanda.

Binh Lu is the chair of the Ontario Public Service Pride Network (OPN) and has worked in the Ontario Public Service for over 12 years, currently as a Senior Business Performance Specialist in the Ministry of Education. He served as a member of the Ryerson University MBA Alumni Association Board of Directors and volunteer in the CultureLink Community Connections Mentorship Program. Since 2012, he has served as a founding member of the PrideHouse Toronto Leadership Team and during WorldPride Toronto, he led the PrideHouseTO Provincial Inclusion Ambassadors program that brought together volunteers from across Ontario for an opportunity to develop leadership, facilitation, and community development skills and be equipped to be sport inclusion ambassadors in their home cities/regions.

Kevin Cherry works as a Strategy and Policy Advisor in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and has been a member of the OPS Pride Network since 2008. In addition to public administration, he has a background in peace and conflict studies, semiotics, visual art, and film. He has a particular interest in the expression of social issues and histories through public art and monuments. Kevin developed the overall concept and theme for the Queer Landscapes, Queer Journeys exhibition.

Work selected for the Sudbury exhibition by Leesa Bringas (visual artist, cultural worker, technician at Cambrian College's Open Studio and PrideHouse TO Inclusion Ambassador) and Heather Topp (visual artist, arts advocator and cultural worker).

The Ontario Public Service (OPS) Pride Network is an organization of volunteers that support and foster LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace for OPS employees and Broader Public Sector partners. The mission of the OPS Pride Network is to give voice to and effect positive change for LGBTQ employees in the OPS workplace. We accomplish this by conceptualizing, planning, organizing and facilitating programs that provide networking and educational opportunities and influence policy on critical issues facing the OPS and Broader Public Sector LGBTQ community.

Cambrian College's Open Studio is a multi-disciplinary creative space dedicated to presenting innovative exhibitions and events, many of which focus on social issues and progressive ideas. The studio raises awareness of the College, as well as the creative communities of the North, and positions Cambrian as a thought leader in the region. The large gallery space provides an excellent opportunity for students to mount exhibitions and to work with professional artists in the community, and offers them real-world experience. Artists, cultural workers and members of the community may also present programming throughout the year, promoting the Studio’s commitment to strengthening its engagement with the community.

The John B. Aird Gallery is located at 900 Bay Street, Toronto, inside the Ontario Government Macdonald Block Complex at Queen’s Park. It opened in 1985, and was named in honour of the twenty-third Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario to recognize his exceptional support of the visual arts in Canada. The mandate of the John B. Aird Gallery is to create awareness and enjoyment of works by contemporary professional artists. It is open free of charge to the public.

This event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1010113629029413/

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July 17 to July 26: Fierté Sudbury Pride Week 2015

The following week of events have been planned for this year's Pride celebrations in Sudbury:

Friday, July 17, 11am --  Flag Raising (Tom Davies Square)

Saturday, July 18, 2pm -- Snobears BBQ (Carmichael Community Centre)

Tuesday, July 21, 6:15pm -- Reseau Access Network Movie Night: *United in Anger* (The Open Studio)
                            10pm -- Pride Idol Karaoke Contest (Zigs Bar, 19+ event)

Wednesday, July 22, 6pm -- SACY Youth Coffee House (location TBD)
                                 8pm -- FSP Open Mic Night (Fromagerie Elgin)
                                10pm -- Dirty Bingo with Dusty Dillhole (Zigs Bar)

Thursday, July 23, 1pm -- FSP Community Round Table & Conference (Sudbury Theatre Centre)
                              7pm -- FSP Community Kudos with special guest performer Evalyn Parry (Sudbury Theatre Centre)
                             10pm - Kicx for Kids hosted by MC Marx (Zigs Bar)

Friday, July 24, 1pm -- TG Innersevles Presents Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo (Steelworkers Hall)
                    7:30pm -- FSP Pride Prom with celebrity guest host and DJ Miss Fluffy Soufle (Sudbury Theatre Centre)
                         9pm -- Lady Anya Face Drag Show (Zigs Bar)

Saturday, July 25, 12noon -- Pride Day in the Park (Memorial Park)
                               5pm -- Pride March (Downtown Sudbury)
                               9pm -- Zigs Pirdepalooza (Zigs Bar)

Sunday, July 26, 10am -- Spirit of Pride with special guest facilitator Gerry Copeman (Sudbury Theatre Centre)

These events summarized in a shareable image on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sudburypride/photos/a.364701647006461.1073741828.363455437131082/598437493632874/?type=1&theater