The Dufala Brothers have been selected to be part of the Hidden City Festival in 2013. Their installation will be at Globe Dye Works, and will feature materials sourced through RAIR. Check out their video!
We have the dormant, yet exciting Canada Malt Plant along the Lachine Canal in Montreal that would make an excellent art meets urban exploration cooperative.
It certainly falling in line with my concept of gentrification which is community based as opposed to just individuals making real estate investments. There is room for everyone and everything in a truly democratic city!
There’s very little time left before the Harper government plans to approve the Enbridge Corporation’s Northern Gateway Pipeline Project in early 2014. This plan includes hundreds of supertankers navigating through the inside passage along the central coast of British Columbia, loaded with millions of barrels of Alberta Tarsands Bitumen for export to China.
This is one of the most pressing environmental issue of our time. These coastal waters are intense, the shorelines extremely rugged, and the environment extremely diverse. Before deciding its future people deserve to see more than animated TV ads, with glass calm waters absent of a maze of islands, produced by the Enbridge Corporation which is spending $350 million promoting its project. My media project will reveal the reality of this incredible environment and I need your help to complete it. More details: http://coastaltarsands.ca
I’m taking an innovative approach to this media production by producing a series of short ‘mini-docs’ that I will post on the internet to meet pressing public deadlines, which will be combined to complete a full length documentary. I’ve started a fund raising campaign via Indiegogo to cover the production cost of the first ‘mini-doc,’ which needs to be released prior to the BC Election May 14. http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/coastal-tarsands
Please join me by donating and help spread this message by forwarding to friends.
As an aging feminist I am often asked to speak about the progress we have made as feminists and how much is left to do. It gets depressing sometimes because of the persistence of violence against women and economic inequality. I am despairing of the deep gendered divide in children’s toys and the heavy load placed upon young women expected to be beautiful, thin, successful, a great mom and too often chief cook and bottle washer at home. Not to mention daily viewing the old Reform party anti-feminists running the country.
During the 1993 CBC election coverage, when the Mulroney Tories were reduced to two seats (how I long to see that day again), I was asked what I thought of the new Reform Party members. “They make John Crosbie look like Gloria Steinem, “I quipped. Many of you probably won’t remember that John Crosbie, Minister of Justice at the time, was prone to putting is foot in it when speaking about or to women.
But this year, there really is something to celebrate and it’s not about what we normally think of as the women’s movement. It’s Idle No More. I’m thinking that Idle No More is perhaps showing us the way forward towards women’s liberation. I know that’s an archaic expression but somehow I think it’s more appropriate to describe what we need now. It came to me during a round dance in the Eaton Centre. It was a powerful expression of collective power, as rallies and demonstrations can be but there was a different feeling. It wasn’t threatening. Everyone in the round dance and everyone watching it was smiling. And when I looked around again, I noticed the vast majority of participants were women. As you know, the founders of Idle No More are women as were most of the local organizers. It seems to me because of that the movement had a different approach, a different feeling. It was just as powerful as any new movement, more powerful because of the place of Indigneous people in Canada and their history but it wasn’t confrontational or angry. People were standing up not so much fighting back.
When you fight back you take on the qualities of the institution against which you are fighting. We, in the second wave women’s movement, took on qualities of patriarchy. At least I did. I was already angry but I learned to be assertive, sure of myself, never doubting. One of my mentors, a man, told me, “Judy, if you act sure of yourself, people will believe everything you say.” A secret of patriarchy revealed and internalized. We cloaked ourselves in armour to take on the patriarchy and perhaps in those days we had to but in these days it seems to me something else is needed. We can’t be like them anymore or no one will believe things can be different. Women leading like women can make it different. In Idle No More, the men accepted and supported the leadership of women and respected their sensibilities instead of the other way around.
Almost all the barriers to women’s further equality is rooted in the neo-liberal system, including patriarchy and colonialism. All the new movements seem to understand that. More and more we are seeing a comprehension that every issue is connected to every other issue. We cannot have a white middle-class environmental movement. We cannot have a labour movement that ignores issues of sustainability. We cannot have a women’s movement that doesn’t include the job of changing men. l knew that one would be the most controversial.
Yesterday I happened upon a blog saying that it shouldn’t be call International Women’s Day, it should be called “where are the men day.” I wasn’t sure about that but embedded in the blog was a video of the actor Patrick Stewart speaking about growing up in a house where his father beat his mother. In it he talks about the rage he sometimes feels and says “violence is a choice for men.” He chooses not to be violent. It was moving and powerful and I started to think maybe she had a point.
There were other more traditional signs of progress. One Billion Rising, a day against violence against women, called by Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler seems to have mobilized more women globally than any other global feminist action I can remember. Some women criticized it as imperialist but it didn’t seem that way to me. In Canada, Ensler quickly responded to a suggestion that she include the rallies for Murdered and Missing Women on the activities of One Billion Rising since they were taking place on the same day. The biggest marches and dances seemed to be in developing countries where women are battling mightily to stop male violence. Global feminism is rising, and more and more led by women in the global south.
On Thursday, Barack Obama signed the Violence Against Women Bill in the U.S. I came upon the signing ceremony online and watched it. It was the first time in years that the Barack Obama of his first election campaign emerged thanking the advocates by name and giving them credit for the bill passing, including the measures protecting trans people, lesbians and Indigenous women that the Republicans didn’t want. The media credited a new combatitive Obama but it seemed to me it was the uprising of women during the election against the gross anti-woman comments of various Republicans. Women feeling our power again. The women on the page mostly Indigenous and Black were so happy. It made me cry.
And then even more traditional, women are now half of our premiers. I don’t have high hope for any changes coming there since to be the leader of a party women usually have to fit into the existing political system, which basically means you can’t change much. But still it must mean something.
I’m looking forward to the Toronto IWD March. It’s always a great time to see old friends and I like the theme this year. “Fires are Burning. We are Rising.” Hope to see you there.
Idle No More Quebec is launching this call for solidarity to invite you to publicly demonstrate and to join us!
WHEN: Idle No More Demonstration in Montreal – Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 1:00 pm
WHERE: Phillips Square, 585 Ste-Catherine Street West, Montreal (in front of the store The Bay) (nearest metro station: McGill)
HOW: Come with friends and family and bring drums, rattles, jingle dresses, red feathers!
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Idle No More Québec (Fini l’inertie) lance cet appel à la solidarité pour vous inviter à manifester publiquement et à vous joindre à nous!
QUAND : Manifestation Idle No More à Montréal – Le dimanche 10 février 2013 à 13h
OÙ : Square Phillips, 585 rue Ste-Catherine Ouest, Montréal (en face du magasin La Baie) (près de la station de métro McGill)
COMMENT : Venez avec amis et famille et apportez tambours, hochets, jingle dress, plumes rouges!
RASSEMBLEMENT & MANIF *IDLE NO MORE (FINI L’INERTIE) – MTL* RALLY & MARCH
February 10 at 1:00pm
Square Phillips in Montreal, Quebec
17/12/2012 – Mouvement historique – Les autochtones se réunissent sous la bannière Idle No More pour dénoncer les politiques du gouvernement Harper – Joignez-vous à eux le 21 décembre à Montréal.
Suivant l’impulsion d’un mouvement spontané, lancé par le mot-clic #IdleNoMore sur Twitter, des manifestants se sont rassemblés à travers le Canada le 10 décembre dernier pour protester contre l’adoption du projet de loi omnibus C-45 et contre l’indifférence du gouvernement du Canada à l’égard des Premières Nations. Le slogan, véritable appel à la mobilisation autochtone, a depuis fait boule de neige et motivé des dizaines de manifestations allant de Vancouver à Halifax, et maintenant Montréal.
Afin de faire écho à la grande manifestation prévue le 21 décembre à Ottawa, des membres des Premières Nations du Québec et leurs sympathisants se réuniront pacifiquement à Montréal ce vendredi. Ils témoigneront par le fait même de leur appui à la chef d’Attawapiskat Theresa Spence qui a débuté une grève de la faim le 11 décembre dernier, afin de réclamer une rencontre avec le Premier Ministre Harper et la Reine. Au cours de la dernière semaine, l’Assemblée des Premières Nations du Québec et du Labrador (APNQL) et l’Assemblée des Premières Nations du Canada (AFN) ont donné leur appui officiel à Theresa Spence et réclamé que le Premier Ministre accepte de la rencontrer.
La manifestation du 21 décembre se veut un premier effort de mobilisation au Québec et les membres du mouvement entendent poursuivre leurs actions jusqu’à l’établissement d’un réel dialogue de nation à nation entre le gouvernement du Canada et les Premières Nations. Ils invitent également toutes les organisations sympathiques à leur cause à le manifester publiquement et à se joindre à eux le 21 décembre.
Historic movement – Indigenous people unite under the Idle No More banner to denounce Harper government policies – Join them on December 21 in Montréal.
17/12/2012 – Under the impulse of a spontaneous movement launched with the #IdleNoMore hashtag on Twitter, protesters joined across Canada on this past December 10 to protest against the adoption of omnibus bill C-45 and the Canadian government’s indifference regarding First Nations. Truly appealing to indigenous people to rally, the slogan has since gathered momentum and motivated dozens of protests from Vancouver to Halifax, and now in Montréal. To echo the big demonstration planned in Ottawa on December 21, members of Québec’s First Nations and those who support them will meet peacefully in Montréal on Friday. They will express their support to Chief of Attawapiskat, Theresa Spence, who has undertaken a hunger strike since December 11, demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Harper and the Queen. This last week, the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) have officially given their support to Theresa Spence and demanded that the Prime Minister accept to meet her. The demonstration on 21 December is meant as a first mobilization drive in Québec. The movement’s members intend on continuing their efforts until a true nation-to-nation dialogue is established between the government of Canada and the First Nations. They also invite all organizations who are sympathetic to their cause to express it publicly and to join Friday’s demonstration.
Idle No More Demonstration in Montréal
21 December at noon Cabot Square (Atwater / Sainte-Catherine)
Also open Saturday and Sunday 11 AM to 5 Pm *bring kids!*
Tree no 1 Artist Arpi is back! He has created a tree using discarded objects as a comment on our throw-away society. He will also have several of his paintings on display and for sale. Arpi’s videos will be on view in the new ‘E space en bas’; here’s a preview.
Tree no 2 Musician and acoustic artist Charles de Mestral’s “Acoustic Tree” will be broadcasting familiar and unfamiliar sounds through 20 speakers mounted on the skeleton of a 200 year old nut tree. This work was a joint creation by Paul Mercier, sculptor, and Charles de Mestral, musician. It dates from 1984.
Tree no 3 Your host Pieter Sijpkes’ Christmas tree will , once again, touch the dome overhead and sparkle with the lights donated by the now -closed Hotel de la Montagne.
The Mayan Clock by Keith Daniels is a ludique comment on the current fascination with things Mayan
Espace les Neuf Soeurs, 1900 Wellington Montreal H3k-1W3; tel: 514 933-1725
(en français ci-dessous) DAVID FENNARIO’S LATEST PLAY – A PERFORMANCE IN THE POINT FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY You are cordially invited to share an afternoon with David Fennario performing his latest play “Motherhouse”, a 65-minute story about the women workers of the British Munitions Factory in Verdun. The factory employed over 4,000 women to do this work, including David’s mother and grandmother. It is a strong anti-war play about the effects of war on Verdun, which had the highest casualty rate amongst its army recruits of any city in Canada in the two World Wars. WHEN : Sunday, November 11th at 2 p.m. WHERE : Carrefour d’éducation populaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles, 2356 rue Centre (metro Charlevoix) (Wheelchair accessible) Martine Éloy, spokesperson for Échec à la guerre, will be present to speak about their white poppy campaign.
Fennario requests that everyone bring pots and pans and spoons to bang and clang (on cue !) as sound effects.
Lastly, there is a feature documentary film being made about Fennario and the making of “Motherhouse”, directed by Martin Duckworth. A camera crew will be present to capture this memorable performance by Fennario. Please have a look at the attachment. This poster is for the upcoming film to be released in 2013 about David. It was designedand photographed by Thanh Pham, a Montreal graphic designer. Hope to see you on the 11th ! Wear your redsquares ! LA NOUVELLE PIÉCE DE THÉÂTRE DE DAVID FENNARIO Vous êtes chaleureusement invité à écouter David Fennario présenter sa plus récente oeuvre Motherhouse, une pièce de 65 minutes, sur la vie des travailleuses de British Munitions Factory de Verdun. Cette usine employa 4 000 femmes, dont la mère et la grand-mère de l’auteur. Il s’agit d’une pièce résolument contre la guerre et ses conséquences pour Verdun, qui connut le plus haut taux de mortalité parmi ses militaires recrutés au cours des deux Guerres Mondiales. QUAND : Le dimanche 11 novembre (Jour du Souvenir !) à 14 h. OÙ : Carrefour d’éducation populaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles au 2356, rue Centre, (métro Charlevoix) (Accessible en fauteuil roulant)
Martine Éloy, porte-parole du Collectif Échec à la Guerre, sera présente pour fournir davantage d’informations sur la campagne du coquelicot blanc. Note : la présentation sera en anglais
David Fennario demande à tous d’apporter casseroles et ustensiles afin de participer par un tintamarre aux effets sonores de la pièce.
Enfin, parce qu’un documentaire de Martin Duckworth sur David Fennario et sur le “making of ’’ Motherhouse est en cours de réalisation, une équipe sera sur place avec caméra pour enregistrer cette mémorable représentation. S.V.P, jetez un coup d’oeil à la pièce jointe. C’est une affiche créée par le designer graphique montréalais Thanh Pham pour le documentaire sur David Fennario dont la sortie est prévue en 2013. Espérant vous rencontrer le 11 ! Portez vos carrés rouges
Murale de l’Arche Montréal : un projet inspirant qui réunit des graffiteurs et des personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle
New mural at 6115 Jogues, looks to be on the side of the presbytery of St-Jean-Damascène.
Before
And After
And here is the city blurb.
Montréal, le 6 novembre 2012 – « Quand différentes personnes travaillent ensemble, qu’elles mettent en commun leur passion et leur talent, de petits miracles peuvent survenir. » C’est en ces termes que le maire de l’arrondissement du Sud-Ouest, Benoit Dorais, s’est réjoui de la réalisation d’une murale sur un mur du bâtiment de l’Arche Montréal situé au 6105, rue Jogues. La fresque vient souligner les 35 ans de cet organisme qui offre des services aux personnes présentant une déficience intellectuelle. Elle est inspirée de dessins des participants aux ateliers d’art de l’Alizé à l’Arche.
Pour souligner la concrétisation de ce projet, les principaux acteurs se sont réunis pour une photo : le maire Benoit Dorais, la conseillère de Saint-Paul–Émard Huguette Roy, le directeur de l’Arche Montréal, Alain Ouedraogo, des résidents de l’Arche et les graffiteurs professionnels qui ont réalisé la murale, Arly Padan, résidant du Sud-Ouest, et Tyson Hampton.
L’arrondissement a octroyé un montant de 3 000$ à l’Arche Montréal pour la création de cette murale. « Ce projet rassembleur touche plusieurs enjeux fondamentaux soit l’intégration et la reconnaissance des personnes ayant une déficience, le soutien aux créateurs du Sud-Ouest, l’embellissement ainsi que la gestion des graffiti par des moyens préventifs. De plus, cette fresque inspirante s’intègre harmonieusement au quartier et offre un repère visuel attrayant pour les promeneurs et les usagers du parc Ignace-Bourget situé à proximité. On mise sur le respect du travail de ces graffiteurs pour garantir l’intégrité de l’oeuvre et par le fait même régler un problème récurrent de graffiti sur ce bâtiment », a déclaré le maire Benoit Dorais.
« L’oeuvre met en lumière le talent et le plein potentiel de deux groupes en apparence distincts. Elle permet aussi au grand public d’être mieux sensibilisé au savoir-faire des résidants de l’Arche et à leur place en société. Elle donne de plus l’occasion à des artistes graffiteurs d’exprimer leur talent dans un cadre légal », a ajouté Huguette Roy, aussi présidente de la table de sécurité urbaine de l’arrondissement.
It’s a fundraiser for Projet Montreal. We need to get the corrupt parties out of our city and this is a great chance to contribute to the campaign, get to know what’s going on, eat some fine food, maybe purchase a beautiful work of art by a local artist, or just meet some people who care. Should be a great time!
MONTRÉAL – mercredi 24 octobre 2012 (english below) – L’avenir du Horse
Palace de Griffintown semble mieux assuré avec l’annonce jeudi dernier de
l’intention de la Ville de Montréal d’acheter l’enclos devant l’écurie Horse Palace
en vue de son aménagement en espace vert. La présidente de la Fondation du
Horse Palace de Griffintown est enthousiasmée par cette nouvelle. « Le terrain
est la propriété d’un promoteur qui a voulu construire 4 ou 5 étages de haut, » a
déclaré Juliette Patterson. « Le développement aurait caché la vue du Horse
Palace de la rue. Maintenant, l’espace vert en face du Horse Palace restera
accessible à tous.»
L’intention de la Ville d’acheter l’enclos ne garantissant pas l’avenir du Horse
Palace, la fondation à but non lucratif cherche à recueillir les fonds pour acheter
le terrain sur lequel le Horse Palace est situé, et restaurer les écuries de manière
à assurer un lieu moderne et propre aux chevaux des calèches de la ville et pour
ouvrir les écuries au public.
A cette fin, la Fondation du Horse Palace de Griffintown organise un événement
artistique unique avec encan silencieux le dimanche 4 novembre. Dix artistes
vont peindre ou dessiner les chevaux sur place au Horse Palace, suivi d’un
encan silencieux. L’encan débutera à 13 h 30 quand le public est invité à
acheter les oeuvres d’art. « Nous essayons de trouver des moyens novateurs
d’amasser des fonds et d’engager notre communauté en même temps, » dit
Patterson. « La vente aux enchères réunit la communauté artistique et les
chevaux, ainsi que le public, qui peut regarder un événement artistique unique.»
L’achat prévu de l’enclos fait partie du plan d’urbanisme de la Ville de Montréal
pour Griffintown et comprend six espaces verts et places publiques et 93 M$ en
dépenses d’infrastructure au cours des quatre prochaines années.
Pour plus d’informations sur la Fondation du Horse Palace du Griffintown
ou l’encan silencieux, veuillez contacter Shauna Janssen, administratrice,
au 514 865 5872 ou la Fondation au 514-934-6346 ext 2.
MONTREAL – Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 – Saving the Griffintown Horse
Palace from development took one step closer to becoming a reality with today’s
announcement by the city of
Montreal that it is purchasing the paddock next to the Horse Palace to preserve it
as a green space.
The president of the Horse Palace Foundation is thrilled with the news. “The land
was owned by a developer who wanted to build 4 or 5 stories high,” Juliette
Patterson. “Now the green space in front of the Horse Palace will remain
accessible to all.” The development would have hidden the Horse Palace from
street view.
The non-profit foundation is still working to raise funds to purchase the land the
actual Horse Palace sits on and to restore the stables so as to ensure a modern
and clean home for the city’s Calèche horses, and open them to the public.
To that end, the Griffintown Horse palace Foundation is organizing a unique art
event and silent auction on Sunday, November 4th. Ten artists will paint or draw
horses on site at the Horse Palace and their work will be available by silent
auction. Bidding will begin at 1:30 pm and the public is invited to view the art.
The intended purchase of the paddock is part of the city of Montreal’s urban plan
for Griffintown and includes six public green spaces and $93 million in
infrastructure spending over four years.
For more information on the Horse Palace Foundation or the silent art
auction, please contact Shauna Janssen, administrator, at 514 865 5872, or
the Griffintown Horse Palace Foundation, at 514-934-6346 ext 2.
As the We The Sheep People collaborative expands it brings you a new art space/café in Mile End which have now become a cultural center. This Halloween come join us “Zombie Style” with 3 nights till the crack of dawn, in case Vampires will be present
Bonsoir, citoyenNEs mobiliséEs pour un meilleur Turcot!
Nous continuons nos rencontres de travail les mardis soirs afin de poursuivre l’organisation de notre campagne d’appuis pour la “Cure minceur pour l’échangeur Turcot”. (cliquez ici pour voir les solutions proposées dans la Cure minceur). Venez vous joindre à nous ce mardi:
Rencontre du comité citoyen pour un meilleur Turcot
mardi le 23 octobre
19h30-21h00
75 square Sir-Georges-Étienne-Cartier
bureau 201
Cette semaine: Pizza et blitz d’emails à 19h00!
Juste avant la rencontre ce mardi soir, nous ferons un blitz d’emails et messages Facebook afin de promouvoir la campagne. Venez souper avec nous à 19h00 dans la salle 201 et contribuez au blitz avec des envois dans vos propres réseaux (amenez vos laptops si vous voulez, ou utiliser un de nos ordinateurs si vous le préférez).
This week, we’ll be doing an email and Facebook messaging blitz for a half hour before the meeting. Come out and join us in room 201 for pizza and help spread the word about the campaign to your own networks! (bring your own laptop if you like, or they’ll be computers in the office you can use if you prefer).
People are coming together like never before to tell our provincial and federal governments that BC’s coast must be protected from tar sands pipelines and tankers.
First Nations leaders have formed an “unbroken wall of opposition”* to the Enbridge pipeline and tanker plan. Over 100 First Nations have signed the Save the Fraser Declaration to ban tar sands pipelines from their land, and First Nations of the North and Central Pacific Coasts and Haida Gwaii have signed the Coastal First Nations Declaration to ban tankers carrying crude from transiting their lands and waters.
A majority of British Columbians are opposed to the expansion of tanker traffic on BC’s coast, and the BC Union of Municipalities, along with over 20 individual local governments, have called for a tanker expansion ban that would stop Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipelines.
Still, in the face of this growing BC-wide consensus, our federal government is trying to ram the tar sands pipelines through local opposition, and our provincial government is sitting on the fence and suggesting that BC’s coast can be bought.
We need to send a powerful message now to make sure that BC’s coast is protected.
On Monday, October 22nd hundreds will join together at the B.C. legislature in Victoria to participate in potentially the largest act of peaceful civil disobedience ever to protest tar sands pipelines and tankers.
Then, on Wednesday, October 24th, we’ll link arms in front of MLA (provincial representative) offices across BC to symbolize the unbroken wall of opposition across the province, and say “Defend our Coast” with banners.
Together, we’ll make a powerful visual statement to show the unprecedented depth and breadth of this movement, and make sure our politicians know that we are organizing in the communities they represent.
Let’s shut the door on tar sands pipelines and tankers with a clear message to our provincial and federal representatives. Let’s support the First Nations who have lead the resistance against, tar sands pipelines and tankers. Join us in your community on October 24th to show our governments that BC’s coast must be protected.
My motivation is empathy for the victims and shame of being myself a part of the problem. I feel so sorry and so bad about what we are doing to all the other species we share the planet with. We have no right to be so disrespectful and so cruel. I personally can't just go on with life as if everything was okay. So I try to do what I can.
Filmmaker Patrick Rouxel
