SCHEDULE

MONDAY NOVEMBER 1

Keynote Speaker – Rochelle Richarson

5:30-6:30 PM ET

Coming from an intersectional perspective, as a Black, Queer, and Mentally Ill Arts Worker Rochelle R will be discussing the importance of navigating Radical Wellness and Self-Care from a professional perspective. The importance of taking care of the self to be able to show up in professional spaces. The need to challenge the “status quo” and resist grind culture, and the difficulties that arise in doing so. Creatives and arts professionals often struggle to maintain that line between creative moments of relaxation and self-care, and the need to remain productive and produce work for capital gain. Constantly negotiating between labour and self-expression. Rochelle will be discussing the challenges and importance of prioritizing radical comfort and care practices as professional arts workers.

Rochelle R (She/They) is a Canadian-Caribbean community-engaged, multidisciplinary theatre artist; writer, producer and advocate for Black, Queer, Mad/Mentally Ill, and disabled communities. Rochelle holds a BA in English and Theatre Studies from the University of Guelph, and they are a recent graduate of reputable training programs in and around the GTA. Select companies and programs include Artist Producer Training Program with Generator, Paprika Theatre Festival: Directors Lab, b current BCHUB, Buddies in Bad Times Emerging Creator’s Unit, Nightwood’s Young Innovators program, Piece of Mine Arts: Internship, Dance Immersion: Legacy Leaders, and a few others.  Rochelle was the Co-Artistic Director of emerging theatre company Low Hanging Fruit Productions and is now focusing her attention on a new Arts and Wellness Space, promoting Wellness Practices for arts workers, primarily those who are members of vulnerable communities. Rochelle consistently promotes and develops opportunities for discussions covering the complexities of intersectionality and allyship while prioritizing members from the Black diaspora. 

Right As Rain, Growing Through Discomfort – A Musical Journey

7 – 8 PM 

Facilitated by Vivek Mehmi

Join Vivek Mehmi, for a performance and discussion of his original music. Vivek will share how each song has helped him move through physical, mental and emotional health challenges. Ending the session with a group discussion on some of the themes in the music and best practices. Attendees will learn how creating music can provide therapy for healing. This session is for anyone who needs inspiration, wants to raise their vibration and loves music!

Attendees are encouraged to listen to Mehmi’s album Right As Rain ahead of time to process the content. A pen and something to write notes during the presentation are suggested.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 2

AdHack Workshop: Changing the Power Dynamics of Advertisements Through Art and Laughter

10 – 12 PM

Facilitated by Stephanie Avery

Join Stephanie for a fun, hands-on workshop that will have you laughing at the absurdity of advertisements. As advertisements become more ubiquitous in our public and, increasingly, private/digital spaces, we need to become aware of their presence, their manipulation tactics and the toll they take on our mental health. Stephanie’s ongoing ‘AdHack’ painting series uses the power of laughter to disarm ads and create a healthier relationship with a medium we are regularly exposed to.

Using reclaimed advertisements as her canvas, Stephanie paints her own whimsical additions directly onto them – strange creatures that interact with or replace the products and models – to critique the duplicitous aspects of consumer culture and the constructs of advertising. Using farce to undermine the pervasive power and influence they wield, she shifts and subverts advertisements from being manipulative and insidious to hilarious and absurd, and transforms the viewer/advertiser relationship from predatory to empowering. In this workshop, she wants you to do the same!

After a short presentation on Stephanie’s process and body of work, participants will be encouraged to grab magazines and paint/markers to join in on the fun! Making one’s own ‘AdHacks’ is an easy and cathartic way of changing how you react to ads. Together, we will share our creations and have casual conversations about the impact ads and consumer culture have on our lives, communities, and world. No art experience is needed to participate, and the sillier the creations, the better!

Bringing magazines or any ephemera with advertisements (the LCBO has free magazines that are perfect for the project), markers and/or paint and brushes is encouraged. Stephanie especially recommends paint markers (available at any art supply store). 

Mental Health In Nature

1 – 2:30 PM

Facilitated by Nathan Cole

Nathan Cole discusses how his outdoor explorations assisted in the recovery and maintenance of his mental health and shares tips on how to enhance your experience in nature. This is a partially collaborative event where participants can share their own experiences and ask questions.

Hope in a World on Fire: Envisioning Utopia as Radical Praxis

4 – 7 PM

Facilitated by iowyth hezel ulthiin

This workshop will be an experiment in the radical possibilities of group visioning processes. Organized in the form of a sharing circle, participants will engage in a group deconstruction of the world that is, engaging in a purging of anxiety and grief at the ways in which the world is failing us both individually and collectively. The group will then attempt to rebuild the world in an image of equity and justice, combining their collective powers to see through the present moment into the potential of future transformation. Within this process is the tension of how to bring about such change and how to engage with the radical need for social and ecological health. In attempting to tackle this subject, the forum will present the potential to purge feelings of helplessness and despair and to set our sights on possible sites of engagement and reformation.

Compassionate Inquiry for Creatives

7:30 – 9 PM

Facilitated by Heather Clear Wind

Come join us for Community, Connection and Creative Expression through Compassionate Inquiry to explore new ways of being and connecting to what makes your heart sing, approaching your creative process with compassion and supportive self-care practices.

There will be a nature meditation and some Indigenous teachings, and Heather will share some of her journey and tools she finds helpful.

We will be connecting with nature as a support system that you can connect with and access 24/7 – which is so important at times of restrictions when one may find themselves on their own (and/or possibly unable to get outdoors).

We will be led on a heart-centered journey of Compassionate Inquiry into mindfulness (present moment awareness) and into new ways of connecting with inspiration for your creative practice bringing your inherent gifts forward to be shared with the world.

There will be a chance to connect to the group by sharing what you find helpful/inspiring and/or to ask questions as we come together in creative community.

Materials needed: You may want to bring a journal or notepad so you can take notes of what arises for you and find a quiet space so you can be on your own for our gathering.

You may also want to have a favourite essential oil (or something you can smell), a beverage or something you can taste, something you can feel, and something that you feel inspired or comforted by.

Visit Heather’s website here:https://soulpurposehealing.weebly.com/

Special Notes:The artist offers this gathering with audio (camera off) mainly for safety as she was in human trafficking as a child and thus doesn’t share her identity online, but also as an act of decolonization, and as research studies show it reduces our carbon footprint and it’s better for mental health

Audio version of course description: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QRmL61xwwGRqgPHnHd9f-3Sacrjq9Gul/view?usp=sharing

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 3

W.O.W.  –  Writing Opens Windows for the Heart and Soul!

12:30 – 2:30 PM

Facilitated by Christina Walsh

Do you have a story to tell? Something on your heart you want to share?  You are in the right place!

In this workshop we will write to a couple of prompts I will provide and read out and put in the chat. We will write in silence for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then we will each read and receive feedback that is positive and authentic. “What did you like about the piece? the voice? the character? What speaks to you about the piece? What resonates?” One of the prompts will be an art-related prompt and the second one will be a writing prompt or both!

The power of being heard begins a journey to healing and transformation. Writing and making art speaks volumes, creates inner and outer connections, and brings people together using the power of their own voice to tell stories. “Come as you are, bring yourself and your voice to write and create art!” No previous art and writing experience is necessary! 

Suggested preparation and materials are pens, paper, newsprint or photocopy regular paper (anything affordable!) pencil crayons, crayons,  a variety of markers, some mixed media paper and/or acrylics, paintbrushes, plastic pallets, and reusable margarine or yogurt containers for water.

CONVERSATIONS AROUND NEURODIVERSITY: Mad & Autistic, Building Inclusive Futures

4 – 5 PM

Facilitated by Emily Gillespie

This one-hour conversation features four Mad/ mentally ill and Autistic artists in different artistic disciplines talking about their experiences in the arts. We will discuss if and how their identity has shaped their art practice.  Both the Mad community and Autistic community have unique politics and pride movements. Panelists will have the opportunity to discuss whether activism has impacted their work. We will also reflect on accessibility barriers in the arts community, what needs improved and what they wish neurotypical people knew. This panel will conclude by asking what the panelists’ hopes for inclusion in the arts sector at large look like as we emerge from pandemic life.

Taking Care While Making Work About Your Life

3 – 4:30 PM

With Justina Zatzman and Rick Miller

Creating autobiographical work or artwork that draws from personal experience can be a powerful and evocative process for an artist and any collaborators. Sharing examples from his own work, filmmaker and photographer Rick Miller offers insights on supporting your mental health through the process of creating autobiographical work, in conversation with friend, collaborator and former Workman Arts Membership Manager, Justina Zatzman.

For one hour, Participants are invited into a conversation about how to support creative work with personal material, not only in caring for yourself, but also to create healthy and supportive creative environments for collaborators. As lifting restrictions allow artists to re-engage more openly with collaborative work, we have an opportunity to envision collective growth in how we care for the artists we work with (including ourselves).

At the end of the conversation, Rick and Justina will share a draft tool that they’re co-creating to offer suggestions for creating trauma-informed creative environments with a focus on filmmaking, but which could be useful for artists practicing collaboratively in any artistic discipline.

The structured discussion will end after an hour, but interested participants are welcome to stay for an additional 30 minutes to share or ask questions.

 CONVERSATIONS AROUND NEURODIVERSITY : The Art of Navigating ADHD

5:30 – 6:30 PM

Facilitated by Kat Singer

Individuals who attract the label of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) tend to demonstrate remarkable creativity, and many find themselves working in the arts, a field marked by precarity and competition for scarce resources. Until recently the presence of ADHD in certain populations, such as those assigned female at birth or adults, has been under-recognized, contributing to a lack of available supports for these populations. This presentation will explore “adult” ADHD and the advantages and barriers it may present for one’s career in the arts. It will also offer education about, and practical advice around navigating several common ADHD-related challenges. 

The Glass Eye

6:30 – 8:00 PM

Facilitated by Angela Sun

Angela has a story she wants to tell that will explain everything — No, that’s not it. She has a story about her “mental health journey”…? No, that’s not exactly it either. She just… has a story she has to tell before some well-meaning writer does it for her. If she will just let herself get out of her own head that is. 

This is a live work-in-process reading of Angela Sun’s play about Madness, representation, and the trauma of having to share your lived experience. The Glass Eye was developed as a part of Cahoots Theatre’s Hot House playwriting unit. 

A Creative Journey’s Medicine Trove

8 – 9:30 PM

Facilitated by Mayra Gemm

In this multidisciplinary performance, creatrix Mayra Gemm will share original acoustic folk songs, intuitive poetry and improvised soundscapes that have sprang as a result of her creative healing journey of almost 2 decades.

By using various art forms to help herself deal with the pain and isolation of living with chronic illnesses, mood disorders and the effects of various traumas, Mayra developed a rich experience of creating as an empowering, reconnecting, resilience building, growth promoting and healing process.

This journey also allowed her to discover her authentic voice as an artist. Her emotive performance style aims to honour and express her innate core essence.

Mayra will gently facilitate the audience to get in touch with their hearts and to listen from this space as she shares her heart.

The symposium is divided into three sessions, which will each have a separate Zoom link. You may register for all sessions or only specific ones, but you will need to register separately for each session you would like to attend. Click on the plus symbol (+) to expand and view details for each session. Panelist bios are included below the schedule.

We believe it is important to engage in honest, direct discussions about mental health and/or addictions, but acknowledge that this material can be difficult or triggering for some. In line with a commitment to being trauma-informed, active listeners will be available to help provide self-care and emotional support during this event.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Araba Chintoh is a psychiatrist with clinical roles at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Inner City Health Associates, Across Boundaries – Mental Health Services for Racialized People and the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus. Her clinical and research interests focus on schizophrenia and include psychopharmacology, metabolic dysfunction and ways to improve the health and care for patients with chronic brain illnesses. She has an honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, a Masters of Science from McGill University and a PhD from the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto. She attended medical school at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and returned to University of Toronto to complete her specialty training and a Fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry. Her education continues every day while navigating what it means to be a racialized woman in mainstream spaces. Away from work, she is developing her leadership skill set in not-for-profit and corporate governance as well as consulting on player welfare issues for international sports federations.

MODERATORS

AROBA creator and producer, Lana Lovell is a writer, producer and director whose career has spanned three decades. Some of her projects include: the CBC series The George Stroumboulopoulos Hour, the Omni television documentary Resilience, the Bravo musical documentary The Incomparable Jackie Richardson, the award-winning documentary Underground, and the Bravo documentary series Caribbean Tales. More recently Lana wrote and produced the theatrical play Elbow Room and wrote the digital media theatre production of The Sophia Pooley Years.

Kais Padamshi (He/Him) is the interim Public Programming & Partnerships Manager at Workman Arts. He is a Black East African settler living in Toronto and a practicing artist, writer and yoga instructor. His personal and professional practices are centred on exploring and reclaiming identity or creating a sense of belonging, using visual art, writing, yoga and reiki as tools of healing. His community work focuses on mental health awareness and advocacy, emphasizing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities through programming creation and art exhibitions.

PANELISTS

Nicky Lawrence is a moody, tender, tour de force of a performer and vocal artist. Moved to sing by the black women who sang before her and who continue to sing within her, Lawrence’s voice will grab you by the throat with the force of its pain, beauty, rage and ultimately—love. The writer and creator of two original works Key Change (Globe Theatre, Regina) and Ugly Black Woman (Hart House, Paradise on Bloor) Nicky has performed on national theatre stages in countless productions to critical acclaim. With several television and movie credits to her name; Anne with an E, Workin’ Moms, Schitts Creek, Killjoys , In the Shadow of the Moon, she continues to advocate for better treatment of Black actors working in the field.

Artistic Director of KasheDance and Program Manager at Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO), Kevin A. Ormsby has performed with companies in Canada, USA and the Caribbean. The Canada Council for the Arts’ Victor Martyn Lynch – Staunton Award recipient and TAC Cultural Leaders Fellow, has been a Guest Artist at the University of the West Indies (Mona),  Philip  Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts,  University of Wisconsin – Madison and Northwestern University.  Kevin’s research and creative practice through his company’s technical approach to dance exists in a space of constant interrogation and navigation of Caribbean cultural nuances towards, a methodology of understanding space in creation, research, and presentation. He is on the Boards of Dance Collection Danse, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts and has served on the Boards of Canadian Dance Assembly, Prologue to the Performing Arts and Nia Centre for the Arts.

Amanda Vil is a social service worker with a background in somatic trauma therapy, and a passion for emotional and mental health. She is an influential creative innovator with a flair for the arts. Amanda mainly operates from the art form of dance/movement. For over six years, Amanda has used her dance/healing movement gift to uplift, encourage, and bring healing. Not only is she a dancer, but an Emotional Health movement coach under her business Amanda’s Healing Services. She helps black women learn how to process and express emotions, heal holistically, and optimize their full potential through movement and coaching.

Keosha is a multi-disciplinary artist, activist and educator that intersects art & wellness to promote positive health & mental wellness in BIPOC communities and empower women. As a writer and film director, Keosha is notable for promoting healing, social justice and social change in her work by exploring the diverse narratives and identities of Black folk and people of colour. Keosha has graced many stages as a public speaker, host and spoken word poet to tell vulnerable stories, empower communities & bring them together. Keosha is also a trauma-informed educator that has facilitated several creative writing & wellness workshops using a holistic approach for radical care & healing. Her passion for art & advocating for accessible and inclusive health-care in her communities has led her to work with diverse companies such as Nike, Converse AllStars, Knixwear, Art Gallery of York University, CBC Arts and more. In 2016, Keosha founded Our Women’s Voices, a non-for-profit based in Toronto focused on amplifying marginalized voices and making social change with and for women using community, arts & education. Keosha is a storyteller and driven change-maker who has become a well-recognized voice that inspires others to use theirs.

Victor Stiff is a Toronto-based film critic who has written for POV Magazine, The Playlist, Film School Rejects, Screen Rant, and the Canadian Academy. He hosts the YouTube series Dope Black Movies, is the current news editor and senior critic at That Shelf, where he has covered TIFF, Sundance, and Hot Docs. In 2020, Victor received the Toronto Film Critics Association’s Emerging Critic award.

Louis Taylor’s career in the arts and entertainment field has spanned over 40 years. He has worked as a producer, actor, acting coach, dancer, writer, director (both in theatre and film), assistant director, casting director, outreach coordinator and script consultant. His award-winning short films have screened at over twenty-five film festivals world-wide. In 2020 he and his kid, Altair Pflug-Taylor completed their first web series, Spawn and Geezer. It will launch February 2021 on Seeka TV. The two are planning a second season and are developing a slate of projects through their production company, Shining Trauma Pictures.

Mosa McNeilly is an interdisciplinary artist, working in Canada for thirty years. She sees her work as part of a canon of Black women artists, scholars, and activists concerned with social justice and freedom. In her visual art and performance work, she centres the Black female subject, working through hybrid iconographies, and exploring themes of memory and memorialization. In her Black healing and wellness work she leads webinars, workshops, and ceremonies fostering African cultural literacy and Black selflove. A recipient of the 2019 Toronto Acker Award and a 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women 2020 Honouree, Mosa holds a Master’s degree from York University.

Toronto-based artist Gordon Shadrach was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario in 1966. Gordon started painting in 2013 and paints in oil and acrylic on wood. He has exhibited in solo and group art shows in Canada and the United States. He works from photographs at his in-home studio. He received his B. Des. (MAAD) from OCAD University and has a Master of Education degree from Niagara University. In the Spring of 2018, Gordon’s painting, “In Conversation”, was included in an exhibit developed by the Royal Ontario Museum titled, “Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art”. Later in 2018 the exhibit went on tour and was presented at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in 2019. Aside from his portraits, Gordon is known for his insightful artist’s talks and has appeared as a panelist on TVO’s the Agenda and CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.

Apanaki Temitayo M is a Toronto-based multi-disciplinary artist. She is the 1st Artist-In- Wellness for CAMH. Was the 2017/2018 Workman Arts Artist-In-Residence. As part of Workman Arts Art Cart Program at CAMH, she teaches participants with mental health and drug addiction.  She has pieces featured at Workman Arts, Being Scene 18th Annual Juried Exhibition 2019 at the TMAC Gallery. Oju Olurun: Eye of God I is currently a part of CAMH Corporate Collection. The Amazing Nina Simone Documentary Film by Jeff Lieberman, with her piece Nina Simone Fragmented.  The first woman of colour to be in Room Magazine: Woman of Color Issue for 2016. Oshun Blooming was the face of Grow Room Feminist Literary Festival 2018 in Vancouver, which is part of the private collection of Donna Slaight.

Yvonne Francis is an independent freelance musician who delights in exploring her talents in a variety of artistic arenas. This multi-talented musician performs music, which encompasses African derived idioms from classical, contemporary, jazz through to new wave. Yvonne obtained a musical education with the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Specialized Honors B.F.A in Music from York University. Yvonne’s virtuosity on the saxophone, trumpet, steel drums, African drums and other percussive instruments enables her to perform with a variety of groups and teach music within the education system of the GTA. She has performed in West Africa, Caribbean and the USA.

Fimo Mitchell is a meditation guide, a writer and a podcast host. He began meditating in 2009 during his first trip to India. Since then, he has spent thousands of hours in meditation and completed two mindfulness courses. Last summer he founded When The Village Meditates, a nonprofit dedicated to offering meditation programs to members of racialized and marginalized communities. In March, Fimo will release a collection of short stories titled Pastel Remembrances. Every Tuesday, he hosts the “We Are Home” podcast featuring ten minutes of meditation followed by five minutes of insightful speech. He lives in Tio’tia:ke (Montréal), but remains on the lookout for a home far away from the oligarchs, plutocrats, and all their eager supporters.

For well over a decade Kay-Ann has been shaping the lives of individuals throughout the Dance, Wellness and Social Services Industries.  She is well known for her creativity, energy, knowledge of her craft and the nurturing space she provides for individuals to flourish. She has performed on many stages with top artists and has coached 200+ men and women helping them to embody the fullest expression of themselves. She has worked with both small and large social services organizations ranging from The City of Toronto, Tropicana Community Services, The Healing Project, Harbourfront Centre and Nia Centre for the Arts just to name a few.