I knew that I was going to be completely out of my element in going to this festival (because I am a man, going to an art festival primarily for women). I felt like I needed to be extra careful in how I present myself and how I speak to others at this event, as I was now a guest in their space. Before going to the event, I felt intimidated because I did not know what to expect.
Well, I can happily report that I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the art festival, and I wish that I could have stayed longer. To start, there was a market right inside the front doors of OCAD (which is hosting the event) where you can purchase various goods and trinkets with a feminist twist. There were goods such as ceramic saucers, cards, posters, and bracelets, many of which had a female-empowering slogan. I was happy to donate and to purchase something from the market to help these local entrepreneurs, as well as to contribute to a cause that I support.
The central area of OCAD housed the majority of the art pieces on display for the festival. Some remarkable people created these art pieces, and they were thought provoking in their own way. A few pieces stood out to me. There was a display of brown paper bags with drawings of women of color, with a statement that the color of your skin does not define your beauty. There was a rack with postcards, which had pictures of areas where sexual violence toward women had occurred. There was a description from the victim on the back of each postcard.
I would also like to talk about my friend's art piece and my understanding of its meaning. The art piece is an audio installation of a faint recording housed inside an antique Singer sewing machine. It was difficult for me to hear the recording among the commotion of the guests, but I heard the whirring of the industrial sewing machine juxtaposed with what seemed like a child calling out to his/her mother? Again, it was quite difficult for me to hear the audio. The artist explained to me that this piece was a representation of child and parent disconnect. The artist's mother was an industrial sewing machine operator, and from my understanding, it sounded like she worked long hours, leaving little time to spend with her daughter. It sounds like the whirring of the sewing machine is when she is speaking, but to the daughter, it is as if she is speaking a different language.
I identify with this piece in two ways. For most of my young childhood, my parents were always working, so I hardly saw them at home. I would talk to other adult figures, such as my babysitter or my schoolteacher, more than my parents on a given day would. They were also emotionally distant at the time, as I felt that as a child, I did not get the care and attention I deserved. In one way, this piece represents my loneliness as a child, but this piece also represents resolve and sacrifice by the adult figure. As I understand now, my parents wanted to spend as much time with me as possible, but they simply had to work long hours in order for us as a family to get by in life, as we did not have much as I was growing up. Maybe the sewing machine was its own indirect comfort for the mother to provide for the family around her. To me, the industrial sewing machine represents the sometimes-unhealthy balance between the need to care for a child through love and affection to combat loneliness, and the need to provide for the child through your own hard work and sacrifice.
I witnessed a performance piece from Shohana Sharmin called 'Come Here Often?', where she explores the intersections of being a closeted queer, a Muslim, and a survivor of sexual abuse in the context of a speed dating session. It starts quite funny with the sprinkling of dark humor, but the show quickly turns serious as she explores her feelings of suppressing who she feels she is in a deeply conservative immigrant family, and developing multiple personalities based on those feelings.
I related to the show in some ways, despite not being the target audience. I grew up in an immigrant family where I was expected to be a certain way and do certain things (such as follow certain religions) when deep down, I did not want to do that at all. I also have the feelings of having split personalities. I had to be my corporate self at work and other formal functions, but when I used to regularly go to Toronto FC matches and stand in section 114 with the supporters group, I was at my most raw. For the most part, I could easily keep those personalities separate, but there was an instance when those personalities had to come together for one memorable, anxiety-inducing night.
I felt honored to go to the Feminist Art Fest, as it created an avenue to explore my inner self through other people. It is important for people (and especially women) to carve and create their own passions and stories through their work, and I am glad that I was able to experience some of that passion.
Please check out the Feminist Art Collective's site here, and donate if you wish.
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