Queer Body Equity Through Arts: Screen prints by 2SLGBTQIA+ youth of Scarborough

Queer Body Equity Through Arts Screen prints by 2SLGBTQIA+ youth of Scarborough

Who we are

Toby’s Place (est. 2017) is a 2SLGBTQIA+ drop-in centre with a focus on social, educational, and skill-building programming for queer youth ages 13-23. Our mission is to reduce social isolation among 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, provide opportunities for growth, and offer a safer space in the east end of Tkaronto for folks to meet and build community. Our programming is free and our framework is anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and decolonial in scope.

About this booklet

Between November and December 2021, the Q.B.E.T.A. program at Toby’s Place hosted knowledge generating workshops* that delt with themes of body equity: Decolonization and the Body, Equity and the Body, Queering Mental Health, and Sex Positivity.

Following each workshop, participants created screen printed artwork – as you flip through this booklet, we encourage you to ‘read’ these artworks as queer reflections, feelings, musings, and creative outlets to (at times) difficult or challenging topics. The booklet is organized to reflect these weekly themes with corresponding artwork created by the amazing artist participants. *This workshop series adhered to Toronto Public Health COVID-19 guidelines.

Cover art by Sky Ravinn (instagram: @skyravinn) Q.B.E.T.A.

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Workshop brainstorm

Screen printing process

Stencil cutting process 3

Toby’s Place

Hi there,

We hope you’ll enjoy our collection of artwork produced during the Queer Body Equity Through Arts (Q.B.E.T.A.) program at Toby’s Place!

The Q.B.E.T.A. program, funded by ArtReach and the Toronto Arts Council, welcomed ten queer youth who live or are connected to Scarborough to come together and make screen printed art while sharing space, knowledge, and creative energies.

Our intention in bringing together body equity and art is to provide 2SQTBIPOC youth and folks who live on the margins with access to screen printing, while holding space for dialogue that is relevant and urgent in our communities.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to the youth participants who showed up week after week to make art with us! We deeply appreciate each of you for your time, commitment, and trust during this process.

Thank you kindly to our three guest facilitators who provided guidance to the youth participants – Asam Ahmad and Leon Tsai, our workshop facilitators; and Kevin Ouellette, our screen printing facilitator.

A big thank you to Sky Ravinn, our Peer Leader, who has been an important part of Toby’s Place for many years.

Thank you to the Birchcliff Bluffs United Church community and Scarborough Arts for your continued support.

Last but not least, thank you to Allie from ArtReach – your kindness and encouragement has been our rock throughout this project.

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Note from the Program Coordinators

One of the main teachings that we hope you will take away from this collection is that there exist a multitude of truths and lived experiences – and thus, body equity does not have a singular definition. Body equity means tackling systems of oppression that frame some bodies as ‘better, healthier, more desirable’ than other bodies.

Body equity means reflecting and challenging our assumptions about people around us. Body equity means that every single body is deserving of love, respect, and equitable access. Body equity means embracing our differences.

Body equity is liberation.

Dee Stoicescu & Ai Yamamoto Program Coordinators, Toby’s Place

Ai bodies are fluid like bodies of water, 2021

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Toby’s Place

Process

At the beginning of the workshop series, youth were given journals to generate ideas for their art through the discussions and knowledge shared during the workshops. Here is a glimpse into the participants’ artistic processes!

materials

Denise Inside Denise’s journal, 2021

Q.B.E.T.A.

• • • • •

screen printing kit acrylic paint mylar sheets for stencil mix media paper journals

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“

Process

since the topic was body equity, i wanted to challenge notions of which bodies are considered beautiful, and which are considered dispensible.”

--D-lishus

D-lishus Inside D-lishus’ journal, 2021

“

I like to let ideas flow to me and not put too much effort into make them perfect or right.

My focus is on intuition and process. I tend to be messy and sporadic with how I create my pieces, often making last minute adjustments, throwing more colours onto the screen right before. It feels like anything can happen and I like that freedom.

--Shanika 7

”

Toby’s Place

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Nora Inside Nora’s journal 1, 2021

I would make a piece of poetry before creating a rough sketch, i’d transfer that rough sketch onto my paper Nora by creating some rough Inside Nora’s journal 2, 2021 dimensions. I was very surprised at how well i could maneuver the precision knife, i definitely need practice swatching paint over over my stencil.

--Nora

Q.B.E.T.A.

”

Nora Inside Nora’s journal 3, 2021 8

Process

Denise Inside Denise’s journal 2, 2021

“

The thing that stuck to me the most during the workshop was acceptance of imperfections during the screen printing process. I am a perfectionist when it comes to the work and art I produce so having a print not go the way I imagined was difficult but getting such positive feedback and different perspectives on how others saw my art made me feel so much better. I learned to be less critical of my art and that the way it turns out tells a different story and that’s cool!

--Denise

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”

Toby’s Place

“

Screen printing process During the workshops, I was almost always doodling in my notebook - a lot of the thoughts and feelings I was experiencing made their way onto paper via sketching and drawing. These sketches became my final art pieces.”

--Nikitha

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Process

Des Inside Des’ journal 2, 2021

Des Inside Des’ journal 1, 2021

“

I really liked […] “there are multiple truths”. I found that a very validating statement to set the boundary of understanding differences in a respectful manner. I kept this in mind for the workshops afterwards and in situations outside of the workshop.

--Des

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”

Toby’s Place

Shanika fluidity, 2021

Description: black and white - one outline of a wave with fluidity written underneath

“

I started with the idea of my identity that thrives when I’m allowed to be fluid. It brought me to the idea of water that is in a state of constant change. Eventually I came up with the piece to create a wave with word fluidity under it.”

--Shanika

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Intro to body equity & screen printing Journaling prompt: What feelings come alive when you think of body equity?

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Toby’s Place

Sky Untitled, 2021

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Intro to body equity & screen printing

Eres It’s love, polluted, 2021

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Toby’s Place

“

Im proud of the composition displayed on my "Anti oppressive pacifist" print. I was questioning the responsibility we are expected to hold when focusing on issues that both ourselves and other members of our citys and townships are affected by very intimately. Where is the line between advocacy for a cause and personal boundaries? What should we expect of others in that sense and how does polical inaction actualize on a grander scale for both involved and uninvolved partys. Both the enforcment and dismantaling of oppressive systems rely on interactions between its people. I wanted to call in to question the importance of empathy for ourselves and others in areas of social justice and the crucial componant empathy holds on authentic impact. i chose the word "pacifism" spefically for its softenss, it felt important to convey my message in a way that considerd the veiwer good intentioned instead of isolating or accusatory words to stay true to empathy through advocacy. I think the issue itself is about the complexity of people and the need to open up to and address multiple variables and because of this i avoided any definitive imagery other than a chain to convey responsibility, impact, barriers and consequence as well as a tear for, you guessed it, empathy.”

--Nora

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Intro to body equity & screen printing

Nora Anti oppressive pacifist, 2021

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Toby’s Place

“

Des the empress, 2021

I really enjoyed the presentations. They mentioned a lot of points which I was either unaware of or simply had not considered from a different perspective. The topics were very real, which I think is an important factor. The workshops brought light to topics that needed to be discussed and I hope they continue their amazing work to other workshops.”

--Des

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Intro to body equity & screen printing

D-lishus butterfly, 2021

“

the curvy, sexy butterfly is a seeming contradiction. butterflies are always depicted as delicate, thin and lithe. this butterfly is curvy and thick-thighed, and still holds inherent appeal as an image of beauty and whimsy.”

--D-lishus

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Toby’s Place

D-lishus untitled 1, 2021 mylar on newspaper

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Decolonization and the body with Asam

Journaling prompts: How did you get ‘here’?

What does it mean to be a scattered people on land that has been stolen from Indigenous peoples?

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Toby’s Place

D-lishus untitled 2, 2021

D-lishus untitled 3, 2021 Q.B.E.T.A.

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Decolonization and the body

Shanika rain clouds 1, 2021

Description: three cotton candy coloured rain clouds

Shanika rain clouds 2, 2021

Description: three cotton candy coloured rain clouds 23

Toby’s Place

Des optimistically broken, 2021

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Decolonization and the body

Sky untitled, 2021 Acrylic on multimedia paper, marker paper, newspaper, and duct tape

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Toby’s Place

“

Nikitha The Stars in my Hair, 2021

While creating [The Stars in my Hair], I was reflecting on the tangled web of thoughts that come along with the various mental health afflictions I have, and how these tangled thoughts resemble a tangled mess of hair. But hair is sacred, and as a form of gender expression for me, I feel the power and beauty of the stars within my hair, even as there is pain and sadness that exists within it.” --Nikitha

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Queering mental health with Leon

Journaling prompt: What does softness mean to you?

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Toby’s Place

Eres The Body and the mind 1 & 2, 2021

Des softened anger 1, 2021 Q.B.E.T.A.

Des softened anger 2, 2021 28

Queering mental health

“

[For the piece The Body and the mind] what feelings came alive for me are feelings of interest, anxiousness and contemplating.

--Eres

Eres The Body and the mind 3, 2021

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”

This print captures the current world, where my body is not seen as the ideal and often shadows my personality. I see my body as a big fluffy cloud hiding the bright and blinding personality of who I am. People often Denise just see the cloud Behind the Fluff, 2021 and look away but some stay to gaze and notice the brightness peaking out.”

--Denise 29

Toby’s Place

“

Sky Where do my Arms GooOOOoOo 1, 2021

I came up with the ideas by thinking of how I felt in the workshop, and wanted to show the amount of space I felt I took up with in the thoughts and ideas we were talking about. My goal was to add more movement to pieces that were inspired by topics I feel I have worked through, so you’ll see this most clearly in ‘Where do my Arms GooOOOoOo’ as I have had to do work through my preception of fatness my entire life.”

--Sky

Sky Where do my Arms GooOOOoOo 2, 2021

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Equity and the body with Asam

Journaling prompt: Today my body feels like...

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Toby’s Place

Denise Inside and Out 1, 2021

“

Denise Inside and Out 2, 2021

In my screen printing process, I tried to capture most of my feelings and thoughts through weather symbols. I really enjoy different weathers and seasons and how they can effect our moods so I wanted to use weather to depict my emotions this time around.

I used the sun and clouds in various ways to express how I was feeling for that day and the topics we discussed during the workshops. This goes the same for the colors I decided to print with. I chose the colors that I felt best represented my emotions and how they changed through out conversations. --Denise

Q.B.E.T.A.

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”

Equity and the body

Nikitha Untitled, 2021

Des fragile is my body 1, 2021

Des fragile is my body 2, 2021 33

Toby’s Place

Shanika connected/disconnected, 2021

Description: two fragmented hands in purple and black that have sparks surrounding them, one placed upright and the other upside down

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Equity and the body

Eres The shadow, of the mind, 2021

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Toby’s Place

Denise What’s the Weather Like? 1 & 2, 2021

“

This print represents my current feelings and understandings I have with my body and self. Some days the sun is out and other the rain is pouring and the lightning is out.

But most days they all happen at the same time. In this print I wanted to capture the feelings of confusion and uncertainty. Much like how we are often confused when the weather is anything and everything, I am still going through life still trying to find out who and what I am everyday. This piece captures that process and experience for me!

--Denise

Q.B.E.T.A.

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”

Sex positivity: Pain & power & pleasure with Leon

Journaling prompt: How would you describe your relationship or identity with your body, sexuality, and sex in general?

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Toby’s Place

Sky Fire of the Sun and Moon, 2021

“

‘Fire of the Sun and Moon’ makes me feel the most as I feel it was a good combination of all that I had learned both through body Equity workshops and art. I feel it is some of my prettiest work --Sky

Q.B.E.T.A.

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”

Sex positivity: Pain & power & pleasure

Nikitha untitled 1, 2021

Nikitha untitled 2, 2021 39

Toby’s Place

Des It’s a lot, 2021

“

My favourite piece that I made in the workshop was the last one which was a blue image of a body falling into water titled “It’s a lot”. Since I felt more comfortable making the stencils, I decided to add more details.

The inspiration was the feeling of being overwhelmed by self identity. This overwhelming feeling was then reflected in the fact I made so many details. It was a lengthy process but it made me more proud of the outcome and even more relatable to my initial inspiration.”

--Des

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Sex positivity: Pain & power & pleasure

Eres The glass that finally broke, 2021

Nora Untitled, 2021 41

Toby’s Place

ARTISTS D-lishus she/her/they/them

my art is inspired by living a life on the limn, as a Black, queer, disabled, single-parent immigrant to canada. i dredge the depths of the personal to excavate the political, and highlight the macro social forces that impact on us all. i aim to centre stories about Black women to destabilize cultural hegemony and underscore our humanity.

Denise Ysabel Silva she/her/hers My art revolves around the items I see in my everyday life.

Whether that be material objects or the nature around us. I practice art through digital designs and other crafting mediums.

My inspiration comes from the emotions and experiences I go through day to day. I try to capture my current mood and feelings through my art and designs. Also small things I see like mugs and other trinkets peak my imagination and inspire the art that I produce.

Des Africa She/her/they/them I am a university student studying urbanism. I hope to integrate more values of public art to the city! My art medium varies, but I mainly focus on digital and printmaking. Initial or strong emotions really influence the art I make and how it is made.

Eres He/Him & They/Them I am Eres, a high school student who’s always been into drawing and the arts since I was a kid. I mainly practice digital and traditional drawing, and occasionally painting. I’ve always been inspired to make art, what inspires me is to be able to make my own lovely creations in my own idea.

Q.B.E.T.A.

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Micayla Nora Devine She/They I’m Micayla Devine but I go by Nora! My favorite art form has to be mural art for the creative versatility and unpredictability of the details, my other mediums are poetry, photography and watercolor! My main motivation when making art is a need for expression, I find breaking down complex ideas in a way that’s easily digestible while universal a great way to connect with myself and others.

Nikitha she/her I’m a musician first and foremost, and I play classical music and improvise as well. When it comes to visual art, I’m relatively inexperienced. That being said, I am inspired to make art by my introspections, by poetry, by my wonderful friends, and by my elders in my community.

Shanika Maria she/they I am a queer Black musician, writer and creator who is influenced by the fluidity, identity, and self. Creating art has become a beautiful mix of concurring fears, sharing vulnerability and self expression. My art often reflects my constant search for truth and understanding. Thematically, I’m interested in exploring identity, relationships, mental illness and power.

Sky Ravinn all pronouns Sky Ravinn, is an emerging queer Jamaican-German-Canadian artist. Born and raised in Scarborough, they’ve been creating their entire life, so far, with their most recent outlet being Pigeon the Band. Made up of three queer artists Pigeon creates music to create space. Creating space is the major inspiration of Sky’s art in whatever medium. Is a person going to look or hear said piece of art and feel it, or feel heard. Through seeing the evolution of the screen prints Sky hopes you see the evolution of their love this art form.

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Toby’s Place

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This workshop series took place on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Mississaugas of the Scugog, and Wendake-Nionwentsïo peoples, colonially known as Scarborough.

33 East Road, Scarborough, ON M1N 1Z9 tobys.place33@gmail.com 647-915-2475 @tobys.place33 tobysplacebbuc @TobysPlace33