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Utopia Festival at W2 Storyeum in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Utopia Festival
It’s the first annual women’s digital culture festival, one of only a few in all of North America, and includes an all-day workshop/conference, mobile dance party and evening showcase, in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.
This is shaping up to be one of the most important musical events of the year in Vancouver.
During the daytime conference <http://www.creativetechnology.org/page/utopia-conference> , women will get the chance to learn DJ/VJ’ing from some of the top women digital artists in the world and learn about the logistics of producing music, getting press, collaborating and more. The opening address and respondents panel will address barriers to entry for women in digital music <http://www.granvilleonline.ca/arts-and-culture/festivals/utopia-women-djs-vancouver-w2> .
Then at night the whole place blows up, as men and women are invited <http://www.creativetechnology.org/page/showcase-1> for a keynote address by Berlin-based electroclash gender-bender Peaches at 8pm with performances by throat singer/electro artist Tanya Tagaq, local hiphop artists JB The First Lady and Crunch, and cello prodigy/electro composer Chris Derksen (plus live readings by Vancouver writers).
Peaches goes on at 1am.
It’ll be the biggest lineup of female electronic artists ever to hit a Canadian stage, including: Peaches, Isis Salam (Thunderheist), Betti Forde, B-Traits, The Librarian, Lynx, Zenobia, She, Blondtron, Lady Lane, Tank Girl, Miss M, Just Sheila, The Square Root of Evil, JNL, Miss Innocent, and DJ Tapes. Visual Media artists include VJ Electrabelle, Julie Gendron, Sebnem Ozpeta, Claudia Medina, and Krista Lomax. (19+)
In the middle of the day, Utopia will storm the Drive with female-focused music for the Mobile Dance Party <http://www.creativetechnology.org/page/mobile-dance-party> ! This is a free, inclusive event (read: co-ed), meeting at Broadway Station at 12:30pm. W2 has launched crowdsourcing project to collect songs by 100 female artists using the Twitter hashtag #w2utopia100 <http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23w2utopia100>, which will be played from bike/shopping cart-mounted speakers.
Tickets <http://utopiafestival.eventbrite.com/> at Beatstreet, Little Sister’s, Puff, Zulu, People’s Coop Bookstore, The Fall, W2 and online.
Would appreciate any help you can give to spread the word on this. It’s all completely grassroots with no funding or grants, with any net proceeds going to support W2’s 2nd annual Girls Creative Tech Summer Camp this summer.
Here’s the FB link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197864190224498
20th Annual DTES Womens Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women
“Their Spirits Live Within Us”: Annual Women’s Memorial March for Murdered and Missing Women
In January 1991 a woman was murdered on Powell Street. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. This woman’s murder in particular was the catalyst that moved women into action. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Coast Salish Territories.
Decades later, the march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women. This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women, especially Indigenous women, face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The heinous and unimaginable violence that have taken the lives of so many has left a deep void in our hearts. We gather each year to mourn and remember our sisters by listening to their family members, by taking over the streets, and through spiritual ceremonies.
Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Every year the list of women going missing also increases. Over 3000 women are known to have gone missing or been murdered in Canada since the 1970s. Last year, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued this statement: “Hundreds of cases involving aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in the past two decades have neither been fully investigated nor attracted priority attention.”
The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice. Please join us.
See more here
Utopia Festival: Women in Digital Culture Celebrating women in music on March 5, 2011 at Vancouver’s creative hub W2 Storyeum!
Utopia Festival: Women in Digital Culture
Celebrating women in music on March 5, 2011 at Vancouver’s creative hub W2 Storyeum!
Showcase | Concert | Mobile Dance Party | Unconference | Music Maker Workshops
Showcase features 25 artists + 3 rooms | Electro | hiphop | bass |
Showcase and unconference featuring: Peaches, Tanya Tagaq, Isis Salam, Betti Forde, B-Traits, Librarian, Lynx, Zenobia Salik, She, Blondtron, Lady Lane, Tank Girl, Miss M, Just Sheila, Bles-sed, The Square Root of Evil, JNL, Miss Innocent, Tapes + more TBA. Media artists include VJ Electrabelle, Julie Gendron, Sebnem Ozpeta, Claudia Medina, and Krista Lomax.
Follow along on Twitter: @W2Utopia
Tickets available now at Beatstreet, Little Sister’s, Puff, Zulu, People’s Coop Bookstore, The Fall, W2 and online http://utopiafestival.eventbrite.com
The evening concert and showcase program is open to men and women, while the daytime is women-only. Note program subject to change.
For women interested in electronic music and media, Utopia Unconference wristbands provide all-access and 3 meals: Breakfast, Music Maker Workshops, Lunch, Mobile Dance Party, Unconference, Dinner Reception, Concert, and Showcase. We are anticipating 150 women participating in five creative streams: electro, hip hop, bass, electro-acoustic and live cinema.
Check out this background article on Granville Online. Produced by W2, and curated by Betti Forde, Irwin Oostindie, Librarian, and Nina Mendoza.
The Festival coincides with the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day and its theme: 100 Women, 100 Artworks. Proceeds support W2’s Second Annual Girls Creative Tech Summer Camps (8-14 years).
Call for workshop proposals: DJs and live PA; media art performers & installations for this showcase of electronic leaders and emerging artists. Inquiries:irwin@creativetechnology.org or call W2 office: 604.689.9896
SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 5, 2011
• Purchase a Festival wristband if you wish to participate! Workshop details will be coming soon.
• Unconference registration table opens 9am
• Youth delegates welcome 9am-9pm
• Childcare provided on-site 9am-9pm
• While the unconference and workshops are open to women only, for everything else men are welcome.
10am-12noon Morning Music-Making Workshops Hands-on creative technology workshops electronic music production, turntabling, video production, music journalism. All levels of experience welcome including youth (15-19 year olds)
12 – 1pm Lunch
12:30 – 2:00 Mobile Dance Party
Public, free. Meet at Broadway skytrain 12:30pm for a live pirate radio broadcast and dance party down Commercial Drive in celebration of the 100th anniversary International Women’s Day Parade.
2-8pm Unconference
2:00 – registration opens
2:30 conference welcome
2:45 opening keynote
3:00 opening panel
3:45 open space intro
3:45 coffee break provided by W2 media cafe
4:00 open space sessions I + II – (5 concurrent)
6:00 production workshops (5 parallel streams: electro; bass; hip hop; electro-acoustic, live cinema)
7:00-8:00pm dinner reception
8pm Evening Program
Keynote address: Peaches (Berlin) and music by Tanya Tagaq (NWT) with guests, plus Women Writers – readings in association with W2 Real Vancouver Writer’s Series.
10:30pm Showcase!
Electro, Bass, Hip Hop starring Peaches, Isis Salam, Betti Forde, Librarian, Lynx, Tanya Tagaq, Zenobia, B-Traits, DJ She, Tank Girl, plus more! Media artists include VJ Electrabelle, Julie Gendron, Sebnem Ozpeta, Claudia Medina, and Krista Lomax.
Vancouver Police Department Town Hall Meeting on Working Together to End Violence Against Women in the Downtown Eastside on Fri Jan 14, 2011
Vancouver Police Department Town Hall Meeting on Working Together to End Violence Against Women in the Downtown Eastside on Fri Jan 14, 2011
AHA MEDIA at Women’s Wellness Group making Christmas decorations at LifeSkills Centre in Vancouver Downtown Eastside
AHA MEDIA at Women’s Wellness Group making Christmas decorations at LifeSkills Centre in Vancouver Downtown Eastside for the upcoming Christmas Craft Fair at Interurban Gallery Dec 16-19, 2010
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