Birth Of Queer WestHistory of Gay West Community Network Inc. |
 "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win." ...Ghandi West Toronto has been a lonely place for last 100 years for the LGBTTIQ community. Leaving gays and lesbians in limbo with no way to connect to other like minded people that live in the west end neighbourhoods. Many lived (and still do) in isolation and did not have access to local gay newspapers, friendly gay hangouts or the Internet. Some, in desperation, have been resorting to public parks, want ads, message boards, chat rooms, phone lines and long trips to the downtown scene, but were never really satisfied. The concept of an umbrella group to serve West Toronto's sexual gender-diverse community began to take shape in September 2000, as Temenos West, founded by Michel F Paré with ten members. On January 2001 he changed the name to Gay West Community Network, as more groups teamed up to form a larger organization. On January 1st. 2008, a steering committee was formed, to look at the possibility of becoming not-for-profit corporation. The committee, worked through the development of the new organization, writing the mission and structure documents as well as identifying and clarifying the organization's future purpose. The Objectives were; to be responsible for performing arts events and festivals for the purposes of educating and advancing the public’s understanding and appreciation of performing arts and to educate artists, through participation in such festivals and related workshops. On April 7, 2008 Gay West Community Network Inc. (legal name), was incorporated a not for profit organization, hereafter to be known as Queer West. The First Board of Directors was appointed on April 28, 2008, Bryen Dunn President, Michel Paré , 1st Vice President and Executive Director, Shani Betz, 2nd Vice President, John Collautti, Treasurer, C. Nash Secretary and Matt Cutler, Nate Fuks and Warren Kennedy as Directors. Queer West became Canada's first LGBT arts and cultural centre. On Wednesday May 6, 2009, a former Board Officer sent a note: "Thank You Michel, for putting a lot time, energy and love into the Queer West Organization" John Colautti By June of 2009 most of the first Board had resigned or left for various reasons. Supporters of organization were determined QueerWest.org would succeed and not fail, it was just a matter of finding the right dedicated directors, keeping the Board small with three to six Members for at least five years and build a new foundation. Between June and September there was no Board, just an arts collective. In January 2010 a new dedicated Board was formed with Paré as President and Executive Director, Jaclyn Isen as Vice President and Treasurer and Philip Cairns as 2nd Vice President. The Board does funding and governance only. The Arts Collectives manage operations. About the new Board. Everyone is happy, the arts collective has swelled to over 30 people. A second (Beehive) collective was started for the new ShOUT Queer Youth Group by Jaclyn Isen, Vice President, she has about 25 active volunteers, helping to get the group up and running with funding and community collaboration with similar organizations. Things are moving forward again. The reference to our name as Queer West, came about because Queer is an umbrella term designed to be inclusive of a broad range of self-identifications. Within the gay and lesbian community, there are those who identify as bisexual, transsexual or transgender as well as those who do not want a label at all. Rather than use the more cumbersome acronym ‘LGBTQ’ (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans-and queer), we find the word ‘queer’ to be a more inclusive term for sexual minorities and simpler. The term ‘queer’ is also used by a number of organizations for this reason and is well-recognized. The grass roots organization has come a long way since the establishment of the Queer West community in 2000 We now have our own village, although not a designated as tourist area like the Church Street Village. There are over 70 gay friendly bars, cafés, shops and restaurants in west end neighbourhoods. Where we can now meet, shop or socialize. There are now many clubs and hotels, that DJs and bands play gay friendly events. We hold our own queer festival, film festival and arts events through out the year. The Queer West Village name now appears in many travel stories and some travel websites. What we doQueerWest.org is not-for-profit organization that hosts Queer West Fest, an annual 10 day festival held during the month of June in Toronto. Queer West exists to celebrate the history, courage, diversity and future of Queer West Toronto's LGBTTIQQ2S communities (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Two-Spirited) Produced and organized by Gay West Community Network . Queer West Fest is the brainchild of Michel François Paré Queer West was founded in 2000 and the annual festival is currently celebrating its 5th year, Queer West works across the arts community addressing social justice issues, the needs of marginalized groups, primarily LGBT and Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic communities, and works to foster understanding amongst non-LGBT audiences. By creating environments where artists can explore queer culture and take risks, the festival cultivates creative synergies, thought-provoking displays, social commentary, and new possibilities for inhabiting sexuality and gender. Queer West Arts and Culture Festival questions and inspires, celebrates and expands the spectrum of queer expression. Queer West Arts Festival is Largest of four International Arts Festivals in all of Canada, that showcase queer artists, cultural producers, and activists for queer and queer-friendly audiences. Queer West Arts Festival is creating awareness internationally about the contributions of queers to the art world and cultural life in Toronto and around the world. Long term goals
Queer West Arts Collective: is responsible for performing arts events and festivals for the purposes of educating and advancing the public’s understanding and appreciation of performing arts and to educate artists, through participation in such festivals and related workshops. See also the History
of Queer Festivals in Toronto 1964 to 2009 by Michel
F. Paré |
© Copyright 2010 Gay West Community Network Inc.
queerwestinfo@gmail.com
P.O. Box 204 Stn. C Toronto, Ontario M6J 3M9
