The 5th Annual Queer West Arts Festival

Saluting Queer Youth in 2010

Less corporate! More grassroots. All Queer!

We're busy!

Festival run time dates will be announced soon

Queer West Arts Festival Board of Directors: Philip Cairns Vice President, Jaclyn Isen Vice President and Treasurer, Michel F. Paré, President and Secretary. The 2010 festival will organized by The ShOUT Young Queer Adult Beehive Collective, all Generation Yers ( Ages 20 to 30 something)

What Queer West Fest means to me.

Posted with permission. I think about Queer West Fest, a totally different image is there for me. It's the artists and political movers and shakers. The guys who sleep with other guys but don't have the polished image the east side (Church St.) wishes to maintain. It's the trans community who gets excluded, the Native community which is ignored from Pride. The women who sleep with women but don't have children, ride bikes or wear plaid. It's everyone who has ever been ignored, or put down, or felt they didn't even belong in a gay community of a large city (which is supposedly a community which embraces diversity? what). A community that embraces those which embrace each other, no matter who you are, or who you happen to go to bed with. Queer. Nick Watson Toronto Parkdale (Age group Generation-Y)

Picture Jaclyn Isen Queer West Board Member

Queer West Fest is doing Generation-Y in 2010

Press Release: Sunday March 7.

Jaclyn Alia Isen (Queer West Vice President / appointed Program Coordinator for Queer West Fest 2010)

Jaclyn Alia Isen is one of Queer West Arts Collective’s newest members, joining the Board of Directors and initiating the ShOUT! Young Queer Adult (Un)conference Program in December 2009. Jaclyn is a creative and eager generation Y’er and a proud Parkdalian with an ongoing craving for queer and feminist theory and community.

Jac holds a Masters of Arts in Women’s Studies from the University of Western Ontario, has taught an introductory undergraduate tutorial in Women’s Studies and has participated in a number of conferences on the topics of gender and sexuality.

She has developed a great deal of experience in organizing arts-based community programming in her role as the Community Outreach Coordinator for a wonderful independent feminist business on the Danforth called Red Tent Sisters.

Jaclyn is a woman-loving-woman, and generally a people-loving-person, who holds a fierce belief in the power of the arts to educate, cultivate, heal and transform community. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in Adult Education and Community Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto.

Like many of Queer West’s young volunteers, her work celebrates the valuable contributions young people make to communities throughout the City of Toronto and the important role young queer adults play as advocates, visionaries, and agents of social change.

We are increasing the visibility, awareness and inclusion of queer youth and young adults through our shOUT program that started in February 2010. The Forgotten Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Intersexed, Queer, Questioning and Two-Spirited (LGBTTIQQ2) youth population and their friends and allies residing in West-Central Toronto. (That include but not are not limited to College St. West (Little ltaly/Palmerston), Dundas St. West (Brockton, Little Portugal. Kensington Market) and Queen St. West (Roncesvalles, Parkdale, Trinity-Bellwood’s).Who fall roughly within 20 to 30 something age population and who span a diverse spectrum of ethno cultural groups and socioeconomic statuses.

Queer West Fest maintains an attitude of openness and inclusivity in which all interested participants are welcome. The ShOUT Beehive Youth Committee has many collaboration events planned for you.

FESTIVAL UPDATE: Details about our upcoming queer arts festival, are a closely guarded secret . We are also looking at a different month. The Board and various Arts Collectives are voting March 18. An announcement will be made shortly.

Volunteer Opportunities

Contact Jaclyn Isen (QWF Program coordinator) if interesting in volunteering, or have a youth type event, you would like included this year's festival line-up. qwshout@gmail.com (Volunteer Opportunities Description )

QueerWest.org is not-for-profit organization that hosts Queer West Fest, an annual 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 Arts and Culture Festival is one of 4 Non Pride International Festivals in all of Canada, that showcase queer artists, cultural producers, and activists for queer and queer-friendly audiences. Queer West Arts and Culture Festival is creating awareness internationally about the contributions of queers to the art world and cultural life in Toronto and around the world.

Queer West Arts Festival Toronto A not-for-profit corporation. # 1752698. P.O. Box 204 Stn. C. Toronto ON M6K 2A9.Queer West Toronto gaybourhoods (Map)

All of us in East and West villages, share a 30 year history of Queer Festivals in Toronto. It's not just, a Pride Toronto event!

About our 5th Annual Queer West Arts Festival: Overview | Festival 2010 About our 3rd Annual Queer West Film Festival: Overview | Film Festival 2010 Links: International Queer Arts Festivals | History Queer Festivals Toronto