Co-hosts leZlie and Ty delve into a topic that’s close to both of their hearts – mixed race – with the help of artists Aria Evans and kumari. They talk about their own searches for identity and belonging, the problem with binaries, and the possibilities of spaces where we can be our whole selves.
About our guests
kumari is a queer, non-binary movement/embodied performance and food based artist and producer in Tkaronto. As a queer non-binary mixed maker of many things, they believe that creativity is a necessary tool for collective liberation, transformation and healing. kumari spends most of their time organizing in grassroots collectives with queer and trans, Black, Indigenous and people of colour. They are committed to nurturing overlooked brilliance and shaping processes that centre trust, access and growth. Past collectives include ILL NANA/DiverseCity Dance Company, Unapologetic Burlesque and The AMY Project Theatre Creation Program. They are currently producing Possibilities Podcast and Safe*Words (I Didn’t Say Broccoli)!
Aria Evans is a queer, Tkaronto-based, award winning interdisciplinary artist who’s practice spans dance theatre; creation, performance and film. Aria draws on their experiences with Afro-Indigenous + settler heritage to capture meaningful social and cultural themes through their interactive art. With a large-scale vision, collaboration is the departure point to the work that Aria creates with their company POLITICAL MOVEMENT. Advocating for inclusion and the representation of diversity, Aria uses their artistic practice to question the ways we can coexist together. With a personal interest in intimacy Aria creates work that centers the needs of the artists involved. www.politicalmovement.ca
photo by Eirene Cloma
Glossary + additional reading
Here are some of the references you’ll come across in the episode, with links to more info
- Paprika Festival: The Paprika Festival is a youth-led professional performing arts organization that runs year-round professional training and mentorship programs, culminating in a performing arts festival of new work by young artists.
- POLITICAL MOVEMENT: A company created by Aria Evans in 2015. POLITICAL MOVEMENT tackles stories and themes that look at social, political and environmental issues
- Possibilities Podcast: A podcast produced by kumari along with creator Umang Antariksh Sagar. Combining long-form interviews with more recent pandemic mini-sodes, some of their guests have included leZlie lee kam, Ravyn Wngz, and adrienne maree brown. Go give them a listen!
- The Youth/Elders Project: Ty and leZlie make reference to having first met in the first iteration of The Youth/Elders Project, a mainstage production in Buddies’ 2016/17 season that brought together an ensemble of thirteen queer youth and elders, co-directed by LeeLee Oluwatoyosi Eko Davis, Vanessa Dunn, and Evalyn Parry. Check out this review from NOW Magazine’s Glenn Sumi. The project has evolved into this podcast, as well as our ongoing In Conversation series.
Listen, subscribe, and share!
Read the full episode transcript here (coming soon), and find the episode (and subscribe to the podcast) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.
Intro and outro by leZlie lee kam and Ty Sloane, featuring music by Jessie Tollefsen. Sound editing by Denardo Hepburn, with support from Maddie Bautista. Podcast logo by Paul Dotey.
The Youth/Elders Podcast features personal stories, lived histories, and candid conversations between queer youth, queer elders, and lots of folks in between – for more information and to sign up for podcast updates, visit the podcast’s homepage.
