Youth/Elders Programming
community + education partner
education programming supporters
NIGE GOUGH SHINE ON FOUNDATION AT THE TORONTO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
TORONTO ARTS COUNCIL’S ARTISTS IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM (for The Youth / Elders Podcast)
Our focus on intergenerational connections continues with revamped Youth/Elders Programming, curated by leZlie lee kam and Usman Khan. The programming will incorporate both digital and in-person components. Moving to an online format this past year has allowed us to reach an audience well beyond our home in Toronto, and we continue to strengthen these long-distance connections as other in-person activities resume. Look out for speed history online, Sunday salons in-person in the cabaret, and more.
“One day, if you’re lucky, you too will be a queer senior.”
lezLie lee kam
Buddies’ Youth / Elders Projects are an ongoing response to the need for building intergenerational spaces, conversations, and relationships in our queer community. The program launched in 2016 with a year-long project that culminated in the acclaimed theatrical production The Youth / Elders Project on Buddies mainstage, and continues with a regular program of community conversations, knowledge sharing, the Youth/Elders Podcast, and more.
Collage by Awake Studio. Photo of leZlie lee kam by Dylan Mitro, styling by Cat Calica, hair and makeup by Robert Weir.
Youth/Elders Programming series
hosted by LEZLIE LEE KAM + USMAN KHAN
As a global pandemic disproportionately affects our queer communities, the need to create space for queer intergenerational dialogue is more important now than ever. Our Youth/Elders Programming offers both virtual and in-person spaces for formal and informal discussions about salient issues within our communities.
Speed History is open to queer youth, elders, and folks of any age interested in conversation across queer generations, while Sunday Salons is a dedicated space for queer/rainbow seniors. No artistic experience is necessary for either one.
2022/23 sessions
Speed History: Getting to Know Each Other
Monday, January 23, 2023, 6-8PM ET on Zoom
Take part in a round of Speed History where elders and youth will be paired together to discuss identity, sexuality, community, and all things queer.
Up next: Speed History
Monday, May 1, 2023, 6-8PM ET on Zoom
Sunday Salons
Rainbow Seniors, please COME OUT and chat with each other on different topics affecting our communities! Plus, get FREE tickets to mainstage shows at Buddies. Sessions will be held online.
Our next session is on Sunday, April 16 from 2-4PM, hosted on Zoom, and registrants will also be able to see a preview performance of Body So Fluorescent for free!
RSVP to Jacob at jacob@buddiesinbadtimes.com to register.
To sign up for a reminder for Speed History and/or Sunday Salons, fill out the YEP Series information form. ASL-interpretation is available upon request – please let us know in the form, or by emailing Jacob at jacob@buddiesinbadtimes.com , and we will do our best to book.
The Youth / Elders Podcast
Recorded live at the Oakwood branch of the Toronto Public Library, this monthly podcast features the personal stories, lived histories, and candid conversations from queer elders and youth. Over the course of six months, over 50 people participated as either audience or storytellers exploring ideas of queer history, ageing, identities, and the evolving and intersectional way different generations relate to their queerness.
Get more info and subscribe with your favourite podcast app.
Stay connected
If you would like updates on intergenerational programming, calls for submissions, educational offerings, and other opportunities to get involved, we’ve got a newsletter for you! Sign up below.