Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is thrilled to announce Toronto performer, theatre creator, filmmaker, and curator Erum Khan as the winner of the sixth annual Buddies Queer Emerging Artist Award. The award was presented on Friday at the company’s season launch party by artistic director Evalyn Parry.
Erum Khan is a theatre creator and filmmaker whose work pushes artistic boundaries, questioning the ways that we create. No stranger to Buddies, she was a participant in the 2017/18 Emerging Creators Unit, and پتھر کی زبان (patthar ki zabaan) was presented at the 40th Rhubarb Festival. Last year, her play Noor premiered at the Aga Khan museum, following open rehearsals that allowed museum visitors to observe the process. In film she has worked in various programming capacities including serving as the 2017 Festival Programming Intern at TIFF and a 2019 Film Programming Jury Member for The Rendezvous With Madness Festival. Her film Bajaare ka ghar premiered at The Toronto Independent Film Festival. She is currently a playwright for Nightwood Theatre’s 2019-2020 Write From The Hip program.
Erum’s community-engaged work is underscored by a commitment to create space for youth to access and engage with the arts. As the youth facilitator for Workman Arts’ “If You Ask Me” filmmaker mentorship program and as an adjudicator for the National Theatre School Festival, she seeks inspire open communication amongst artists of different backgrounds and experience levels, finding new ways to talk about the work that they are creating.
The Buddies Queer Emerging Artist Award seeks to recognize and encourage the achievements of queer artists who are founding careers in the arts while engaging with the community. The award includes a $1,000 cash prize, and was established through a gift from the Estate of John Alan Lee.