1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Bold Indie by Lily Alexandre

Lily Alexandre is an indie singer-songwriter from Dawson College.

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Colonization, Indigenous Youth and Contemporary Self-Governance (Presenting in English and French)

Marie-Josée Parent, Mélanie Lumsden

Marie-Josée est Mi’kmaq et acadienne. Elle détient un baccalauréat en philosophie et une maîtrise en histoire de l’art. Elle est directrice générale de DestiNATIONS, un organisme fédérateur culturel autochtone co-promoteur du projet de legs des Premières Nations et des Inuit et ambassade culturelle autochtone pour Montréal. En 2012, elle a été fellow du programme de leadership et politiques publiques Action Canada. Marie-Josée Parent a été directrice de la galerie Les Territoires, un centre d’artiste autogéré proposant un format d’exposition innovant et expérimental. Elle a siégé de 2012 à 2015 sur le comité des arts visuels du Conseil des arts de Montréal et siège actuellement sur le conseil d’administration du Centre de développement communautaire autochtone de Montréal, sur le comité ART CULTURE et sur le comité directeur du RESEAU pour la stratégie urbaine de la communauté autochtone de Montréal. Marie-Josée est aussi conférencière et commissaire d’exposition. Son travail dans l’espace public interroge la notion de propagande étatique, le rôle et les définitions culturelles de l’art et de la culture et les façons par lesquelles les prat ques culturelles peuvent discuter d’enjeux sociaux, communautaires et politiques.

Marie-Josée is Mi’kmaq and Acadian. She holds a BA in philosophy and an MA in art history. She is the General Director of DestiNATIONS an indigenous cultural organization co-promoter of the First Nations and Inuit legacy project an Indigenous Cultural Embassy based in Montréal. In 2012, she was a fellow of Action Canada a leadership and public policy program. From 2010 to 2013 she was the director of LesTerritoires, an artist run center proposing an innovative and experimental exhibition format. She served for three years on the Visual Arts Committee of the Arts Council of Montreal and currently sits on the board of the Aboriginal Community Development Centre of Montreal, on the ART and CULTURE Committee and the steering Committee for the Montreal aboriginal Urban Strategy NETWORK. Marie-Josée is also a lecturer and curator. Her work in the public space questions the notion of state propaganda, the role and cultural definitions of art and culture and the ways in which artistic practices can discuss social, community and political issues.

12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Stand Up for Change! Bold Comedy and Storytelling

Featuring standup by Kirsten Finch, Melina Trimarchi, D.J. Mausner, and Tranna Wintour, and storytelling by Sara Meleika and Natalie Willett. Hosted by Gina Granter.

Gina Granter is an English teacher at Dawson College, a storyteller, occasional stand-up comedian, and annual seamstress of her three daughters’ Halloween costumes. Gina has told stories at Yarn in Montreal, Confabulation in both Montreal and Toronto, and High-Stakes Storytelling and Storystar in Toronto; she has also done stand-up and storytelling at Montreal’s LadyFest. A mother of twins, Gina is a contributor to the forthcoming Multiples Illuminated: Life with Twins and Triplets, the Toddler to Tween Years. She also writes book reviews for a variety of publications.

Tranna Wintour is an optimistic, spiritual, happy, raunchy, pop-culture-obsessed, fashion-hungry comedienne. She has performed in Just for Laughs, Zoofest, Pride Toronto, and her Montreal Fringe Festival 2015 show, TRANTASY, garnered rave reviews. Upon seeing her one-woman show in New York City, legendary comedienne, Sandra Bernhard, proclaimed: “A star is born!”

At the ripe age of 22, D.J. Mausner is already an award winning improviser, sketch and stand-up comedian, receiving accolades from Montreal Sketchfest and Just for Laughs. She is the Associate Artistic Director at Montreal Improv Theatre and the co-founder and producer of flagship show Joketown at Theatre Sainte Catherine. In July 2016 she appeared in no less than six nights of OFF-JFL and Zoofest. She hopes to one day have the steel confidence of a person who jogs on campus.

Sara Meleika is a performer & student of improv & storytelling. Sara in fell in love with storytelling in Cairo, Egypt where she studied History, and immersed herself in the narratives of culture, heritage, and people around her. As a History & Geography teacher, Sara is regularly given the opportunity to hone her story-telling skills, and has also performed at local story-telling show ‘Yarn.’ Sara’s story-telling has additionally been enhanced by her love for improv theatre. She initially began performing improv in Geneva, Switzerland with ‘Lost for Words,’ and continues to do so today at Montreal Improv.

Melina Trimarchi is a stand-up comedian who regularly performs around Montreal, cracking jokes about her self proclaimed ‘non traditional Italian family’ and life as a woman in the city. Most recently she’s been killing it on There’s Something Funny Going On at Blue Dog, Open Michelle, the #Healthyliving Show at Comedyworks, and Crimson Wave Comedy in Toronto.

Kirsten Finch is the creator of The Pretty Feminist Comedy Show and has appeared in international events including Toronto’s SheDot Festival and Montreal Comiccon. Kirsten’s unbridled passion for feminism, nerdiness and all things silly shines through in her act.

Natalie Willett is an educator, writer, stand-up comedian and storyteller. She can’t settle on just one thing and has happily accepted that.

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Institutional Binaries

Navigating institutional boundaries: trans and gender non-conforming inclusion through curriculum and policies. Panel discussion with guests.

Julien is Dawson Alumni, a womens’ studies student at the simone de beauvoir institute, a board member at concordia centre for gender and writes an article about trans rights in Quebec, focusing on housing and employment for concordia’s’ newspaper; the link. His most noted feats consist of fighting dawsons administration for 4 consecutive years in the struggle for gender neutral washrooms, helping co-found The Hive Centre at Dawson and disregarding the gender binary daily.

Rae is completing his 2nd year of studies in Physiotherapy Technology at Dawson College. He holds a Bachelors from McGill University in Psychology and Women’s Studies. When he’s not studying, he works as a personal trainer serving the queer and trans communities and spreading the message of body positivity in the fitness industry.

Mylène Saucier is an athletic therapist, a teacher, the coordinator of the Physiotherapy Technology program at Dawson College, and a project leader in the fields of health and education. Her latest contributions include the design and implementation of the Physiotherapy Technology program and the brand new Dawson College Health Clinic. This time around, she is working to improve the experience of the trans and gender non-conforming community in physiotherapy services and throughout their college studies.

2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Screening of Women, Art, Revolution! (5B.16)

For over forty years, Director Lynn Hershman Leeson has collected hundreds of hours of interviews with visionary artists, historians, curators and critics who shaped the beliefs and values of the Feminist Art Movement and reveal previously undocumented strategies used to politicize female artists and integrate women into art structures.

Women Art Revolution! elaborates the relationship of the Feminist Art Movement to the 1960s anti-war and civil rights movements and explains how historical events, such as the all-male protest exhibition against the invasion of Cambodia, sparked the first of many feminist actions against major cultural institutions. The film details major developments in women’s art of the 1970s, including the first feminist art education programs, political organizations and protests, alternative art spaces such as the A.I.R. Gallery and Franklin Furnace in New York and the Los Angeles Women’s Building, publications such as Chrysalis and Heresies, and landmark exhibitions, performances, and installations of public art that changed the entire direction of art.

New ways of thinking about the complexities of gender, race, class, and sexuality evolved. The Guerrilla Girls emerged as the conscience of the art world and held academic institutions, galleries, and museums accountable for discrimination practices. Over time, the tenacity and courage of these pioneering women artists resulted in what many historians now feel is the most significant art movement of the late 20th century.

4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Vigil for all those who have lost their lives to femicide

I’m a veteran journalist, feminist and activist against violence against women. Co-creator of #BeenRapedNeverReported and general shit disturber.

– Sue Montgomery

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Anti-Islamophobia Presentation/Workshop (with a focus on women’s rights)

Start with poetry recital (Aisha); Interactive Presentation about a general view of Islamophobia; Themes discussed: misinformation about Women’s Oppression in Islam, Islamophobia in Montreal, QC, Canada, Solutions/Approaches for the future, discuss the idea of a self-defence/bystander workshop/course offered at Dawson.

Aisha Nafees: 18, Liberal Arts student, passionate about humanitarian rights’ law
Erin Cassidy: 18, Liberal Arts student, passionate about journalism, and Middle-Eastern

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: JJ Levine: Artist Talk

JJ Levine is a Montreal-based artist working in intimate portraiture. Levine is currently enrolled in a Masters of Fine Arts in Photography program at Concordia University. Mostly known for the series Queer Portraits, Alone Time,and Switch. Levine has been honoured with several awards and received grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts. Levine’s work has been exhibited at galleries and art festivals across Canada, the United States, and Europe. As well Alone Time and Switch have been featured in art magazines, journals, and newspapers internationally. Levine’s artistic practice balances a radical agenda with a strong formal aesthetic.