2018 Storygathering Workshop Audio Showcase
In 2018, FIXT POINT Arts & Media piloted a new training program for young women and non-binary youth to gain the knowledge and practical skills to produce high-quality, compelling audio stories. Over two weeks, participants trained in community outreach, interview and recording techniques, narrative shaping and audio editing. Participants then used storytelling to engage with their communities in meaningful ways.
Meet our storygathering alumni and listen to their audio works created during the workshop training.
““I have come to value the voice and stories of strangers and loved ones in a way I had not seen or heard before. Listening to people, as well as making art out of their stories is powerful and transformative, both for the storygathering artist and the people they are including.””
In Limbo: The World of Public Transit
Artist: Nada Abusaleh
In Limbo seeks to explore the thoughts and experiences of public transit commuters. Within the GTA, many people rely on public transit to get around in an effort to lead functional and fulfilling lives. What happens, though, when people are isolated in a public space for extended periods of time? What does the in-between world of transit tell us about our society as a whole? What stories can we find along tracks, pavement, and rails?
The Last Forty Years
Artist: Maddie Bautista
Chato (53) and Louis (52) are in the last forty years of their lives, whether their kids like it or not. Siblings Anya (18), Douie (14), and Maddie (23) are unprepared for what lies ahead. Join the Bautista family as they begin a conversation around ageing, loss, and independence through a Filipinx immigrant lens.
Thank you to the FIXT POINT team: Lisa Marie DiLiberto, Charles Ketchabaw, Mariel Marshall, and Brina Romanek. Special thanks to the Bautista family, and John Echano.
Come Play in North York
Artist: Zawadi Bunzigiye
For many people in Toronto, recreational centres serve them by facilitating physical activities. I have noticed that children especially benefit from them because it is a source of fun and an introduction to their wider community. This piece focuses on the impact that a centre has on its patrons' lives, offering a glimpse into the motives of the people who work 'backstage'. A compilation of interviews from those who work for community centres, and those who enjoy them, helps to explain the true importance of this city’s recreational services.
La Troisième Langue
Artist: Léonie Beaulieu
The Third Tongue explores the francophone studio and gallery space at Le Labo, which is a media arts centre based in Toronto. More specifically, it records the closing showcase of a special exhibition exploring the politics of bilingualism, and the idea of mixed linguistic identity within the francophone world, with the presentation and discussion of Jacqueline Hébert's film Francophone Hybrides with Dominique Denis.
Urban Artery
Artist: Lou Campbell
Urban Artery is an audio exploration of the West Toronto Railpath and the role it plays in the lives of the people who use it in different capacities. By combining interviews with an ambient recording of the area, the piece is best enjoyed while walking the rail path.
The duration of the installation explores the area as a public space where lives connect, intersect and continue on. It is an introspective experience meant to inspire the viewer to slow down and be present in their surroundings. How does this urban corridor change our city and our interaction with public spaces?
Pushed Out, Priced Out
Artist: M.C Cruz
A Podcast about gentrification and lack of affordable housing in Toronto. Every episode is different because every interview is different. In a city as diverse as Toronto, it is important to hear all types of perspectives. This is a huge issue affecting working people across North America and the world. We hope you listen and join in the conversation.
Underground Connections: Stories from the TTC
Artist: Kelsey Dann
Toronto can be an isolating place. In this audio story, listeners will hear stories of connection on the TTC and ways people have come together among the chaos of living in a big city. Stories include funny mishaps, finding love, and witnessing tragedies. Through these experiences, speakers tell their history and the impact the TTC has had in their lives.
Is This the End?
Artist: Lily Falk
"Is this the End" is a collage of stories from today's youth about fear, polar bears, hope, and childhood in the age of climate change.
Moving to the city?
Artist: Eliot Feenstra
I grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA; when I realized I was queer, it also meant for me that I wanted to get out of there and move to the city. In this piece, I set out to learn more about what it means to be queer in rural Ontario and how people of varying ages relate to this narrative of urban migration. I was grateful for the opportunity to talk with people, who had left, stayed, and moved back, about how their sexuality and gender identities are related to their movements and hopes for the future of rural communities.
Wait 'Till I Turn Purple
Artist: Alina Kouvchinova
An alumnus of George Brown Theatre School explores the psychological impact of classical theatre training, the scandal that came out regarding trauma that students faced, and the impact of the faculty change over.
Talk to Talk: Meet Yahya, a 7 year old Syrian-Canadian asylum seeker
Artist: Mariel Marshall
Meet Yahya, a seven year old from Syria who came to Canada seeking asylum in 2017. Get to know Yahya's family, and hear what it's like to be a newcomer in Canada, why he wants superpowers and how it feels to constantly be translating between two languages.
Special thanks to Mustafa, Mais, Yahya and Mayada for contributing their voices to this project.
Voices From Rexdale, North Etobicoke
Artist: C. Melvina Nwanna
Rexdale, North Etobicoke, is a place that I love and call home. My family is proudly and comfortably situated here. This audio piece highlights the collective, shared and yet varying, immigration and community stories of residents in the Rexdale, North Etobicoke Area. These stories focus on immigration reasons and experiences, community love, people and places, events, personal and professional milestones, future predictions and goals, and improvement suggestions! Happy listening!
While You’re Here
Artist: Lily Scriven
"While You're Here" is a piece about home and leaving home. When you leave home, I think it creates a certain amount space – whether that’s a sense of freedom, of longing or of loneliness. For this piece, I talked to people who had left their homes for extended periods of time and created another home, or many homes, for themselves elsewhere. I wanted to talk about how they fill that space – the things that connect them to their homes and to themselves. What do we bring with us, and what do we leave behind?
Safety in a Tease
Artist: Ty Sloane
Teasing, Pleasing, and Easing into our hearts, Toronto's Queer West Burlesque performers speak into the evolution of their practice, safety, and gender.
In the Pits: exploring the layers of memory in Christie Pits Park
Artist: Tijana Spasich
The first chapter of a project exploring people's memories of Christie Pits Park and the layers of history found in the area. This project came out of a desire to get to know my neighbourhood and better understand what gives a space meaning. It's part of a broader interest in the various buried histories of Toronto.
The Creek Underneath
Artist: Sophie Traub
Garrison Creek was buried in 1915, and if you walk in Trinity Bellwoods, Christie Pitts or the surrounding neighborhoods, you would never know this area used to be a waterway. By investigating the creek I grew up on without ever seeing its surface nor feeling its rush, I am curious to explore what it means to live in a city built on buried histories. From poor waste management in the construction of the sewer system, to personal accounts of living and growing up along the creek, to the silenced colonial violences that riddle Toronto's legacy, The Creek Underneath asks what it means to forget, to erase, and to remember.
Love Letter to Clay & Paper
Artist: Maria Wodzinska
What will happen to the puppet theatre company that could, when it can no longer afford its home in Dufferin Grove Park?
The workshop was made possible with the generous support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Dames Making Games and the Ontario Arts Council.
