Workshops 2005

All workshops are offered in the language of their description.
Tous les ateliers sont donnés dans la langue utilisée pour les décrire.

Agitate Your Identity! Feel more comfortable with your queer identity as a queer woman of colour - Agitez votre identité ! Sentez-vous plus à l’aise avec votre identité gaie en tant que femme gaie de couleur
Indri Pasaribu, Melissa Laveaux
Saturday, Sept 17 • 1:30-2:30 p.m. • Arts Court (Library Room)
This workshop is designed for queer women of colour to feel more comfortable with their own queer identity. The workshop will cover all the factors (media, history, current social hierarchy, etc.) which make it difficult to find a space/representation for yourself as an individual of oppressed ethnicity within the queer community.

Agitate is an Ottawa-based collective exclusive to First Nations women and women of colour. Its aim is to provide queer visibility within racialized and ethnic communities. Outreach, social programming, education, transitional perspectives, and anti-racist activism. In addition to fighting oppression, Agitate members aim to provide a gathering space in which diverse realities in the spirit of celebration.

Cet atelier est destiné aux femmes gaies de couleur, pour qu’elles se sentent plus à l’aise dans leur orientation sexuelle. Il abordera tous les facteurs (média, histoire, hiérarchie sociale actuelle, etc.) qui rendent difficile la tâche de trouver une représentation de soi-même en tant qu'individu d’une communauté ethnique réprimée dans la communauté gaie. Agitate est un groupe d'Ottawa exclusivement réservé aux femmes des Premières Nations et aux femmes de couleur. Son but est de fournir la visibilité gaie dans les communautés raciales et ethniques. Sensibilisation, programmation sociale, éducation, perspectives transitoires et activisme anti-raciste. En plus de lutter contre l'oppression, les membres d’Agitate aspirent à donner un endroit de rassemblement dans lequel peuvent se rencontrer diverses réalités dans un esprit de célébration.

Book Binding - Reliure de livres
Genevieve Jodouin
Saturday, Sept 17 • 1-2:30 p.m. • Arts Court (Court Room)
Book binding is fun and easy! Gen will show you how. Everyone is welcome and all the materials will be provided. Get ready to make an awesome little notebook! (Max. 25 people)

Gen is a recent graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a major in printmaking. She will be imported from Toronto for the weekend. This is her second year facilitating the bookbinding workshop.

Relier des livres, c'est facile et amusant ! Gen vous montrera comment. Tout le monde est invité et tout le matériel sera fourni sur place. Tenez vous prêtes et prêts à fabriquer un adorable petit carnet ! (Max. 25 personnes)

Gen a récemment terminé un baccalauréat en beaux-arts et une mention en imprimerie au Ontario College of Art and Design à Toronto. Elle viendra de Toronto pour la fin de semaine. Elle en est à sa deuxième année à organiser un atelier sur la reliure de livres.

Bust Out! (Make Your Own Dress Form)
Melanie Yugo and Tania Passafiume
Sunday, Sept 18 • 2-3:30 p.m. • Arts Court (Library Room)
Do you make your own clothes and want that perfect fit? Then come to the Bust Out! workshop! Using readily available and inexpensive materials, instructors Melanie Yugo and Tania Passafiume will teach participants how to create personal dress forms for garment fitting or display. Everyone is invited to attend. No skills required—just bring an old long T-shirt that can be cut up. Goals of the workshop: fun, creativity, teamwork and a fabulous body to take home! (Warning: this workshop can get messy!)

Melanie Yugo is a lady with a serious yarn fetish. She co-hosts the Ottawa-based craft + DJ night, Spins & Needles, an inclusive, non-profit monthly event that brings together crafters and non-crafters to work on projects, share ideas, have a few drinks and listen to funky beats. www.spinsandneedles.com

Chanter, de la douche a la scène !
Joelle Paré et Véronique Nolet
Samedi le 17 septembre • 15h-16h30 • Arts Court (Library Room)
Chaque matin, votre douche devient un studio et votre voiture, une scène. Vous aimez, vous voulez chanter. Sachez que vous possédez en vous toutes les ressources pour trouver votre voix. Vous n'avez besoin que de quelques outils pour vous aider. Notre atelier, ouvert aux personnes de 15 ans et plus, présente quelques notions de base en chant : la respiration et la prise de conscience du corps comme instrument, les vocalises et le développement de la voix ainsi que l'apprentissage et l'interprétation des chansons. Cet atelier vous permettra (nous l'espérons!) d'entamer avec confiance et de façon autonome, une démarche qui vous amènera à chanter ! La curiosité et l'envie de s'amuser sont de mise !

Au fil des années, Véronique Nolet et Joelle Paré ont pu se produire en solo ou en tant que membres de chorales, de troupes de théâtre ou de groupes de musique, dans le cadre de concours ou de spectacles de variétés parrainés par différents organismes. Elles ont suivi des formations professionnelles en interprétation avec Marie-Claire Seguin et Marie-Denise Pelletier au Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée en 2003 et en 2004, ce qui leur a permis de développer des approches différentes, mais compatibles, de leur art. Après de nombreux cours et ateliers de formation en musique et en chant, elles se sentent prêtes à transmettre leur savoir à ceux et celles qui veulent chanter.

DJing 101
Caitlyn Pascal
Sunday, Sept 18 • 2-3:30 p.m. • Club SAW
This workshop is for all the ladies who want to learn how to DJ. It's for anyone who loves music and loves making parties rock! We'll focus on the foundations of DJing, the equipment you can use (even on a budget), beat matching, mixing, track selection, and performance DJs. This workshop is open to women of all ages. Caitlyn has been a DJ in Ottawa for 6 years and has thrown numerous parties supporting the trans/queer scene.

Exploring Home Ownership - Devenir Propriétaire
Caro Moffat
Sunday, Sept 18 • 1:30-3 p.m. • Arts Court (Court Room)
This workshop is for anyone who is tired of renting, who is dreaming of buying their dream home, who is thinking about saving for a down payment, and it is also for those who think they'll never be able to buy a house or can't even imagine living ‘til 40. Caro will go over the basic information about mortgages, down payments, how to talk to a bank, government guidelines, incentive programs, and the responsibilities and exciting adventures of home ownership or being a landlord. The workshop will be pretty informal, with lots of opportunities to ask questions and share experiences. The goal of the workshop is to get you thinking about creative ways that you can plan to take control of your finances in the biggest way possible—by not perpetually pouring all of your housing money into someone else's pockets. Options for people in a variety of income situations and lifestyles will be discussed. This workshop is intended to be a great experience for people who are shy to talk about money, for those that have a history of poverty and/or student debt, and for those anti-establishment folks that want to explore every way possible to be independent.

Caro Moffat is usually known for her self-reliance regarding all things craftalicious, but she's also all about planning for her future. She's navigated the wild world of real estate twice in the last two years, and has also midwifed a few friends through the same process. She loves sweet-talking to bankers and government officials almost as much as she loves home renovation projects and fixing things.

Cet atelier est pour toutes celles et ceux qui en ont assez d’être locataires, qui rêvent d'acheter leur propre maison, qui pensent à épargner pour un premier apport. Il est aussi destiné à celles et ceux qui ont du mal à s'imaginer capables de s'acheter une maison, ou à s'imaginer vivre plus de 40 ans. Caro donnera de l'information sur l'hypothèque, l'apport initial, comment parler aux banquiers, les indications gouvernementales, les programmes incitatifs ainsi que les responsabilités et les aventures excitantes qui accompagnent la possession d'une maison ou le statut de propriétaire. L'atelier sera simple, rempli d'opportunités pour poser des questions et partager vos expériences. Le but de cet atelier est de vous aider à commencer à penser à des façons créatives de prendre le contrôle de vos finances dans le plus grand sens du terme: en évitant de gaspiller toutes vos économies immobilières en les versant dans la poche d'une ou d'un autre. Des options pour tous ceux et celles ayant des revenus et des modes de vie différents seront discutées. Le but de cet atelier est de faire vivre une bonne expérience aux gens qui sont mal à l'aise de discuter d'argent, aux personnes qui ont connu la pauvreté et/ou des dettes d'étudiant, et aux anti-capitalistes qui préfèrent explorer toutes les façons possibles de vivre de manière autonome.

Caro Moffat est bien connue pour son autosuffisance pour tout ce qui a rapport avec le bricolage, mais elle excelle dans la planification de son avenir. Elle a exploré le monde de l'immobilier deux fois au cours des deux dernières années, ce qui lui a donné l’occasion de faire quelques bonnes connaissances. Elle aime aussi bien "séduire" les banquiers et les officiers gouvernementaux que se lancer dans des projets de rénovation.

Exotic Dancing and the Smuggling of Sex Workers
Sunday, Sept 18 • 11:30-12:30 p.m. • Arts Court (Library Room)
Basic pole tricks will be taught to an adult-only audience. There will be discussions about both the benefits and hazards of exotic dancing, and the women involved. The purpose of this discussion is to raise questions about empowerment and privilege. There are middle-class college students that strip for tuition money, and then there are women of colour from third world countries who are smuggled into our country and forced into the sex trade against their will. Now that stripping is more accepted by the mainstream than it was decades ago, will the celebration of empowerment overshadow the plight of the smuggled?

Femme Fatale
Shannon Hayes and Maria Zlotorzynska
Saturday, Sept 17 • 4-5 p.m. • Arts Court (Court Room)
This workshop is an open discussion for femme-a-licious queers who want to get together to discuss their experiences of identifying as femme in the queer community. We will cover some of the history of queer femmes, femme-invisibility, the many expressions of femininity and its contribution to culture, as well as activism in the community. All ages and femme-identifying genders are welcome.

Maria and Shannon are feisty femme-inists, defiantly reclaiming femininity in all its pink high-heeled glory. This is their debut workshop and they hope to spark conversation and controversy for many years to come.

Fertility Awareness
Lisa Norman
Saturday, Sept 17 • 12-1 p.m. • Arts Court (Court Room)
This is a fun, interactive workshop for women to better understand their bodies and their fertility signals so they can be better equipped to avoid pregnancy without hormones or to be better informed to increase the possibility of becoming pregnant. We will go over how to recognize the signs and signals that indicate fertility as well as equip you with fun and useful facts about sperm and ovulation. (Please note: Fertility Awareness is not the calender method but a much more complex and scientifically supported approach.)

Planned Parenthood Ottawa is a community organization promoting reproductive and sexual health. Fertility Awareness Method is part of volunteer training. The facilitators are also support people who will meet with individuals or couples to explain the principles of the fertility awareness method. They have been offering FAM sessions to the community for a number of years.

Find Your Inner Geek—Cowgirl Style!
Stephanie Brodeur and Darsha Hewitt
Saturday, Sept 17 • 2:30-4 p.m. - Arts Court (Court Room)
Howdy Ladies! Yeeehaw! Its time to kiss your computer! Ever wish you knew what was really going on inside your computer? Does the idea of getting to know your PC make you nervous yet excited? Do you want to impress your geek friends with far-out computer facts and handy tricks that will make you feel like a genius? If you answered yes, then this is the workshop for you baby! In our outstandingly fun workshop we will journey through the exhilarating history of “puters”, look at the relationship between woman and machine (Cyber-Feminism!) Learn how to troubleshoot like cowgirls and install a hard drive and memory with your eyes closed. Who knows, you might leave the workshop wishing you were a Cyborg! Please feel free to bring along your pet laptop and/or dress up like cowfolk.

Stephanie Brodeur and Darsha Hewitt are visual art students at the University of Ottawa. Graduating from their fourth year they have acquired skills in new media, electronics and have created technology-based works. In order to create works dealing with computer programs and open source software, they had to learn how computers work. They are either self-taught or have asked many questions to get where they are. This is their first time giving this workshop and are looking forward to sharing their knowledge of the often frightening world of electronics and computer hardware.

Goddess Belly Dance (For Plus Sized Girls!)
Sha'Vega Malibu
Sunday, Sept 18 - 12:30-2 p.m. - Arts Court Library Room
This workshop is designed with the plus size woman in mind. Starting with warm ups and some light stretching to help ease the body into what comes next! This workshop will include basic belly dancing moves to music. Get ready to dance up a storm! Plus sized women only, all ages are welcome.

Sha'Vega has been teaching women and girls belly dance since 2002. She has studied with several excellent teachers including Master dancers from both Canada and The U.S. Currently she teaches Goddess Belly Dance (for plus size women) at Dance Network and plans on adding more classes this fall in Hull and Buckingham. sha_vega@hotmail.com

Menstrual Alternatives
Liz Charles and Melissa of the Red Tent Collective
Saturday, Sept 17 - all day - Club SAW (Court yard)
Every year, North American women spend about $2 billion on single-use, disposable menstrual pads and tampons. Most disposable pads and tampons are made with chlorine-bleached fibres that contain dioxins, a carcinogen that has also been linked to endometriosis. It is toxic to both our reproductive and immune systems. Luckily, there are alternatives! This interactive workshop will address the negative environmental and health effects of mainstream menstrual products and explore positive, proactive alternatives. Learn more about menstruation, the environment and your health at this fun and informative event! The Red Tent Collective is a York University-based student group. During the recent university term they put together a series of workshops discussing topics around menstruation, women's health issues, sexuality and sexual identity, and eco-feminism.

Panel: Privilege in Activist Communities
Rosie Karkari, Faith Kassam, Shari Hayne, Jess Carfignini
Sunday, Sept 18 - 3:30-5 p.m. - Arts Court (Library Room)
This is a joint panel with two white feminist women and two queer feminist women of colour, sharing their experiences, perspectives and insights about the topic of privelege within feminist communities. The panel aims to answer the questions: What is privilege? How do we recognize it? How do we ensure that feminist organizing is egalitarian in the face of varying degrees of privilege? What does it mean to "look queer" or "feminist"? -How do those notions contribute to race privilege and femme invisibility? This panel is open to everyone of all ages, and will be an interactive panel in which members of the audience will be able to contribute and ask questions.

This panel is joint effort between Agitate and the Femme Affinity Group of Ottawa (FAG-O). FAG-O: Is a queer based group open to geeks, sluts, librarians, sexual radicals, high/low femmes, mammas and radical str8 gals. Their group aims to work politically and artistically to battle femmephobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, sexism and classism while highlighting the pleasure of the femme mystique. We hope to create a space for femmes of Ottawa to meet and form friendships where we can support each other like a good underwire. Agitate: See "Agitate Your Identity" workshop

Sex For One For Women
Shelley Taylor
Sunday, Sept 18 - 12-1:30 p.m. - Arts Court (Court Room)
Shelley founded Venus Envy in 1998. Venus Envy is an educated oriented sex and book store with locations in Halifax and Ottawa. She has been training in adult education and has been giving workshops regarding sexual and reproductive health since 1999. She developed Sex for One for Women in 2001 after hearing from so many women that they weren't comfortable masturbating or that they felt guilty or just didn't know how. www.venusenvy.ca In this hands-off workshop we will talk about some reasons for masturbating, breathing and other techniques for better orgasms, toys for playing alone, lube and other slippery stuff, anatomy, and books about masturbation as well as good one-handed reads.

Tribal Style Belly dance - Danse du ventre de style tribal
Leslie McLaughlin aka Ocean Fire
Saturday, Sept 17 - 12-1 p.m. - Arts Court (Library Room)
Ocean Fire's workshop will include about ten minutes warming up and discussing the background and history of American Tribal Style bellydance. She will teach some short beginner movements, then in pairs students will learn how to dance the combination of movements improvisationally. The group will then assemble and dance the combination together. Ocean Fire teaches American Tribal belly dance, a format of belly dance developed in San Francisco in 1987. The first troupe that developed and performed this format was fully tattooed, and hence attracted the modern primitive subculture to their classes, who would not normally have been accepted in a traditional Middle Eastern Dance performance setting. Ocean Fire has taught ATS in Ottawa/Hull since January 2004 at Dance Oasis and has taught workshops in Montreal, Toronto and Brockville. She is currently certified at Level 1 in the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance and certified through Hadia's instructor training course. For more information of on Tribal Style belly dance or about Ocean fire, please visit www.baladi.ca/instructors/oceanfire

L'atelier d’Ocean Fire inclura environ 10 minutes d’échauffement et de discussion sur l'histoire de la danse du ventre de style tribal. Elle enseignera des mouvements simples, puis, deux par deux, les étudiants apprendront à danser une combinaison de mouvements improvisée. Ensuite, le groupe s'assemblera et dansera ensemble. Ocean Fire enseigne la danse du ventre américaine, un style de danse développé à San Fransisco en 1987. La première troupe ayant développé et présenté ce genre de danse tribale était entièrement tatouée. Elle a donc attiré la sousculture primitive moderne, qui n'aurait normalement pas été acceptée dans le cadre d’une performance de danse traditionnelle du Moyen-Orient, à ses cours. Ocean Fire enseigne l'ATS (American Tribal Style belly dance) dans la région d'Ottawa-Gatineau depuis janvier 2004 à Dance Oasis, et elle a donné des ateliers à Montréal, à Toronto et à Brockville. Elle a obtenu une certification de niveau 1 à l'école de danse Suhaila Salimpour et a suivi un cours d’entraînement pour les instructeurs avec Haida. Pour plus d'information sur la danse du ventre de style tribal ou sur Ocean Fire, veuillez visiter www.baladi.ca/instructors/oceanfire.