Multilingual Community Engagement Project

HK
Consultant for All My Cuzzins Indigenous Showcase

“This past March I was very fortunate to be asked by Rice and Beans theater to help host/perform at the "All My Cuzzins" event in East Vancouver. The show was packed and its performers mirrored the audience in both eclectic personalities and diverse identities. The common thread which us artists shared for this evening was our ancestral roots to Indigenous nations of the Americas. This thread is one of many which make up our communities, and through dance - song - poetry - humor they weave together like a rich tapestry of humanity.

I believe art is the most powerful, and most ancient, community engagement tool other than maybe sharing a meal. No matter where you are on the planet, no matter the color, the culture, or the time period, there is some form of art which every community practices. It is a ubiquitous experience, yet in a modern colonial society, it can often be undervalued. I feel it's seen as more of this extra-curricular hobby rather than a quintessential aspect of being human. With this understanding, I realize the importance of these events and shows we put on. Without art we are just a bunch of empty people, standing in empty rooms, with no dreams of the future and no roots to the past. With art, with music, with dance, with creativity, a simple renovated garage becomes an orpheum, an average East Van street becomes a gateway to another world, the mic stand becomes a pulpit, and the artist its divine orator. For a moment, our depression becomes expression and our scars become stars. We are liberated from the horrors of isolation and the oppression of self-doubt. We are a social species who have become disconnected and fragmented by neo-colonialism and dysfunctional community dynamics. These opportunities to gather and laugh, cry, ooohh, aaahhh, and experience together are the medicine our lonely spirits and hearts so badly need.

I am eternally grateful to be such an instrument for my community. I hope they know that the joy they feel in watching us perform is a fraction of the joy we feel being empowered to do so. This reciprocal relationship is why we do what we do, why its always been done this way, and why it will always continue to be as long as we live on this earth.

Padiush to Rice and Beans and to the community for the space to perform and "be" always!"

The Events

Halo Halo! Filipinx Mix Mixer & DBLSPK

On July 15th, we invited the community to attend a FREE event full of Filipinx Art, Food and Joy. It included a:

• Community Mixer with Free Food, DJ, Art

• DBLSPK reading of a multilingual work "Bien Facil" by Karla Comanda, followed by an audience/artist discussion

• Karaoke Party

Thank you to everyone who attended and made our last event of the year such a success!

“ALL MY CUZZINS” Indigenous Showcase

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Accessibility Panel and Bingo