2020 Annual Report 1 Liza Navarro Photo Welcome
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Liza Navarro photo Welcome Pride can’t be cancelled— a world that has tried to grind us down Trans folks, Disabled folks, and Deaf peo- and exterminate us. ple, sex workers, unhoused people, drug just reimagined. We switched to a predominantly virtual users and others targeted by the police ittle did we know when we started season and even though it wasn’t the for violence. planning for our 2020 season, how same, Pride can’t be cancelled. It is a We knew it was not enough to make Lthis year would be both so challeng- feeling, not a physical space. It is in you. an empty statement of solidarity. Pride ing and totally different from anything we We have only ever provided a space in has not always focused on the needs and have ever done before. which to celebrate and acknowledge the voices of oppressed communities, and On Monday, March 16, British Colum- resilience, love and bravery which is lived this has caused harm to members of our bia health officials banned gatherings out every single day of the year by you— LGBTQAI2S+ communities. We know that over 50 people to help slow the spread our communities. confronting anti-blackness, racism and of Covid-19. In the following weeks and In May, we paused as an organiza- white supremacy in our organization and months, it was hard for us to watch the tion, to listen to the voices speaking out within society at large requires tangible, cancellation or postponement of Pride against police brutality, racism and white actionable long-term commitments. events here and across the globe. supremacy. The roots of Pride are in We took the time to consult with On April 18, Doctor Henry announced righteous anger, riot and uprising against community partner organizations and that there would be no large-scale events police brutality. These riots against the individuals, including BLM-Vancouver, in 2020 and specifically named the Pride violence of the police were led by Black to develop a statement with actionable Parade. We had been bracing ourselves and Brown trans women and queer peo- items and budgets attached. During our for this type of announcement for over a ple. The Stonewall Riots propelled gay 2020 Pride season, we prioritized booking month. It still hurt deeply when we heard movements from assimilationist tactics QTBIPOC performers, provided bursaries the official announcement. Pride holds a towards unapologetic Pride. These riots for Black organizers to hold events or for special place in the hearts of many—we worked. doing anti-racism work and held a series march against the continued injustices of Despite continued attempts at reform, of anti-racism workshops during Pride the world, we celebrate the gains we have we are still watching horrific police week. (Please find more information on made, we make a statement, we make a brutality against Black folks, Indigenous page 15.) We will continue to work to splash, we unabashedly take up space in folks and People of Colour, as well as uplift and centre Black, Indigenous and People of Colour in our hiring, planning, board recruitment and programming. 2020 has felt like a trial by fire, in many On the cover ways, but through it all, we have grown, stretched, learned new skills, created new Butterflies in Spirit at Ly̓elshn, events and centred folks who have been Coast Salish Territory marginalized. We will call this reimagin- Art by Morgan Asoyuf ing of Pride 2020 a success. Travel into a world where butterflies Michelle Fortin and Catherine Jenkins surround us in beauty, where we honor VPS Board Co-chairs the spirits of our MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womxn, Girls, and Two Spirit) and stand with them. 2 3 Liza Navarro photo 2020 Volunteers Board and In 2020... Staff BOARD Charmaine de Silva Co-Chair Michelle Fortin Co-Chair Darius Maze Treasurer 45 dedicated and passionate John Whistler Secretary volunteers gave... Azza Rojbi Director Catherine Jenkins Director Danny Ramadan Director Nicola Spurling Director Abdollah Fooladkhai Director STAFF LANNING approximately 1,160 hours of their time P H 2 O 9 U to make Vancouver Pride 2020 happen. 1 R , S 0 ! 1 These folks volunteered for a number of roles, including pre-planning for the Parade as the Parade Working Group, being on site at the Pride Art Walk, and as seat fillers while filming the Virtual Sunset Beach Mainstage Show. Though we could not see as many volunteers in person this year, we still worked to show our appreciation by creating a new Vancouver Pride Volunteers Facebook Group, and by offering volunteers some special perks and prizes. Thank you to everyone who stood with us and volunteered for the 2020 season, and thank you to the folks who did not but still shared their support! Andrea Arnot Executive Director Alicea Praeker Managing Director Madison Holding Events Manager Kaschelle Thiessen Communications Manager Serene Carter Community & QTBIPOC Outreach Coordinator Josephine Gray Exhibitor Services Coordinator Glenn Stensrud Partnership Coordinator Elana Mabrito Program Assistant Hailey Orrange Communications Intern Volunteer name tags A special thank you to the following for the 2020 season. contractors who assisted us with our Tanya Taneva photo virtual Pride season: Volunteers are needed for the Eduardo Ottoni 3 Jess Buckoltz upcoming season Mike Keeping Please contact [email protected] Jack Fox Accessibility and inclusion Audits and Focus Groups Over the past several years, VPS has been expanding accessibility at Vancouver Pride events through consultation with community members with lived expe- rience. In 2019, VPS hired Citizens for Accessible Neighborhoods (C.A.N.) to conduct an accessibility audit of all major events. Thanks to funding provided by the Western Economic Development Fund, VPS was able to have an audit conduct- ed at East Side Pride, Picnic in the Park, Pride Premiere, Davie Village Promenade, Terry Wallace Memorial Breakfast, Sunset Beach Festival and the Pride Parade. In addition to auditing seven events, C.A.N. provided consulting services on accessible event planning and disability justice and accessible event planning Screenshot from the 2020 Vancouver Queer History Panel. training to VPS staff and board members. In 2020, VPS ran a series of focus To ensure captioning was available on ative tasks at low cost that didn’t require groups with disabled community mem- all video VPS invested in VEED, a video them to leave home. bers. These focus groups were facilitated editing software that enables captioning. The challenges presented by Covid-19 by Heather McCain, executive director of In addition to captioning, ASL-English meant that it was difficult to reach mem- C.A.N., and supported by active listeners. interpreters were hired for 21 of our virtual bers of our communities who do not have Two additional focus groups were planned events with over 20 hours of interpreted digital access. In 2020, we re-created the but have been delayed due to the impacts content during Pride week. Vancouver Pride Guide into a full-length of Covid-19. For the past several years, VocalEye magazine full of poetry and editorial. To Information gathered from the audits has provided live description of the reach folks who do not use or have access and focus groups is being used to not only Vancouver Pride Parade for folks who to devices, we shipped the magazine free inform VPS operations, but to advocate to are blind or have vision loss. In 2020, of charge to approximately 1,000 individ- the City of Vancouver for changes to built VocalEye presented Almost Live: Van- uals Canada-wide and distributed it in 6 environments including parks and plazas couver Pride 2020. During this online physical locations including Little Sisters which are not currently accessible. event, audience members were taken on Bookstore. This helped extend our reach a virtual tour of the Vancouver Pride Art beyond digital spaces to bring a little Pride Changes in 2020 Walk. This was followed by a discussion into the homes of our communities. Due to Covid-19 and the cancellation of with Morgan Asoyuf, one of the Pride Art Due to the impact on the tourism and live events, in 2020 all VPS events pivoted Walk’s featured artists, and readings by travel industry, our long standing funder to digital platforms, the majority of which spoken-word artist Tawahum and author for this program had to withdraw. For- were live streamed video. All streams were Chris Gatchalian. Finally, describer Eileen tunately, our sponsorship from TD was free and available to watch on Facebook Barrett described the virtual Pride Parade. able to fund core accessibility initiatives Live, Twitch, YouTube and on the Van- Several weeks into the pandemic, including ASL and captioning. couver Pride website. A multi-platform screen fatigue became a common expe- approach was selected to allow the end rience and there became an increasing user to select the platform they felt most need for engagement activities that went Funded by: comfortable with. All videos were made beyond passive online viewing of events. available on Facebook and YouTube for Throughout the year, VPS ran a scavenger 4 community members to access after they hunt activity that was free to enter and 5 premiered. challenged participants to complete cre- Season Highlights This year, our Pride season was totally reimagined, different from anything our staff team had ever worked on before. The Executive Director would like to express her gratitude to our staff for cheerfully pivoting to become digital content producers and learning how to use streaming platforms, green screens, audio equipment, video recording equipment, captioning software and much more. VPS is proud to have streamed over 30 events during Pride week and hosted Queer Micro Weddings at City Hall and the Pride Art Walk, both in-person.