After completion of Phase 1 of the Black Theater workshop’s Arrivals Belonging project last year, Lydie Dubuisson the project’s coordinator made an interesting observation. She notes:

“During the Arrival’s Belonging project in winter 2021, we noticed that none of our participants seemed to represent the queer community. As the project leader, I approached a few of my friends and asked them if they felt safe to join workshops catering to the Black community and their answer was: “no””.

Surprised by this response, Lydie realized that this had been her second time noticing this gap. This served as a confirmation that we, the Black community, are failing our queer community.

In 2021-2022, Black Theatre’s workshop aims to reach out to two (2) English-Speaking Black artists of the LGBTQ+ community to allow them to explore and express the meaning of belonging to the Black community, to Quebec and to the wider queer community.

At the end of this process the Black Theater Workshop will produce an installation that will feature the artists’ creations. These reflections aim to help the Black community expand the conversation around belonging.

Website: http://www.blacktheatreworkshop.ca/ >> https://www.btwbelonging.ca/