Living Well

Join Hart House Changemakers for a series of fireside-style chats between Hart House Warden John Monahan and inspiring folks whose discontent with the status quo propels them to be the change they want to see in the world.

Hart House Changemakers

Listening is a powerful first step towards understanding and creating right relationships with Indigenous peoples. This project came out of a series of audio recordings in Indigenous languages made for play on radio starting in early 2018. The Language Spots were created to amplify Indigenous languages and inspire curiosity about the rich diversity of Indigenous culture, history, and the importance of preserving and sustaining endangered languages. 
Indigenous Language Moments is also an interactive exhibition featuring artwork by designer Alexander Young.  
Professor Ryan DeCaire teaches us some Kanien’kéha words, and Naulaq Ledrew shares words and interpretations of words in Inuktituk. You will also hear the voice of Jenny Blackbird, a collaborator on this project between 
Ciimaan/Kahuwe’yá/Qajaq Indigenous Language Initiative at the Centre for Indigenous Studies at U of T and Hart House.
Enjoy the project. Listen to learn.

Indigenous Language Spots

Stories from the Hart

Welcome to Hip Hop Audibles where local Toronto Hip Hop artists, educators and practitioners share passages from their favorite books and verses and talk about how these pieces made an impact in their lives.

Hip Hop Audibles

On this week's episode of the West Meeting Room, producers Janine and Lisa sit down with Sarah B. Zaman to deconstruct shame and engage in nuanced conversations about its deep-rooted impact on all of our lives. Shame, much like embarrassment and guilt, can be debilitating but throughout this conversation Sarah, Janine, and Lisa find strength in situations that put them to shame in the past and opt for a narrative that emphasizes confidence, self-forgiveness, and courage.
For the full transcript: https://thewestmeetingroom.tumblr.com/post/646029142636265472/twmr-ep-49-deconstructing-shame

TWMR Ep 49 Deconstructing Shame

Producer Sabrina shares tape that she had collected during her first year working in audio and working at Hart House. This is part of her goal to look back and reflect on the four years she has spent as a U o fT student and Hart House student podcaster. 

There are six different segments to this episode, most recorded in 2017/2018 and most edited during that time as well. Listen in as Sabrina discusses love stories, race and identity, academic excellence, building community, and more with her peers.

TWMR Ep 50 The Vault - An Interview Medley

On this week's episode of The West Meeting Room, Melissa talks diversity, equity, and inclusion in the museum sector with Dominica, Denise, and Megan from the student group Museum Professionals of Colour (MPOC). With a focus on examining the complicated relationship between museums and the communities they are meant to serve, this episode focuses on mistrust, underrepresentation, and areas of contradiction that are so present in the museum sector. Throughout this conversation, the members of MPOC share incredible insight, personal anecdotes, and a glimpse into current issues with museums as institutions.

TWMR Ep 51 Museums and Diversity: In Conversation w. MPOC

This week in the West Meeting Room, Rebekah is missing home and a very special someone, who consistently fails to pick up the phone. Annabelle, Mariajosé, and Rebekah's mom Damien, offer their take on the importance of staying connected with four-footed friends, which is actually quite common, according to psychology professor Hal Herzog. 

Article: Why Do Humans Talk to Animals If They Can’t Understand? https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/08/talking-to-pets/537225/ 

Connect with Rebekah @bex2241 on Twitter

TWMR Ep 52 Voicemails for Dede

Sabrina revisits interviews and conversations that she had conducted during a conference that she attended in South Africa (2019). Sabrina and her interviewees discuss activism, youth engagement, mental health, apartheid, and more.

Sabrina’s two guests are Mogamat Benjamin and Tamatha Paul. Find out more about them, and about District Six, through the links below.
                                                                                                          https://www.districtsix.co.za/
                                                           https://www.quivertreepublications.com/books/district-six/
                                   https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/06/19/532251097/south-africas-district-six-cookbook-helps-preserve-a-lost-community
                                                                     https://www.facebook.com/tamathapaul1/

https://wellington.govt.nz/your-council/about-the-council/mayor-and-councillors/councillors/tamatha-paul

TWMR Ep 53 Stories From South Africa

Our team of West Meeting Room producers gathers for our last roundtable of the season to reflect on the past year and look to what comes next. Join in as each of us shares what we're looking forward to learning, exploring and reclaiming after graduation. Even though most of us have never met in person, we spent the past year building meaningful connections while collaborating on stories that mattered to us. Thank you to all of our guests, listeners and community members who have supported us this past year. Being able to laugh, cry and connect across the airwaves each week has been nourishing for us all in a difficult year. We have one more episode in store for you this season and then we'll be taking a break for the summer. Take good care of yourselves and each other. We look forward to reconnecting with you all soon.

TWMR Ep 54 New Beginnings

It’s another Hart House Hip Hop Education Takeover of The West Meeting Room! Hart House Hip Hop Ed works with campus partners and community Hip Hop practitioners to further values of representation, collaboration, and social justice, as we explore the key principles of Hip Hop and its importance in our everyday culture. In Winter 2021, we were joined by two U of T student interns as we explored Indigenous voices in Hip Hop. Drew Rickard and Lloyd Cousins joined Marco Adamovic @vicadamo for our second episode with legendary Toronto engineer, producer, artist, and DJ, David ‘Gordo’ Strickland @david-strickland-90801241

We explored his love for Hip Hop, including meaningful records in his catalog, elements of his Indigenous identity, the relationship between visual art and music, and so much more. Fun fact: the title for this episode is based on a waveform tattoo that David has on his arm. Listen in to hear its origin, as well as knowledge and wisdom from a true legend in the Canadian Music Industry!

Check out Hart House Hip Hop Education online: www.harthouse.ca/series/hip-hop

Check out Spirit of Hip Hop on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7f9GCfRXmuPcYdPC4Y9GQK

David Strickland online:
www.davidstricklandstudios.com
IG: @david.strickland

TWMR Ep 55 Don't Quit: A Conversation w. David Strickland

According to “Changemaker” Lorenzo Vargas, democratizing access to media resources and other sources of information is fundamental to creating societies where citizen engagement, economic prosperity, and systems of justice can thrive simultaneously, particularly in the Global South. 

This “Changemakers” conversation was recorded live on November 24th, 2021.

Link to transcript: https://thewestmeetingroom.tumblr.com/post/672576866329280512/changemakers-series-confronting-information

Series website: https://harthouse.ca/series/changemakers

Hart House Changemakers: Confronting Information Poverty with Lorenzo Vargas

Led by Liz Coucean, multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, this grounding meditation is an ideal practice when experiencing periods of overthinking, stress and/ or anxiety. Through breath regulation and a mindful body scan, this meditation will help move awareness away from thoughts and into the body to encourage a felt sense of calmness and relaxation. 
 
This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting harthouse.ca/wellbeing.  
 
Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer by visiting harthouse.ca/wellbeing. We’d love to hear from you – contact us by emailing Olivia Allen at olivia.allen@utoronto.ca.
 
Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.  
 
More about Liz Coucean: 
 
As a multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, Liz is passionate about offering guidance for individuals to experience inner peace, a calmer mind, and the opportunity to connect more deeply to themselves and their environment.  

Liz specializes in teaching meditation and yoga, and offers mindset coaching and corporate wellness consulting as part of her practice. She is also a certified reiki master, an ancient eastern healing modality that promotes stress reduction and relaxation. Liz is based in Toronto, Canada and offers her services globally online. 

Follow Liz on Instagram at @lizcwellness and check out her website at lizcwellness.com.

Episode transcript: https://harthouselivingwell.buzzsprout.com/1492234/10028921-in-meditation-ep1-grounding

This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken 
Music by: Bill Xu

Living Well -- In Meditation: EP1 – Grounding

Led by Liz Coucean, multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, this practice taps into what it means to be resilient. The more we are able to ground into our breath and bodies, the more we create internal resources to help support our nervous system when we experience challenges in life. We can’t control what happens to us, but with practice we can learn to regulate our reactions.  

This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting harthouse.ca/wellbeing.  
 
Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer by visiting harthouse.ca/wellbeing. We’d love to hear from you – contact us by emailing Olivia Allen at olivia.allen@utoronto.ca.
 
Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.  
 
More about Liz Coucean: 
 
As a multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, Liz is passionate about offering guidance for individuals to experience inner peace, a calmer mind, and the opportunity to connect more deeply to themselves and their environment.  

Liz specializes in teaching meditation and yoga, and offers mindset coaching and corporate wellness consulting as part of her practice. She is also a certified reiki master, an ancient eastern healing modality that promotes stress reduction and relaxation. Liz is based in Toronto, Canada and offers her services globally online. 

Follow Liz on Instagram at @lizcwellness and check out her website at lizcwellness.com.



Episode transcript: https://harthouselivingwell.buzzsprout.com/1492234/10057760-in-meditation-ep2-resilience

This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken 
Music by: Bill Xu

Living Well -- In Meditation: EP2 – Resilience

Led by Liz Coucean, multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, this walking meditation is perfect when you are feeling too restless for a seated meditation or when you simply have the urge to move your body. This practice is designed to help release repetitive thoughts, and connect you into your body and the present moment. 

This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting harthouse.ca/wellbeing.  
 
Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer by visiting harthouse.ca/wellbeing. We’d love to hear from you – contact us by emailing Olivia Allen at olivia.allen@utoronto.ca.
 
Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.  
 
More about Liz Coucean: 
 
As a multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, Liz is passionate about offering guidance for individuals to experience inner peace, a calmer mind, and the opportunity to connect more deeply to themselves and their environment.  

Liz specializes in teaching meditation and yoga, and offers mindset coaching and corporate wellness consulting as part of her practice. She is also a certified reiki master, an ancient eastern healing modality that promotes stress reduction and relaxation. Liz is based in Toronto, Canada and offers her services globally online. 

Follow Liz on Instagram at @lizcwellness and check out her website at lizcwellness.com.

Episode transcript: https://harthouselivingwell.buzzsprout.com/1492234/10088569-in-meditation-ep3-walking-meditation

This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken 
Music by: Bill Xu

Living Well -- In Meditation: EP3 – Walking Meditation

Democracy is facing a host of challenges around the world. They include authoritarian leaders, a growing divide between haves and have-nots, and notably declining trust in public institutions. 

Even formerly indisputable facts are being disputed, and “Truth” has become a relative concept. At the same time, intergenerational social movements fighting for racial equality, climate justice and Indigenous rights are reshaping our understanding of what effective political action looks like.

Is Canada somehow immune from these phenomena? Changemaker Sabreena Delhon thinks not. That is why she and her colleagues are working so hard to make Canadian democracy stronger, more resilient and more engaging for everyone. Join us for this essential conversation about what it means to live and thrive in Canada today.

This “Changemakers” conversation was recorded live on January 20th, 2022..

Link to transcript: https://thewestmeetingroom.tumblr.com/post/677176371022282752/hart-house-changemakers-building-resilient 

Series website: harthouse.ca/series/changemakers

Hart House Changemakers: Building Resilient Democracies with Sabreena Delhon

As we contemplate the post-pandemic world, will it be a more inclusive one, and how will we understand disability in that context? How are legislative frameworks like the AODA supporting change? And how can we move towards a more seamless integration of universal design principles that benefit everyone? Lorin MacDonald, one of Canada’s most respected voices on accessibility and disability issues, discusses these issues.

This “Changemakers” conversation was recorded live on March 9th, 2022.

Link to the transcript: 
https://thewestmeetingroom.tumblr.com/post/682535629558579200/hart-house-changemakers-disability-inclusion-and 

Series website: harthouse.ca/series/changemakers

Disability, Inclusion and Accessibility in a Post-COVID World- What Lies Ahead? with Lorin MacDonald

Great disruption spurs great transformation. As we navigate our complex, interconnected world – fraught with social injustice, a mounting climate crisis and the final throes of a global pandemic – we need leaders who embody understanding, imagination and emotional intelligence. We need individuals who will move beyond the polarizing debates and tackle, with wisdom and vision, the challenges we face.

To cultivate these future leaders, we must deliver transformational experiences that help us tell our stories. For the theatre and arts community, investigating and understanding the circumstances we collectively face and the impact of these realities are key.

How can the arts help us to tell these vital stories? How can the arts help us to understand the complexity and embrace our differences; to navigate these challenges with genuine understanding and, in doing so, enrich the human experience?

Please join us for this essential and timely conversation with groundbreaking theatre and film director, Weyni Mengesha.

This “Changemakers” conversation was recorded live on May 27, 2022.

Link to transcript: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/thewestmeetingroom/690846178388148224?source=share 

Series website: harthouse.ca/series/changemakers

Hart House Changemakers: What Art Teaches Us in Perilous Times with Weyni Mengesha

Countries around the world continue to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and intersex individuals. In some cases, torture and death are punishments for people found to be identified as part of the LGBTQI+ community. These instances are not secluded to particular parts of the world, as discriminatory actions continue in South America, the Middle East, Africa, and even in our own backyards in Canada and the United States.

Rainbow Railroad, founded in 2006, is actively working with the Government of Canada, and local politicians, and joined by activists here in Canada and around the world to support LGBTQI+ people to escape persecution and find a new home in a more accepting community.

Join the discussion with Hart House Warden John Monahan and Rainbow Railroad’s Executive Director, Kimahli Powell.

Recorded October 26, 2022.

Hart House Changemakers - Kimahli Powell: LGBTQI+ Individuals & the Search for Home

Welcome to Hip Hop Audibles, where local Toronto Hip Hop artists, educators and practitioners share passages from their favorite books and verses and talk about how these pieces made an impact in their lives. Today, we feature Marcus Singleton, also known as iomos Marad. Marcus is originally from the Englewood community in the south side of Chicago. He's a conscious Hip Hop artist and educator who is an advocate for Black students. He completed his Master of Education in Social Justice Education and is currently a PhD student in the Social Justice Department at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on critical Hip Hop pedagogy and critical race reading practices within Black Studies. He's also the inaugural Hart House Hip Hop Education Community Connector.

Hip Hop Audible #3 - Marcus Singleton aka iomos marad

Welcome to Hip Hop Audibles, where local Toronto Hip Hop artists, educators and practitioners share passages from their favorite books and verses and talk about how these pieces made an impact in their lives. Today, we feature Borelson, a multidisciplinary artist, Afrofuturist, creative entrepreneur and wellness advocate based in Toronto. After formative years spent between Gabon, Congo, and France, he took a leap of faith and relocated to Canada. His particular music is mostly Hip Hop infused, mixed with other music influences such as Afrofusion or Afrobeats, jazz, classical music, et cetera. In May 2020, Borelson released his debut album entitled "As Far as Eye Can See". Then his critically acclaimed sophomore project in 2021 called "Building Bridges" One of his latest singles, "Fearless", was selected by CBC Music for their top hundred Canadian songs of 2021 and part of their national campaign for their show, The Block.

Hip Hop Audible #1 - Borelson

Welcome to Hip Hop Audibles, where local Toronto Hip Hop artists, educators and practitioners share passages from their favorite books and verses and talk about how these pieces made an impact in their lives. Today we feature Sizani reading from "Doo Wop (That Thing)" by none other than Miss Lauryn Hill. After spending a summer with the Hip Hop Education crew at Hart House, Sizani seeks to incorporate the healing properties of music in the education and support of Black youth in the public education system. As an admirer of anything created by her community. Despite the struggles faced, she hopes to join members in the community already in the game of fixing what's wrong and implementing what's needed for the Black community in Toronto.

Hip Hop Audible #2 - Sizani

Welcome to Hip Hop Audibles where local Toronto Hip Hop artists, educators and practitioners share passages from their favorite books and verses and talk about how these pieces made an impact in their lives. Today we feature Michael Piecez Prosserman, a best-selling author, professional b-boy, university instructor and certified coach who specializes in scaling start-ups, team culture, fundraising and succession. In Michael's book "Building Unity, Leading a Nonprofit from Spark to Succession", He shares practical tools and stories to launching, leading, and leaving a sustainable organization. He scaled a grassroots organization from the ground up as the founder of Unity Charity, an organization using Hip Hop to improve Youth Mental Health. Over 15 years, Michael grew Unity from a volunteer group to employing 80 staff raising $7 million and having an impact on 250,000 youth. Michael is committed to empowering leaders in the public and private sector to build more resilient and responsible organizations through a social enterprise EPIC Leadership.

Hip Hop Audible #4 - Mikey "Piecez" Prosserman

In this instalment of our series on student organizers, Hart House Student Podcaster Muzna sits down with the founder and director of the Prevention Empowerment Advocacy Response Project (PEARS) for survivors at the University of Toronto, Micah Kalisch. Micah shares their experience creating a peer-led, grassroots support organization while still an undergraduate student, the need to be nimble and responsive in this work, and the compelling reasons they are called to create a community of care and support for survivors. This episode comes with a content warning. In this conversation we talk about sexual assault and abuse, which we know can be distressing topics. We offer this content warning to empower you, our audience, to make healthy decisions about how, and if, you should consume this podcast content. Please take care.

Stories From The Hart S4 Ep 06 - Spotlight On Student Organizers: Micah From The PEARS Project

In this installment of our series on student organizers, Hart House Student Podcaster Muzna sits down with Etienne Oshinowo, the President of the Black Students' Association at U of T.

Stories From The Hart S4 Ep 05 - Spotlight On Student Organizers: Etienne From The Black Students

In this installment of our series on student organizers, Hart House Student Podcaster Muzna sits down with Jadine Ngan,  Editor-in-Chief of The Varsity, U of T's tri-campus newspaper.

Stories From The Hart S4 Ep 04 - Spotlight On Student Organizers: Jadine From The Varsity

In this installment of our series on student organizers, Hart House Student Podcaster Muzna, sat down with Alicia Corbiere, one of the Marten Clan leaders of the Indigenous Students Association at U of T St. George.

Stories From The Hart S4 Ep 03 - Spotlight On Student Organizers: Indigenous Students Association

In honour of Asian Heritage month, in which we cast a spotlight on the words and voices of GTA artists from the Asian Diaspora.  We talked to Sheniz Janmohamed over zoom from her home in the GTA. She traces her ancestral roots through Kenya, back to Kutch, Gujarat, in India.  Sheniz reflects on what it means to be disconnected from her ancestral homeland, living on a land that isn't traditionally hers, here on Turtle Island.  She read her poem Salt, from her latest collection of poems, Reminders on the Path. Sheniz wanted to know the stories that were absent in her family narrative, those of her women ancestors. Salt came out of the conversation she had with her maternal grandmother on her last visit to Kenya, after asking her to share her story and the story of her mother.

Stories from the Hart S1 Ep 01 - Spotlight on Artists from the Asian Diaspora: Sheniz Janmohamed

In honour of Asian Heritage month, in which we create a spotlight on the words and voices of GTA artists from the Asian Diaspora. This segment features Patrick Debelen, poet, storyteller, educator, and filmmaker. Patrick tells us about his connection to community, here in Canada and in the Philippines, and the power and importance of being loud about mental health and loss, especially as a male-identifying person of Asian heritage. He reads his poem "Fearwrite" from his recent project In Between Lines, a spoken word album, digital chapbook and video series.

Stories from the Hart S1 Ep 02 - Spotlight on Artists from the Asian Diaspora: Patrick Debelen

In honour of Asian Heritage month, in which we cast a spotlight on the words and voices of GTA artists from the Asian Diaspora. This segment features Eric Wang, poet and recent graduate of UTSC. Eric joined us over Zoom to read us his poem Weatherman Elegy, a poem of mourning he wrote after realizing how many years it's been since he flipped open the Weather Channel.

Stories from the Hart S1 Ep 03 - Spotlight on Artists from the Asian Diaspora: Eric Wang

In this episode, Claire speaks with 3rd year international student Kristal across a 7-hour time difference and halfway around the world. They talk about the upbeat, bouncy Bang, by AJR and why this song has been a go-to support for Kristal, not only through quarantine, but also through the transition to adulthood.

Stories from the Hart S2 Ep 01 - Our Pandemic Playlist: Kristal

Fourth year student Lisa talks about her passion for Afrobeats and how this music brings her SO MUCH JOY and keeps her dancing and moving through the good times and the tough times each day brings. Lisa talks with Claire about a fave song, Wait by DJ Neptune ft. Kizz Daniel.

Stories from the Hart S2 Ep 02 - Our Pandemic Playlist: Lisa

Claire sits down with special guest and sister, Katherine, to discuss "The Weight" by The Band. They end up discussing the dynamics of living with family during the pandemic.

Stories from the Hart S2 Ep 03 - Our Pandemic Playlist Katherine

Hart House podcasters Claire, Sheilah, and Saba discuss their Pandemic Playlist picks, and why music matters to them.

Stories from the Hart S2 Ep 04 - Our Pandemic Playlist: The Podcasters' Picks

As part of My Sneaker Story, we canvassed U of T students, staff, and community members across all three campuses to talk about their relationship to their sneakers.  From sporting engagements, to collector shoes, to a first pair, sneakers weave and connect us to an ongoing global story.  These personal reflections demonstrate that the sneaker will never be just another shoe but rather a piece of who we are.

Yuri Kang - My Sneaker Story

Tejbeer Singh  - My Sneaker Story

Martha Taylor - My Sneaker Story

Alicia Brown - My Sneaker Story

As part of My Sneaker Story, we canvassed U of T students, staff, and community members across all three campuses to talk about their relationship to their sneakers. From sporting engagements, to collector shoes, to a first pair, sneakers weave and connect us to an ongoing global story. These personal reflections demonstrate that the sneaker will never be just another shoe but rather a piece of who we are.

Dion Walcott - My Sneaker Story

This week on The West Meeting Room we discuss food and food systems. For a lot of us, our thoughts surrounding the food we eat don’t extend past our trip to the grocer, but it’s important to stop and think critically about our food. This week we talk to an Urban farmer, local to the city of Toronto, Cheyenne Sundance the founder of Sundance Harvest farm. Cheyenne shares details about the farm, thoughts on food sovereignty, and steps that we can all take to gain some control over our food. Whatever you take from this episode, we hope you enjoy some of the stories and insights shared throughout the interview. And as always, thanks for listening! To learn more about Sundance Harvest, or to find out how to get involved, please visit www.sundanceharvestfarm.com and follow along on Instagram @sundanceharvest

TWMR Ep 23 - Food and Farms: In Conversation w. Cheyenne Sundance

TWMR producer Mica hosts the show this week and shares part of her story in a piece produced by her friend and fellow student Kashi Syal. We open the show by listening to Kashi’s collection of audio stories of students’ individual relationships to space on campus. She gathered these narratives and weaved them together for the final project in her English course. Kashi then joins our team of producers to reflect on her piece, prompting a roundtable discussion about storytelling, origins, space and learning the history of the land we occupy.

TWMR Ep 24 Back Campus Was Once a Creek

Centennial Dialogue Series podcasts brings you a series of remarkable conversations convened as part of the celebration of Hart Houses’ 100th anniversary in 2019-20. The second in the series, Weaving Wisdom: Imagining the Future of Feminism, features a conversation among an intergenerational, intersectional group of emerging and established feminist thinkers and do-ers. Part 1 features the introduction to the event with Jenifer Newcombe, Ruvimbo Mutangadura and Linda Silver Dranoff.

Weaving Wisdom: Imagining the Future of Feminism Part 1

Centennial Dialogue Series podcasts brings you a series of remarkable conversations convened as part of the celebration of Hart Houses’ 100th anniversary in 2019-20. The second in the series, Weaving Wisdom: Imagining the Future of Feminism, features a conversation among an intergenerational, intersectional group of emerging and established feminist thinkers and do-ers. Part II features a conversation moderated  by the always compelling comedian and activist Candy Palmater and including: Judy Rebick, Yasmeen Persad, Karyn Recollet, Yamikani Msosa, Ceta Ramkhalawansingh and Arezoo Najibzadeh

Weaving Wisdom: Imagining the Future of Feminism Part 2

Editor and producer Sabrina sits down with Tony Luong to talk about pride, activism, and self-care. Join us as we work through showing up for a movement and as we acknowledge the power of saying ‘I don’t know’.
⠀
This conversation is sure to inspire as many new insights and perspectives for you as it prompted for Sabrina and Tony.

Find Tony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-luong-mph2019/

TWMR Ep 33 On Pride and Activism: A Conversation with Tony Luong

In this episode, University of Toronto student Saba Mirabolghasemi connects with Iranian-Canadian musician, composer, and sound designer Arif Mirbaghi. He walks us through his artist’s journey, and riffs on the magic of storytelling through sound, in a conversation filled with metaphors. 

Transcript for this episode available here:
https://thewestmeetingroom.tumblr.com/post/631530139719811072/the-west-meeting-room-shattering-silence-with

Featured music tracks: 
Entezar (Album: Gole Sorkh) - Arif Mirbaghi / releasing October 1
Little Did He Know (Album: Alangu) - Zuze/Arif Mirbaghi : https://zuze.bandcamp.com/album/alangu
​Gole Sorkh (Album: Gole Sorkh) - Arif Mirbaghi / releasing October 1st
Starry Night (unreleased track) - Zuze/Arif Mirbaghi, Local Dish 
Vineh Pervaneh (unreleased track) - Zuze/Arif Mirbaghi, Local Dish
Shahre Farang (Album: Durneshan) - Arif Mirbaghi / release date TBD

Connect with Arif: 
Instagram - @arif.mirbaghi 
https://www.instagram.com/arif.mirbaghi/
SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/arif_mirbaghi
Zuze on Bandcamp - https://zuze.bandcamp.com/
Zuze on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Wb83U4p7eQ7zaKovAW6cU?si=tl_3_yvuQjaITdCPNPxm3g
Zuze Redux on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/4fkWZAUvGwcBw4uSXGKX2x?si=2lC8gM1aTZyUdjymC7l9hA
Qame Feraq on Bandcamp - https://qameferaq.bandcamp.com/releases
Pointing at Canopus, composed for Constellations (2020): https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pointing-at-canopus/id1257519319?i=1000478646522

Connect with Hart House Stories: 
Instagram - @harthousestories
https://www.instagram.com/harthousestories/
Twitter -  @hhpodcasting

Connect with Saba: 
Instagram - @saba.mir
https://www.instagram.com/saba.mir/

TWMR Ep 36 Shattering Silence with Arif Mirbaghi

The Hip Hop Education Program at Hart House is heading into its second year and will be exploring the landscape of Canadian Hip Hop, both past and preset. This week in The West Meeting Room, co-hosts Jessica Rayne and Zoe Dille from the Hart House Programming team are are joined in conversation Adeyemi Adegbesan, AKA Yung Yemi, to discuss Afrofuturism, creative process, and the value of community and mentorship in the pursuit of artistic craft. Yemi is a Toronto-based photographic artist whose practice aims to examine the intersectionality of Black identity. He uses his art as a way of weaving together his connection with his community. Throughout the show, he brings us into his creative process where he remixes and samples history with reimaginings of the future. We are delighted to have Yung Yemi join us in conversation and take a closer look at his art and the work he's been doing with community. We are also excited to have him engaged in the Hart House Black Futures and Youth Access Programming. 

If you have not seen Yung Yemi’s work, be sure to follow him @yung.yemi on social media. Or visit his website yungyemi.com

The transcript of this interview can be found here:
https://thewestmeetingroom.tumblr.com/post/635809855861620736/the-west-meeting-room-ep-44-everyone-is-an-artist

TWMR  Ep 41 Everyone is an Artist - A Conversation with Adeyemi Adegbesan

Welcome to Living Well - In Conversation.

I’m Ezi and on In Conversation I’ll be joined by exciting panels of Indigenous, Black, and Racialized practitioners, researchers, and administrators who will give us their take on what it means to live and be well. Each episode will explore disruptive wellness related questions such as how can we be well in socially unwell worlds, who gets to be called an athlete, or what are the ways in which art and design contribute to the wellbeing of Racialized folks. Join me for this special programming brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House as we explore well being with our peoples in mind.

https://harthouse.ca/wellbeing

Music by: IG @razaqeltoro

Living Well - In Conversation - Teaser

Welcome to Living Well - In the House

I’m Ezi and on each episode of In The House I’ll be joined by a special guest from within this big ol’ house – The University of Toronto. Join me as Indigenous, Black, and Racialized alumni, staff, faculty, and students share their work and talk about how they’re contributing to the wellness space.  Interviews, stories, poems, excerpts from books; stay tuned for this special programming, brought to you by the Well Being Collective at Hart House.

https://harthouse.ca/wellbeing

Music by: Ezi Odozor

Living Well - In The House  - Teaser

In this Episode Dr. Jeffrey Ansloos, Suying Hugh, Dr. Josiah Osagie, and Melissa Fernandes help us explore the nuances of mental health and well being while honouring the contributions of Black, Indigenous, and Racialized people to the field and to the realization of well being more broadly.

Producers: Ezi Odozor & Rebekah Robinson

https://harthouse.ca/wellbeing

Living Well - In Conversation Ep 1: On My Mind

On this Episode I'm joined by Olivia Allen who is the Membership Services and Recreation Program Facilitator at Hart House . Olivia also studied Art Therapy. 

Olivia Allen is a program facilitator working in recreation and wellness. She aims to create impactful and engaging programming that reflects the diverse University community. Olivia has developed adaptive programming for both youth and adults to provide opportunities to engage and participate in physical activity. Olivia has a strong interest in supporting student well being through movement and the creative arts. Olivia has a degree in design from OCADU and has a strong love of art, design, writing and podcasts. She is always thinking about creative ways to deliver programming.


Art Therapy: 

Toronto Art Therapy Institute 
Canadian Art Therapy Association

Producers: Ezi Odozor and Rebekah Robinson

https://harthouse.ca/wellbeing

Living Well - In the House Ep 1: Picture This with Oliva Allen

In this conversation, we’ll explore what it means to live in be well as racialized people in the face of a socially unwell world. Exploring questions of Indigeneity, of Motherhood, and of colonial realities, Erica Violet Lee, Marycarmen Lara-Villaneuva, and Tony Luong share their thoughts and research with us as we go in search of radical possibilities to recover Lands and freedoms that have been stolen.

ERICA VIOLET LEE
Twitter and Instagram: @EricaVioletLee 

Erica Violet Lee is a Cree writer, scholar, and community organizer from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her academic and organizing work focuses on urban Indigenous feminist political theory, including the intersections of dis/ability, queerness, and embodied freedoms. She holds a BA from the University of Saskatchewan and an MEd from OISE at the University of Toronto.

TONY LUONG

Tony Luong is a Queer Asian Nonbinary artist and community storyweaver. Tony weaves stories together through performance art, podcasting, writing, and painting. As a recent graduate of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Tony has a strong interest in youth empowerment and prevention of sexual violence. Currently, Tony is the Anti-Trafficking Coordinator at the Canadian Council for Refugees, supporting community organizations and survivors of sexual violence to create positive changes that push our communities forward. Through working and creating art with the communities they are a part of and care deeply about, Tony is inspired by stories of love, liberation, connection, and healing

MARYCARMEN LARA-VILLANUEVA
Twitter: @Malas_Madres | IG: la_mala_madre_

Marycarmen Lara-Villanueva is a Mexican-born motherscholar and PhD student based in Toronto. Anchored in anti-colonial and anti-racist theories, her research explores anti-Black racism in Mexico and how this is produced and learned in elementary schools through visuals. Her previous work looked at the intersection of race and gender in education and white women teachers' complicity in reproducing racism in Canadian classrooms.  

Marycarmen is also an anti-racist educator and organizer with extensive experience doing anti-oppressive work with parents and caregivers. Her artistic work explores the complexities, nuances and injuries of motherhood and mothering and includes creative writing and visual art.  


RESOURCES
All books should also be available through your public library [We love libraries] Articles can be found online or linked below. 

·         Idil Abdillahi & Rinaldo Walcott : BlackLife https://arpbooks.org/Books/B/BlackLife

·         Eve Tuck: Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities http://pages.ucsd.edu/~rfrank/class_web/ES-114A/Week%204/TuckHEdR79-3.pdf

·         bell hooks:  all about love: new visions
https://www.adifferentbooklist.com/?q=h.title.links&parms%5Beisbn%5D=2QHtVTCGJR-y-vmDK_S93w

·         Sadiya Hartman : Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments
https://www.adifferentbooklist.com/?q=h.title.links&parms%5Beisbn%5D=dowrYwOeStTYLi6vJHmcPw

·         Audre Lorde: Poetry is not a luxury
https://makinglearning.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/poetry-is-not-a-luxury-audre-lorde.pdf

Living Well - In Conversation Ep 2: Stolen

I love a good story. To me there’s nothing quite like one. 
The weaving together of words and emotions to create pictures that run through our minds, but also that course through veins as we feel the excitements and tensions of our stories’ characters. On this episode of In the House, Jenny Blackbird shares part of her story. She’ll talk about what it was like for her as an Indigenous person going to school in Toronto and encountering the many institutions that have been used to marginalize Indigenous people throughout time. Jenny’s is one story amongst many and it is important for us to gather and listen to the one and to the many. So welcome to this gathering place, pull up a chair, pour yourself something warm and take a listen to Jenny’s story. 

JENNY BLACKBIRD
Twitter: @JennyBlackbird1
Jenny Blackbird (Nehiyaw-Finnish/Canadian) is the Outreach Communications and Programming Coordinator Ciimaan/Kahuwe'ya/Qajaq Indigenous Language Initiative at the Centre for Indigenous Studies at University of Toronto, also working with the Learning and Community team at Hart House. Jenny is an M.Ed. student, a multidisciplinary artist, hand drummer, singer, fashion designer, and jingle dress dancer. She also volunteers at Aboriginal Legal Services as a community council member and advisory committee member, as well as a community Auntie for the Giiwedin Anang program. Jenny is also a 2019 IDERD award recipient.
https://antiracism.utoronto.ca/programs/iderd/iderd-award-recipients-2019/

Living Well: In the House Ep 3 - Jenny's Story

On today’s episode, hosted by producer Rebekah (@bex2241), a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto pursuing a double major degree in History and Russian Language & Literature and a minor in Practical French, you will hear part of a conversation that she moderated, titled: Looking to the Future of LGBTQ Identities in Eastern Europe and the Slavic Diaspora, which took place on  Zoom on Monday, November 2nd, 2020, and it was organized by the Slavic Languages and Literatures Department here at the University of Toronto. She sits down with writer and poet Gala Mukomolova,  Dr. Mateusz Świetlicki, and Musician Damir Imamović to discuss the role of culture and activism in the community as they look toward the future. Rebekah would like to thank Professors Dragana Obradovic, Zdenko Mandušić, and Agnieszka Jezyk for putting together this conversation and the invitation to moderate. The bios for these accomplished speakers will be below:

Gala Mukomolova (@Galactic_Rabbit) is a Moscow-born, Brooklyn-raised poet and essayist. Her full-length poetry collection, Without Protection, is available through Coffee House Press. Her chapbook, One Above One Below: Positions & Lamentations, is available with YesYes Books. She is a recipient of the 2016 Discovery Prize from 92nd St Y & Boston Review and has held residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Pink Door, and ASYLUM Arts. Gala currently writes astrology articles for NYLON Magazine, co-hosts Big Dyke Energy Podcast, and is one of the creators of QueerHealers.com. She is a founder and part of The Cheburashka Collective (@the_cheburashki), a growing collective of women & nonbinary writers who are emigres/refugees/first-generation from the Soviet diaspora.

Damir Imamović (@damirimamovic) is a singer, musician, author, and sevdah master from Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. He comes from a family of sevdah musicians and represents a new generation of the traditional music of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2004 he worked with Farah Tahirbegović on a monograph of his grandfather and one of the most influential sevdah singers – Zaim Imamović. That book introduced him to the world of sevdah and the world of professional music. Soon he started developing his own repertoire while performing in Bosnia and abroad. Damir has a trio and a quartet that he performs with, as well as individual musicians. Damir is very active as a traditional music researcher and educator with his SevdahLab program. He curated a multimedia exhibition on sevdah music, «Sevdah, the art of freedom,» in Sarajevo in 2015. His book «Sevdah»  is the first history of the genre of sevdah (Vrijeme, 2016). 
Song mentioned by Damir:
https://open.spotify.com/track/6sLfXy2Bxsacg2boDxv7kq?si=ysccniofRqKuvfQJ58WyTQ

Dr. Mateusz Świetlicki (@drswietlicki) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wrocław (Institute of English Studies) and a founding member of the Centre for Research on Children’s and Young Adult Literature (Faculty of Letters, University of Wrocław). He was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago (2018). He has held multiple fellowships in Munich, Kyiv, and Harvard. Mateusz specializes in North American and Slavic studies, and his expertise is contemporary children’s and YA literature and culture, gender, and queer studies, as well as popular culture and film. Mateusz is the author of more than 50 scholarly publications in English, Polish, and Ukrainian. His work appeared in Children’s Literature in Education, International Research in Children’s Literature, and The Lion and the Unicorn. 
Book and article mentioned by Dr. Świetlicki:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25695258-kim-jest-limak-sam
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/arts/music/taco-hemingway-poland-rap.html

Transcript:
https://thewestmeetingroom.tumblr.com/post/639868214551232513/looking-to-the-future-of-lgbtq-identities-in

TWMR Ep 44 - Looking to the Future: LGTBQ Identities in Eastern Europe and the Slavic Diaspora

It’s a Hart House Hip Hop Education Takeover of The West Meeting Room! Hart House Hip Hop Ed works with campus partners and community Hip Hop practitioners to further values of representation, collaboration, and social justice, as we explore the key principles of Hip Hop and its importance in our everyday culture. Our first podcast led us to the homie, Colanthony Humphrey, aka Cola. H. Cola draws outside the lines and paints his own path in music and in business. The Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter enjoys the abnormal and adds his own color: to punk rock as the drummer of the OBGMs, touring exclusively as the drummer for Sonreal, and Hip Hop collaborations with Clairmont the Second and DijahSB. Our own Marco Adamovic sat down with Cola to talk about how he got into music, connections between Hip Hop and Punk, the Oooh Baby Gimme Mores (The OBGMS) in 2020, who he's become by the risks he has taken, some of the best and worst advice he's heard in the industry, and a whole lot more. We also put together a Cola H. playlist inspired by the tracks he dropped in our conversation, so make sure to go check that out on Spotify. We hope you dig our conversation with trailblazer, role redefiner and master collaborator, Cola H.

Cola H. Inspired Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2hEVUnOvvuRPTahp4chW3r?si=2430cfc50c294774
 
Check out Hart House Hip Hop Education online: www.harthouse.ca/series/hip-hop
 
Check out Cola H.: 
Instagram @dieforcola
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/4bUIemhzXV37xcUk9lGh5T
Online http://www.dieforcola.com/

The OBGMS: 
Instagram @theobgms
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Sp7HTc7BNbSx0SPiHVeRI
Online http://www.theogbms.com/

Clairmont the Second
Instagram @ctsecond
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/2FtWl97A21W2V0urMwaWn7
Online http://www.ctsecond.com/

TWMR Ep 48 - Time Is On The Line: A Conversation with Cola H.

A gathering of storytellers and audio producers in the Hart House Community. Thanks for listening!

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