26 May The Soft Panel and Art Show
On Thursday, the Feminist Twins held an event that gave artists a platform to share their experiences and expertise at the allsaints Event Space in downtown Ottawa. The panellists included Frizz Kid, a Toronto-based illustrator and writer; Lucky Little Queer, an Ottawa-based nonbinary freelance artist; and Ambivalently Yours; an anonymous feminist artist. These three artists have been successful in many creative mediums from Frizz Kid’s to book titled It Begins With The Body to Lucky Little Queer’s online clothing store to Ambivalently Yours’ Rebelliously Tiny podcast.
The panel began with questions about their identities, artistic inspirations, activism and so on. The following are some of the many insightful answers.
When asked what the panellists do in terms of self-care there were three main tips:
- Make sure to take a break when you become overwhelmed
- Always prioritize your mental health
- Step away from social media
The panellists were also asked how they deal with followers messaging them about mental-health related problems and stories. The panellists all agreed that it can become overwhelming and triggering to respond but they all do their best and take their time when talking to followers.
“It’s important to place a barrier [between yourself and the messenger] and realize that people just want to be listened to. So just acknowledge and recognize that.” Lucky Little Queer added.
Lastly, they were asked to describe feminism and its significance in their own words and the responses varied. Frizz Kid began by saying; “Feminism inherently means freedom, to put it simply. It’s the whole idea that until everyone is liberated no one is liberated.”
When describing their personal relationship with feminism, Lucky Little Queer stated; “Feminism to me is the act of self-acceptance, but also self-growth. It’s willing to listen, learn and un-learn. You also have to be aware that you’re not always going to be the perfect ally and you’re going to make mistakes, but you to be a feminist means you have to be willing to grow from that.”
Ambivalently Yours continued to discuss the positive and negative aspects of modern-day feminism; “Feminism saved me, but I still feel very ambivalent about it. Feminism has become very trendy. Corporations that found my feminism ‘angry’ back then are now using feminism to market themselves.” They concluded by saying; “In my opinion, the only way to be a good feminist is to acknowledge all of the good and bad parts of feminism. Just like any other movement, it has its flaws.”
Apart from the wonderful panel, there were many vendors selling their artwork including; Claire Madeleine, Scatterbee, Stranger With No Face, Munea Wadud, Octopus Books, Astropuke, Canthius, and Ifs, Ands or Buttons as well as the panellists themselves. Needless to say, the Feminist Twins and their amazing team really outdid themselves with this spectacular event.
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