Women in Action
Women in Action//Projects is a multi-faceted feminist arts-informed research and practice program conceived Sept. 2005 at the Centre for Women’s Studies in Education (CWSE) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto. In January 2008, the program established itself independently of, but still associated with and housed at, the CWSE/OISE and in May 2008 formed as a collective. We continue to provide women-centred, praxis-focussed classes, workshops, exhibitions, research support, courses and outreach to women, men and trans people working in the arts, education, and in community and social services.
Our work, informed by feminism, aims to provide spaces for a variety of practices such as: “queering” women and the category of woman (exhibit for XPACE, Toronto: gender/Troubling), addressing violence and prejudice against the women’s, queer and trans communities (Heather Hicks’ exhibition and artist talk: I am a girl....), exploring controversial areas of, and practices in, research and art making (The Performing Ethnographers seminar on HIV/aids initiatives for youth), exploring cultural issues (Vicky Moufawad-Paul’s exhibit and publication, Narrating an Anti-Colonial Feminism), providing support for community-based research projects (exhibit and publication of Nancy Halifax’s work by/with Toronto homeless, A` Day in the Life: URGENT ), offering workshops and seminars of interest to our communities (Beryl Tsang’s tit knitting diy workshop: Titbits & Pamela Sayne’s seminar: Opening Occupational Doors: Excuse Me I Did Not Know This Was The Men's Room). And publishing research by women (“Walking the Table”: Dramatic Teaching (co-published by York University)).
Women in Action is composed of Pam Patterson PhD, Director, and the Collective: Leena Raudvee, Mary Wright, Vicky Moufawad-Paul, Sky Curtis, Maggie Flynn, Nancy Halifax, and Becky Ip.
To contact the WIA, call 416-487-5673, or write to:
ppatterson@oise.utoronto.ca
264 Bloor Street West
PO Box 22580
Toronto, ON
M5S 1V8
416-487-5673
Upcoming WIA Events (also listed on our main Events page)
Past WIA Events, Programs, and Publications
2005-06 Season (All Programming at the CWSE/OISE/UT)
September 2005
Public Lecture by Pam Patterson: Embodying Breast Cancer: Creative Practices for Research and Learning
October 2005 Seminar with Carol Williams: Wounded Goddess: The Goddess Tradition and the Healing of Women
October 2005 Course: Cancer: Creative Strategies for Resistance
November 2005 Performed Ethnographers, GAAP, Performing HIV/Aids Prevention for Youth
November 2005 Publication: The Snapshot Chronicles by Erika de Freitas, (catalogue), co-published with ARTIFACTS
November-December 2005 Exhibition with Erika de Freitas, The Snapshot Chronicles
January 2006 Publication: In/Valid by Pam Patterson & Leena Raudvee, (catalogue), co-published with ARTIFACTS
January-February 2006 Exhibition:Artifacts - Leena Raudvee & Pam Patterson In/Valid
February 2006 Seminar with Nancy Davis Halifax: Poetics, Poesis, Aesthetics and the Arts
February 2006 Course: Performance in Action
March 2006 Gay Allison: Poetry reading event for International Women’s Day
March 2006 Course: Visual Strategies for Action with instructor Pam Patterson
2006-07 Season (Programming at the CWSE/OISE/UT & York University)
March 2006 Lecture: Spy Dénommé-Welch & Maureen Muwanga Senoga: Transgressive Pedagogies: Performing Culture and Identity (co-sponsored by Graduate Education, York University). Hosted at York University.
October 2006 Seminar with Pamela Sayne: Opening Occupational Doors: Excuse Me I Did Not Know This Was The Men's Room, hosted at CWSE
November 2006 Seminar with Heather Hicks: Sexual Abuse/The Violence of Gender Norms, hosted at CWSE
January/February 2007 Exhibition with Nancy Halifax Street Health Project, A Day in Life: URGENT
February 2007 Seminar with Farah N. Mawani: Depression Among Immigrant and Refugee Women, hosted at CWSE
February 2007 Course: Performance Art Strategies for Interdisciplinary Practice with instructor Pam Patterson
March 2007 Seminar with Ayanna Black: International Women’s Day Poetry Reading, hosted at CWSE
March 2007 John Greyson & Vicky Moufawad-Paul: Video: Visual Culture and Gender
(co-sponsored by The Gender and Culture Collective & Graduate Department, Education, York University
March 2007 Course: Extending the Visual: Strategies in/for Relational & Aesthetic Research with instructor Nancy Halifax
April 2007 Workshop at CWSE: Bushra Afgani: Creating Peace
May 2007 Jessica Glanfield: "that_INDESCRIBABLE_life": An Arts-informed Research in/as Drama (co-sponsored by York University, Graduate Department, Education). Hosted at York University
May 2007 Workshop at the CWSE: Pam Patterson: Buttonmaking
October 2007 Course: Drawing (with) the Subject
November 2007 Exhibition with Heather Hicks, You Are A Girl
November 2007 Publication: You Are A Girl by Heather Hicks, (catalogue), co-published with Words/fly Press.
November/December 2007 Course: Speaking/Writing in Narrative
Workshops:
At CWSE/OISE:
Margo Charlton Theatrical Approaches to Group Animation and Analysis.
Beryl Tsang Tit-Bits: Knitting & Breasts
Pam Patterson, Janet Howse Open Your Kit Bag! An Exchange of Creative Strategies in Community-Based Facilitation.
At York University:
June Margo Charlton, Drama Activities to Animate Groups and Analyze Issues (co-sponsored by Graduate Department, Education, York University).
Publications:
Feb Street Health Project, A Day in Life: URGENT by Nancy Halifax, (catalogue), co-published with the Centre for Arts-Informed Research, OISE/UT.
2007-08 Women in Action/projects
(Programming at various sites)
Public Lectures/Panels:
Nov. Maureen Senoga, Pam Patterson & Spy Dénommé-Welch Performing Transgressive Pedagogy, Universities Art Association of Canada.
April Pam Patterson Body as (ready to be re-)made: The Body grotesque as transgressive site/sight? Community Health, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Exhibitions:
Oct/Nov Vicky Moufawad-Paul Narrating a Post-colonial Feminism, CWSE/OISE/UT.
June Pam Patterson Travelling Fleichman Gallery & on-line Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto.
Performances:
Dec. Pam Patterson, Emily Speaks: Arts in Action, University of Waterloo, co-sponsored by Women’s Studies, University of Waterloo.
March Pam Patterson Travelling “body” Worlds, London, UK.
Publications:
May “Walking the Table”: Dramatic Teaching by S. Colucci et al., (ed.) Pam Patterson (monograph) Co-published with Graduate Department, Education, York University.
Storm (2) by Leena Raudvee (catalogue). For exhibit with Fleishman Gallery, Toronto.
June Travelling by Pam Patterson (catalogue). For exhibit with Fleishman Gallery, Toronto.
Narrating a Post-colonial feminism by Vicky Moufawad-Paul (catalogue - co-published with CWSE/OISE/UT - pending).
2008-09 Women in Action/projects
(Programming at various sites)
Special Events:
Dec. A Celebration of Ayanna Black’s life and work with reading from the author.
Workshops:
October 2008 Mary Wright, Centre for Women’s Studies in Education, OISE, UT. (Workshop & seminar) Searching for Me asks: "What is colonization? How does one experience it, get past it, and take control of one's own life? The workshops asks participants to explore intersecting violence and race as a personal narrative.
Seminars, Lectures:
Dec. 2008 Jo SiMalaya Alcampo, Brown Bag Lecture: What Happens When A Community Worker Goes to Art School.
Feb. 2009 Leaky Categories: Creative Research in Walking the Table: Dramatic Teaching & gender/Troubling Pam Patterson lunch time open seminar/discussion on research, CWSE, OISE/UT.
Slip-slide & play by Pam Patterson, a response to Davis Serlin for OCAD: Disability, Conformity and Normalcy
Screenings:
Oct. 2008 Video screenings and discussion of Sexxy , Want by Loree Erickson & The Making of a Hybrid Male, Contact/Border: A Brief Lesson in History, Naming/Claiming: A Brief Journey Through Memory Space by Spy Dénommé-Welch both PhD candidates at York University. CWSE, OISE/UT.
Exhibitions/Performance:
Nov. 2008 gender/Troubling Curated by Pam Patterson (with Leena Raudvee and Serena Lee) with work by students at Ontario College of Art and Design (Jo SiMalaya Alcampo, Alex Hazisavvas, Frances Mahon), with a performance by Claudia Wittmann, and work by Shiftchange (presented by AGO Youth Council) at XPACE Cultural Centre, Toronto. (Includes and screenings of Sexxy , Want by Loree Erickson & The Making of a Hybrid Male, Contact/Border: A Brief Lesson in History, Naming/Claiming: A Brief Journey Through Memory Space by Spy Dénommé-Welch) and panel discussion.
March 2009 Headaches 2 ARTIFACTS exhibition by ARTIFACTS and opening night performance at CWSE, OISE/UT. Screening of Woman Abuse Affects Our Children with Paula Bourne & presentation of Moving Research About Addressing the Impact of Violence on Learning into Practice with Sheila Stewart & also with Lorena Gajardo & Margaly San Martin. Artszone University of Toronto event.
May 2009 Celebrating Elders, body casts/narratives of/by women over 55, by Peta Hall.