Sing For Your Supper
Have a story or anecdote on the theme of food, family and community? Pull up a chair, get ready to share and be nourished in return.
Diaspora Dialogues for Sing For Your Supper: A Feast of Stories and Community!
Step into a world where food and stories intertwine, a summer event set to enliven Toronto’s vibrant farmer’s markets. Trade your creative thoughts for a food voucher and a place at our table to mingle and experience the joy of community experience.
Let’s create memories, one bite and one story at a time:
- Verbally – get up and talk!
- In writing – pick up a pencil and fill out a cue card.
- Social media – @ddialogues
- Via this Google Form
A selection of submissions will be shared later in DD’s newsletter, website and over social.
Project artists include:
Davie Delisca | Writer, poet, actor and humorist.
Born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida residing in Scarborough. David Delisca is a writer, poet, actor and humorist. A versatile artist, he uses stories about the immigrant and diasporic experience, as well as other various human realities, to bridge realms of communication. His works and performances have been featured in Toronto Star, CBC, Netflix.
Charlie Petch | Poet, playwright, librettist and musician.
Charlie Petch (they/them, he/him) is a disabled/queer/transmasculine multidisciplinary artist who resides in Tkaronto/Toronto. A poet, playwright, librettist, musician, lighting designer, and host, Petch was the 2017 Poet of Honour for the speakNORTH national festival, winner of the Golden Beret lifetime achievement in spoken word with The League of Canadian Poets (2020), and founder of Hot Damn it’s a Queer Slam. Petch is a touring performer, as well as a mentor and workshop facilitator. Their debut poetry collection, Why I Was Late (Brick Books), won the 2022 ReLit Award, and was named “Best of 2021” by The Walrus. Their film with Opera QTO, Medusa’s Children, premièred 2022. They have been featured on the CBC’s Q, were the Writer In Residence for Berton House (2023), were long-listed for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2021. Their solo show “No one’s special at the hot dog cart” debuted at Theatre Passe Muraille and is traveling to Peterborough’s Market Hall with Theatre Passe Muraille.
Rasiqra Revulva | Writer, artist, hybrid/experimental editor.
Rasiqra Revulva is a disabled queer femme writer, multi-media artist, editor, musician, and performer; developer and co-editor of the Hybrid/Experimental Section at The Ex-Puritan Literary Magazine; and half of the experimental electronic duo The Databats (Slice Records). She has published three sold-out chapbooks of glitch-illustrated and/or augmented poetry: Cephalopography (words(on)pages, 2016), If You Forget the Whipped Cream, You’re No Good As A Woman (Gap Riot Press, 2018), and Sailor, C’est l’heure (The Blasted Tree, 2021). Cephalopography 2.0 (Wolsak & Wynn, 2020), is her award-nominated debut collection.
Martin Gomes | Afro/Latino musician & poet.
“Smooth (He/They/Martin) is an Afro/Latino musician & poet born & based in downtown Toronto. He currently works as a freelance artist with a myriad of different non-profit arts organizations as an artist facilitator giving youth a platform to speak for and express themselves through poetry, beatboxing, and storytelling. As a performer, he’s had the privilege of performing at TIFF, Scotiabank Arena, Wrigley Field, Nuit Blanche, and Dundas Square. His hope as an artist is to advocate for authenticity, empathy, and intention by example; to inspire people to be more intentional with themselves & the world around them.”
In these times of heightened isolation and disconnection, “Sing For Your Supper” aims to foster a sense of belonging and community. By sharing food and narratives, we can bridge gaps, build empathy, and rekindle the joy of communal experiences.
DD thanks Canada Council for their very generous support of Sing For Your Supper.
DD and The Carol Shields Prize Foundation announce a new fellowship
Diaspora Dialogues and the Carol Shields Prize Foundation are delighted to announce the inaugural Carol Shields Prize Foundation Fellowship at Diaspora Dialogues, a $20,000 opportunity for a woman or non-binary BIPOC writer who is a refugee or new immigrant to Canada. The inaugural Fellowship will be awarded over the period of September 2023 to May 2024.
This stipend is intended to provide the opportunity for a writer to create, as free as possible from financial constraints. As part of the Carol Shields Prize Foundation Fellowship at Diaspora Dialogues, and in alignment with Diaspora Dialogue’s role as a literary mentoring organization, Diaspora Dialogues and the Carol Shields Prize Foundation will provide the fellowship recipient with the support of a mentor to provide structured feedback.
Additionally, the fellowship recipient will have access to all of Diaspora Dialogues’ traditional suite of professional development training and networking events as well as chances to connect with fellow writers through Diaspora Dialogues’ social networks of alumni and mentors.
The Carol Shields Prize Foundation and Diaspora Dialogues are deeply grateful to the M.A. Faris Foundation for supporting this fellowship.
Please see our Mentorship page for further information on applying to this opportunity.
Blind/low vision mentoring program
Thanks to funding from the Toronto Arts Council through Open Door we hired a Blind/low-vision consultant in 2022, Vivian Chong, to create training that would expand our staff abilities to reach out to this community, and to help us with starting a Blind/low vision short-form mentorship program, which we are committed to continuing. This video was part of this training, and we make it available here for other organizations to learn from.
At the end of the first iteration of the program we held a private online literary salon with the writers. Part of the event was a recorded performance of an original song by Lucas Haneman, which we are also posting here to give you a flavour of that memorable occasion. Each participant’s story was read by a member of DD staff, and it was a moving experience for all of us. Please enjoy Lucas’ performance of his original song Snapshot as a memento of that evening!
Job Opportunity: Loans and Grants Administrative Assistant (Position Filled)
Position: Loans and Grants Administrative Assistant
Work term: May 9, 2022 to July 17, 2022 (six weeks)
Compensation: $16.00 per hour, 30 hours per week
Location: Toronto/online
JOB OPPORTUNITY
We are looking for a qualified go getter to work remotely with our small non-profit team. This position is funded by the Canada Summer Jobs program.
Responsibilities:
– under supervision of Manager of Business Operations research and create a calendar of deadlines for all applicable government granting agencies and the relevant programs to Diaspora Dialogues for application for funding, that can be updated from funding year to funding year
– under the guidance of Manager of Business Operations and President, research public and private foundations that have grants that are applicable to apply for and add them to the funding calendar as well, including hyperlinks for websites and relevant application information
– assess current pitches for funding and identify changes to be made to match up with potential funder guidelines with mentoring by board Director and President in charge of fundraising
– assess our online email database and update with necessary information, new clients, and remove and clean up duplications etc. under supervision of Marketing and Communications Coordinator
– organize database for ease of fundraising emails and create templates for major email campaigns in the spring, early fall, and end of year
– aid in updating our TOK Magazine and Diaspora Dialogues websites with content.
Experience/requirements for the job:
Candidates must be able to provide their own computer and internet access, as well as facility for Zoom calls.
Candidates must be 30 or younger( as per the Canada Summer Jobs program requirements), and have some experience working in small teams in an office setting (remote or in person). Experience in writing and communication required, and past fundraising an asset. Knowledge of WordPress or similar website experience is also desirable. Post secondary degree or degree in progress preferred, but not necessary.
Please apply directly to Christian Sharpe, Manager of Business Operations, by email at christian@diasporadialogues.com
Application deadline: Thursday May 5, 12 PM
DD-TD Black Playwrights Mentoring Program presents: Definition. February 2nd, 7:30 PM online presentation
Definition, a play by Luke Reece, presented by Soulpepper Theatre
About the Playwright:
In a failed attempt to escape Presto Luke left his hometown of Mississauga under the guise of becoming a Toronto-based artist. He strives to share authentic and engaging stories with audiences through his work as an award-winning producer, playwright, poet and educator. Luke is the Associate Artistic Director at Soulpepper Theatre, one of Canada’s leading non-profit theatre companies. Through Luke’s work as an artistic leader within the national arts community, he advocates for engaging and nuanced storytelling that challenges Canadian audiences. In 2021 Luke was included in York University’s inaugural Top 30 Changemakers Under 30 list.