Supporting small local businesses!

As a small business owner myself I try my best to secure materials for my workshops (and merchandise) from small local businesses whenever possible!

I have a soft spot for Bistitchual a queer yarn store :) In which I have spent approximately $1,065 CAD over the past while (on workshops alone!)(YAY!)

Sin Verguenza is a wonderful queer tufting studio (and former craft cafe) which I absolutely adore as well!! Please give them a look over <3 It is also the studio I took participants of Infinite Skies to for a field trip to learn another form of rug making!

Supporting multi-marginalized folks!

With the program Infinite Skies, I was over the moon to be able to provide $500 CAD honorariums to participants in order to support their day to day expenses so they can participate in workshops with less worries! Participants were encouraged to use this honorarium on things such as: mobility devices; rent; food; little treats for themselves <3

In Infinite Skies I was also able to pay multi-marginalized guest speakers above CARFAC fees ($400 CAD) to inspire and craft with the group! (Along with providing TTC funds and materials for the guest speakers of course!)

Admin & Logistics

I am known for being meticulous and detail oriented in workshop programming! If you're curious, take a look at Infinite Skies General Information Document outlining everything from general accessibility; to general questions (and answers); to who the facilitators are; to the location's accessibility info; to even transparency on the budget itself!

Accessibility

As a disabled person I throughly enjoy creating accessible workshops, mainly because I love knowing that my participants (who are often disabled too!) have not only their needs accounted for, but everything they could ever want to ensure their comfort and well-being during workshop sessions! Striving for a disability-justice approach and making sure access is priority and accounted for even before participants need to request them is something that makes participants emotional and cared for!

Access needs I have provided in previous workshops

• Expressive Arts Therapist, as a fellow facilitator for emotional regulation and general care!

• Social Worker, again to help assist and care for participants!

• Height adjustable tables

• Free materials

• TTC fares provided (and on occasion, paid drives there/back!)

• Comfortable office chairs

• Trigger warning systems (which utilize and take advantage of the amazing things we can do in online spaces like Zoom!)

• Stim toys

• Drop-in, at-your-own-pace workshop styles

• No music, for those with sensory overload

• And LOTS more :) !!!

My Monsters Hold Me Soft

Creator and head facilitator of My Monsters Hold Me Soft, a 10 session healing from trauma through comics-making workshop for 10 queer disabled young adults, hosted by Story Planet. 

Running a total of 3 iterations so far from 2021-2025!!! C":

With much success fostering not only a sense of community, but long lasting friendships, many participants from the 2021 workshop tell me that to this day they're still good friends! I've even had the blessing of meeting with a majority of the participants in-person (even those who live across North America!) and some participants have gone onto career changes and creating community arts workshop programming of their own, inspired by My Monsters!

Funded by The Charles H. Ivey Foundation (thank you!)

Selected testimonies!

All testimonies have been taken from one of the participant's podcast, The Inspiration Board! In which a few of us (participants and facilitators alike) were invited to speak on our experience in the workshop itself! :)

“Yeah this for me like I said before, was the first time I’ve ever been in a space like this and it was totally what I was craving, what I was looking for, and I don’t think it’s anywhere else. Maybe in friend groups amongst friends in closed situations this kind of energy would happen somewhere else, but I’m not aware of anyone else even attempting to do anything like this. Making people who are usually the odds and ends, the middle and the centre, and that’s really cool. That’s all I really have to say about it, even if more people were doing it, it’d never be enough and this is so unique and really powerful, and I know that I speak for everyone when I say it was a really important experience that I had. It was mad important. 10/10 important to hold spaces like this.”

“It really is such a wonderful feeling, especially because I felt I had the privilege to join this group. Where I’m from I could never have a space like this, I just know for a fact that it isn’t available, especially as somebody’s who’s disabled I feel like the spaces that are held by abled bodied people, they’re always with some sort of guilt. I always feel like having a space run by abled bodied people who don’t necessarily understand the struggles that we may go through, always do it in a way that’s like, “Oh you poor soul” or something like that and I never felt they truly wanted to understand, but wanted to make these spaces to feel good about themselves. But having a space like this where everybody kind of understands each other and what it’s like to live in a world like this, it’s just so wonderful not having to constantly explain yourself to others. And I think this is such a wonderful group and I’m so so thankful I was able to join this.”

My Body, My Story

Co-lead and facilitator for My Body, My Story, a 6 session creative arts program for 10 disabled youth, hosted by Sick Stories 

Ran for 2 iterations from 2023-2025 and funded by ArtReach and Toronto Arts Council (thank you!)

The workshop resulted in a collaborative zine which we created a zine launch for!

Making Comics

The QuArtz Cluster approached me about making a one-off comics workshop for queer trans Asian artists and I obviously said yes and had a blast running it! :o) What a joy!!