If you find yourself in Toronto’s East end this Pride season, drop by Gallery 1265 at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) to experience The Pussy Palace: An Instagram Story. Commissioned by UTSC’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office and the Positive Space Committee, this interactive, self-led exhibit blends digital art, narrative text, and interview soundbites from the Collaboratory’s Pussy Palace Oral History Project, immersing patrons in an “average night” at the Palace.
The Pussy Palace was a series of bathhouse events for queer women and trans people in Toronto (c. 1998-2014). In September 2000, the Palace made headlines when it was infamously raided by Toronto police. From February to August of 2021, the Collaboratory collected 36 interviews with Palace patrons, organizers, and allies. Interviews address not only the raid but also radical sex/gender cultures in 2000s Toronto.
To connect broader publics with this rich archive of oral testimony, we experimented with digital research creation in the form of digital paintings, audio portraits, and video shorts. This exhibit remixes a handful of creative projects to offer a meaningful way for folks to engage with the history of the Pussy Palace and excerpts from the 45+ hours of interview footage that we collected.
Admission is free and all are welcome!
To fully engage with all aspects of the exhibit, be sure to bring a charged up mobile device and headphones for a richer, more intimate experience.
WHEN: Jun 12-Jul 5, 2023 | MON-FRI, 9am-7pm
WHERE: Gallery 1265, Science Wing, UTSC (located next to Starbucks in The Meeting Place)
For more information, visit the EDIO’s event page.