Co-creating a “usable past” for LGBTQ+ people in the present.
Pussy Palace
Video Shorts
Mid-way through the interview collection phase, we began experimenting with various forms of digital media creation in order to address the challenges of making these lengthy, video oral histories accessible for broader publics. One form of digital media we’ve experimented with is both live action and animated video shorts that showcase highlights from over 45 hours of Zoom interview footage.
In the context of oral history, a multimodal form of primary-source research that yields — in our case — visual, aural, and written texts in collaboration with non-academic community partners and narrators, why not make the most of these rich sources and develop visually compelling creative works that elevate the Zoom interview footage? Our hope is that this strategy might succeed more in engaging the interested public.
RAID ON THE PALACE
On September 15, 2000, around 12:45 a.m., 5 male police officers raided the Pussy Palace — a series of exclusive bathhouse events for 350 queer women and trans people in Toronto. In this animated, video short, narrators walk us through their memories of the police invasion, the legal aftermath, the community’s response, and the transformative impact of this collective wound.
NOTE: Featured illustrations combine artistic renderings of narrators, referenced from their Zoom interview footage, and imagined images inspired by interview soundbites.
CREDITS
Produced by Elspeth Brown; illustrated, animated, & edited by Ayo Tsalithaba; concept, storyboard, & artistic direction by Alisha Stranges
CARE AT THE PALACE
The police raid on the September 14, 2000 Palace event, “Night of 2000 Pussies,” marks the last major police raid on a queer bathhouse in Canadian history. In our interviews, we asked narrators about their memories of the police invasion. For many, experiences of care predominate.
NOTE: Featured illustrations combine artistic renderings of narrators, referenced from their Zoom interview footage, and imagined images inspired by interview soundbites.
CREDITS
Conceived & produced by Elspeth Brown; illustrated, animated, & edited by Ayo Tsalithaba; storyboard & artistic direction by Alisha Stranges
SENSORY PORTRAITS
In our interviews with patrons and organizers of the Pussy Palace, we asked narrators to recall their sense memories of the physical space. Combining digital illustrations, simple animation, and sound cues, the Pussy Palace Sensory Portraits re-imagine narrator accounts of the bathhouse through the five senses.
ROBIN WOODWARD
Robin Woodward remembers how the Palace felt: the colours, the textures, the sounds. These are the memories that have endured — sediments of youth in “a really, really deep dark pink.”
KAREN B. K. CHAN
Karen B. K. Chan remembers ice in their glass, people in differing states of undress, and “the pool, lit from below…a deep turquoise.”
NOTE: Featured illustrations are artistic renderings of the Palace, based on narrators’ verbal descriptions and present-day reference images of the physical space. Images may not be historically accurate.
CREDITS
Produced by Elspeth Brown; illustrated, animated, & edited by Ayo Tsalithaba; concept, storyboard, & artistic direction by Alisha Stranges
REMEMBERING IN COLOUR
This addition to the sensory portrait series was commissioned by the Blackwood Gallery at the University of Toronto Mississauga for CONFIDING (issue #15 of the SDUK Broadsheet), featuring a reflective essay by Elspeth Brown and Alisha Stranges on the experience of investigating narrator sense memories of attending the Palace events. Read the full essay online here.
18 narrators remember the bathhouse through colour.
CREDITS
Produced by Elspeth Brown; conceived and edited by Alisha Stranges; illustration of the Palace by Ayo Tsalithaba
HERITAGE PUSSY
In January 2022, the Victoria Pride Society Youth Leadership Council (VPS YLC) invited the Collaboratory to produce a video short about the history of the Pussy Palace as part of an educational video series they are developing on the history of LGBTQ2+ communities in Canada. Once compiled, the collection will be posted on their social media platforms and will serve as educational resources for elementary-school youth in Victoria.
Below are the fruits and foibles of our collective labour on this project.
HERITAGE PUSSY
Based on the popular Heritage Minutes of yester-year, “Heritage Pussy” briefly explores the events, implications, and significance of the Pussy Palace, offering an oral history-informed look into one of Canadian queer history’s most storied case studies.
THE BLOOPER REEL
A behind-the-scenes look at making “Heritage Pussy.”
CREDITS
Produced by Elspeth Brown; written, captured, & performed by Elio Colavito; edited by Alisha Stranges; dramaturgy by Aisling Murphy
EARLY EXPERIMENTS
Below are two early experiments in digital research creation, inspired by interview tidbits that captivated our attention during the early stages of the interviewing phase.
THE CARPET
Did you know that the Club Toronto bathhouse, former site of the Pussy Palace events, had carpeted floors? Listen to what a few patrons of the Pussy Palace have to say about the now infamous carpet!
NANCY’S OUTFIT
Did you know that latex dresses were perfect for a night at The Pussy Palace? Listen to Nancy Irwin (aka “Naughty Nancy”) describe her ideal bathhouse attire.
CREDITS
Produced by Elspeth Brown; co-conceived & edited by Alisha Stranges and Elio Colavito