All posts tagged: SAVAC

Desh Pardesh: Historicizing a new brown, queer artist scene in Toronto

May 12, 2017
by Elspeth Brown
Desh Pardesh Project

“Not a Place on the Map” is an oral history project initiated by the South Asian Visual Arts Center (SAVAC), concerning Desh Pardesh, the queer South Asian arts festival in the 90’s which ran roughly from 1988 to 2001. Interviews show that Desh provided a sense of community and gave a platform for marginalized artists. The Collaboratory, SAVAC, the CLGA, and the Jackman Scholars in Residence are working to exhibit these interviews in a digital […]

Desh Dies? Sifting through emotions in the Desh Pardesh collection

May 12, 2017
by Elspeth Brown
Desh Pardesh Project / Public Humanities

Over the past couple weeks, my research partner, Alisha, and I have been working through a number of interviews conducted in 2014-2015 with various participants of the Desh Pardesh festival. We’ve been weaving through text-heavy transcripts, and even transcribing a few audio interviews, but in the past couple of days we’ve been finally able to come in contact with the real archives. Seeing material outside of reflection or storytelling is a completely different experience. The […]