By Laine Halpern Zisman
The In Our Day Community Gathering on December 4, 2022 at the Cultch Theatre is an opportunity to remember, to bear witness, and to share. It is a chance for people to come together as community, filling the rooms with narratives that refuse to be silenced and that demand documentation. We mark the absence of loved ones whose bodies can no longer fill these spaces, but whose memories continue to breathe life into those who are still here. We feel their absence, as we feel their presence in each deep inhale and soft exhale. Each time we share their names, their journeys, and what they left behind, we remember them and continue their legacies in tandem with our own. The stories we hear and the stories we share today and through this theatre production are modes of healing and resistance. Testimony is not simply about archive. These stories give voice to the voiceless, transforming the past and shaping our futures. The history and present of HIV and AIDS is felt across generations, across cultures, across, peoples and geographies. At once shared and disparate, layered and intersecting, we learn to listen to difference through injustice and oppression. These are the stories are the product of power, abuse, erasures, oppressions, and instability.
These are the stories of surviving, of caring for each other, of death and dying. Each testimony gives name to the histories and present of intersecting genocides, exclusion, pandemics, epidemics, illness, love, joy, celebrations, chosen and bio families. These are the revolutions in the streets, the living room protests, the last dances, the back allies and mainstages of grief, loss, and creation. This production, research, and gathering is an invitation for you to join this conversation: to learn, to listen, to share, and remember. This community gathering is the product of years of research, artistic creation, community engagement, committee meetings, collaborations, and discussions. It is a reality only because of the incredibly devoted activists, community members, artists and organizers.
This event is currently SOLD OUT. Please join the waitlist and we will get back to you if tickets become available.
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