Guest Contributor
Uravu – Three International Artists examine being Transgender and belonging within Tamil worlds using Bharatanatyam, contemporary dance, spoken word and stand-up comedy.
Queer artists, D’Lo, Mesma and Sandra will perform individual pieces; these works will be thematically in conversation with each other and yet present three unique perspectives dealing with similar themes of personal journeys, experiences, and encounters of Queer Tamil- South Asian artists in a hetronormative Euro- American context negotiating many identities of gender, sexuality and ethnicity.
Topics of Transgender, gender performance and sexuality are seldom discussed in the Tamil public arena. Even though there have been performances dealing with homosexuality within the Toronto Tamil diaspora, there yet has to be a cohesive analysis of gender articulated through mediums of theatre and dance in Toronto.
In addition, within the Toronto Queer community artistic projects such as this one, analyzing intersections of gender, ethnicity, race and class are hardly staged.
This is an important project because it strives to bridge the Tamil and Queer communities in questioning the existing normative and in turn validates lived experiences of many.
The Tamil Studies Conference ( TSC ) is the largest international forum that brings together scholars, artists and activists. Artists being practitioners, are at the forefront of cultural production, these artistic manifestations challenge and push the boundaries of the status quo. TSC offers the opportunity for much needed dialogue between the artistic, academic and the wider communities, because of this it is important that these artistic articulations be seen during the Tamil Studies Conference in May 17 & 18, 2014.
When: May 17, Saturday at 8 pm.
May 18, Sunday at 4 pm.
Where: New College auditorium
