English & French bilingual performance | Performance bilingue anglais-français
ASL interpretation will be available
“Bread and Roses: Can you see us?” is an original performance created by visual artist and labour organizer Tricia Robinson Illustration (she/her) and poet and social justice activist Laura Doyle Péan (they/them). This collaborative performance tackles topics of invisibilized labour, union work, collective liberation and the importance of solidarity in the face of intersecting social crises. Building on their decade of community organizing experience within the labour, racial, social and climate justice movements, the two tiohtià:ke/mooniyang (Montréal) based artists attempt to shine light on forms of labour that are too often hidden and devalued.
Live on stage, Tricia will create original visual artwork in several mediums as Laura Doyle Péan recites some of their moving poetry with themes of domestic and care labour, activism, unions, and freedom. The conception of Tricia’s art pieces will be projected onto a screen, allowing the audience to witness her creation process live and close up. The projection of her work will serve to honour the labour and care that goes into creating illustrations, embroideries and linocuts, hence putting emphasis on our understanding of art as labour, as well as pridefully using mediums that have such a rich history within liberation and activist movements. Unapologetically feminist and pro-worker, Tricia and Laura, with care and devotion, are using this performance as a way to open conversations about the labour movement and unionism as a whole, and the importance of recognizing forms of labour that have historically been undervalued, criminalized, and disregarded.
Bios:
Tricia
Tricia Robinson is an illustrator, photographer and labour organizer located in Montréal, Canada. She has been working creatively in whatever she can get her hands on since the early 2000s and has been a freelancer since 2013. Initially shying away from having personal politics and social issues merging with her work, these themes are now what completely encompass her creative work. Her work often adds elements of humour and hope to important topics like workers’ rights, labour activism, the perils of capitalism on our well-being, and the importance, value, and future liberation of the working class. She is a music college drop out with self taught skills and a very strong determination to be her own boss. She also absorbed skills and experience from the abundance of love, support, and skill sharing from her community. Her illustration career coincides with her work within labour unions in Canada, and her drive and desire to educate and authentically empower workers to collectively fight for their rights. She is part of the founding of Syndicat General in Montreal, a new trade labour union that helps workers organize and build combative and durable unions, whether their workplace has 2-2000 employees.
Instagram: @triciarobinsonillustration
Facebook: www.facebook.com/triciarobinsonillustration
Website: www.triciamakes.com
Laura:
Laura Doyle Péan (they/them) is a 24-year-old queer Haitian-Quebecois multidisciplinaryartist, poet and activist whose practice focuses on the role of art in social movements. Laura published their first book, Cœur Yoyo, in 2020. The English translation of their book, Yo-yo Heart, came out in 2021 with the 87 press. Laura holds a column in the literary magazine Lettres Québécoises, and has published poems and short stories in many others. They are also a member of the editorial committee of the literary magazine Moebius, and have sat on many literary prize juries, including, most recently the jury for Radio-Canada’s poetry prize. Born in Nionwentsïo (Quebec city), where they first got involved in intersectional feminist, LGBTQIA2S+, migrant justice and racial justice organizing, they moved to Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang (Montreal) in 2019, to attend university. There, they joined the fossil fuel divestment movement, and made their first steps in union organizing to fight for a better collective agreement for their coworkers and themselves. These experiences led them to gain a renewed understanding of the inextricability of the struggles for workers’ rights and the struggles for climate justice.
Instagram: @esmeralda_dpxx
Credit for the photo of Laura: Amélie Marcil – https://www.facebook.com/ameliemarcilgraphiste
