RA: X Absence|Presence

Absence|Presence is a series of panel conversations, screenings, and workshops reintroducing Desh Pardesh to Reel Asian’s audiences and community. Desh Pardesh was a multidisciplinary arts and culture festival that engaged with the political issues of South Asia and its diasporas through a multi-day festival and conference, taking place in Toronto every year from the late 1980s until 2001. The festival programmed works and conversations about feminism, class, sexuality, access, disability, race, caste, imperialism, and capitalism, centring the voices and experiences of underrepresented and marginalized voices within the South Asian diaspora. Absence|Presence seeks to honour and remember the histories of radical arts and culture spaces like Desh that paved the way for numerous queer diasporic art collectives and programs in the city, including the South Asian Visual Arts Centre (SAVAC). From 2013 to 2017, SAVAC worked on an oral-history project aimed at collecting the stories of the organizers, artists, participants, and community activists behind the festival. 

Absence|Presence Arts Workshop - Meme-making as political action

Artist: Saba Akhtar 

The tools used to create independent and shareable content have drastically changed over the last two decades, influencing the immediacy and frequency of the reaction to our political climate. Participants will be encouraged to find their comedic voice in political commentary by using found resources such as magazines, newspapers, and photographs to create their own memes based on original or viral concepts.