A 10-panel comic explores a subtle kind of racism many people of color experience.

Alisha Huber curated a page on everyday racisms for the page Upworthy on Dec 18th, 2015.  Here's what she had to say:

"If we're being honest, we all make assumptions about other people, right?

We look at their skin, their clothes, and their car, and we make guesses about them that we don't even realize we're making. Everyone does it.

You ask a pregnant female coworker if she'll keep working after the baby is born — but you wouldn't think to ask that question of a guy who was about to become a dad.

You ask that nice girl behind the counter at the bagel shop whether she'll ever go to college so she can get a better job — only to learn that she's an underemployed Ph.D.

You ask a hipster-looking guy on the subway whether he's into artisanal pickles — but he just happens to be a bad dresser who has no idea what you're talking about.

The fact is, though, that people of color deal with other people's assumptions constantly.

Research shows that other people's expectations can have a profound effect on us. They can determine our success or failure. And black women deal with this nonsense more than others. In a recent study, nearly half of the female black and Latina scientists polled reported being mistaken for janitors or administrative staff."

Ottawa Citizen Review: A powerful memorial to missing and murdered aboriginal women

Yesterday, I visited Carleton University to see the Exhibit Walking with Our Sisters and it was a powerful experience.  I went with some students from the Urban Cohort and University of Ottawa and we passed through the space, viewing the vamps, pieces of unfinished mocassins.

The exhibit brought back for me the words of poet Chrystos, who said, "my purpose [in writing] is to make it as clear & as inescapably as possible, what the conditions of our lives are" (Not Vanishing, 1988).  The Ottawa Citizen featured a wonderful review of the exhibit including the pictures I've posted here.  

Margaret Atwood

I was invited to see Margaret Atwood at the Elmwood School's Centennial Celebration.  As always, she had some fabulous one-liners, one my favorite being "my dystopian novels are hideously teachable."

Traversing and inhabiting the boundaries of Urban Imaginaries

A working infographic for thinking about Urban Communities in Ottawa

Not far from Dismaland: The Later Lives of Disney Princesses Show That "Happily Ever After" Is a Lie

Dina Goldstein created a series of photographs imagining what happened to Disney princesses after their fairy tales ended. The futures she imagines for the women are grim.  To see her other work, click here.

Welcome to Dismaland!

How might we think through this anti-establishment dystopian theme park "not suitable for adults"? The 2.5 acre show features installations by 58 artists, including 10 works from Banksy himself who described the production as “a festival of art, amusements and entry-level anarchism.”  
The Economist and the amazing art and design website Colossal have pictures and articles about this installation.

What does a theme park like this do to your childhood memories about Disney?  What does it do to the corporatized ideal that has become Disney?