Art of Solidarity

DisOrientation Week is an annual alternative orientation week hosted by Opirg Toronto in conjunction and collaboration with other campus groups and collectives. This years DisOrientation Week is presented in partnership with the Arts and Science Students’ Union, Leap Chapter UofT, Students for Barrier-free Access, University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) and the Fight for $15 & Fairness – UofT.

All DisO events are free and open to both students and the community. We strive to hold all events in barrier free spaces and specific access info is included with each event. Please note that as part of this we ask that attendees not wear cologne, perfume, body sprays or aftershave in order to make the space accessible to those with chemical sensitivities. If you have any questions, comments or concerns around accessibility please contact racheleopirgto(at)gmail.com.

This year’s Disorientation Week focuses on the solidarity work and organizing that comes forth from bodies that refuse to remain idle. Our friends and family, our colleagues and comrades, and most importantly. Our own. When we begin experimenting, great things can materialize. The act of making our lived experiences physical breathes life into what would otherwise be just theory. But whats trickier is doing the same with our solidarity work. How do we communicate about each others struggle using art? This years DisO blends the worlds of art, social justice, DIY, and interactive planning to bring to life our collective struggles against transphobia, racism, classism, and other intersecting oppressions. Making the routine into something radical, utilizing the material to tell stories and convey our community’s struggles. The resistance will be televised, zined, painted, written, published and more!

Solidarity work can take many forms. For some of us, the best way to express a commitment to one another, what we believe in and what we are passionate about is through our art and the material. Yet we regularly frame solidarity work as a matter of opinion, loudspeaker rants and theory. We need to take a better look at how and where the arts and DIY culture fits into the larger mosaic of solidarity work, whether we are talking about students and workers rights or Indigenous sovereignty work. We will explore, how art and the act of building, writing, drawing, and making things can both maintain and help dismantle oppressive systems that works against the interests of larger communities with which we fight alongside.

Here are some specific roles for interested volunteers:

• Event Logistics
– Set-up and clean up at events
– Moderating and/or liaising with facilitators about workshop needs

• Outreach & Promotion
– Tabling at clubs day and outreach at campus events
– Distributing flyers at community events
– Postering on and off campus
– Assisting with publicizing Disorientation through online social media and listservs
– Assisting with coordinating class talks promoting Disorientation

• Media
– Liasing with any media interested in recording or writing about events
– Video or audio recording our events
– Photographing events for the Disorientation archives.

To get involved in organizing Disorientation 2017, please fill out the volunteer form here.