2B Magazine 1 - Guide Gai du Québec

2B Magazine 1

Index
Credits 6
Current Affaires
UN and PQ 8
Moscow / North Carolina 9
NYC Gay Marriage + Pride 12
Anti-Homophobia Action Plan 16
Arts + Culture:
30 Years of AIDS @ Ecomusée 20
Jean-Paul Gaultier 22
Exhibits 26
FIMA 36
Getting Out:
Piknic Electonik 43
Toronto Pride 44
2B Out Photos 46
Design & Style Special:
Armando Branco 48
Andy Rioux Total Makeovers 52
Design Montréal 59
44
16 22
30 34
52
Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness © Jamison Miller
© Jerry Pigeon (Studio JPG)
Abdala Kaufmann_Virgin
© Mark Wong © Andy Rioux
4 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 5

CREDITS
Publisher
André Gagnon
andregagnon@etremag.com
Editor
Jordan Arseneault
514.439.3873
jordan@2bmag.com
Sales
Pierre Druelle
514.521.3873
pierre@communicationsetre.com
Guillermo De Anda
514.529.2624
guillermo@communicationsetre.com
Luc Barrette
514.439.4737 / 613.238.3873
luc@communicationsetre.com
Sean Mackenzie
514.439.4447
sean@communicationsetre.com
Admin
Arturo Abreu
514.521.3873
arturo@communicationsetre.com
Graphic Design
Carolina Ramirez
514.439.4636
carolina@communicationsetre.com
Web
Arnaud Baty
arnaud@etremag.com
Photography
César Ochoa
publicité@communicationsetre.com
Contributors :
Antoine Aubert
Laura Beeston
Joëlle Girard
Mark Ambrose Harris
Michael Harwysh
Danny Légaré
Matthew Harris
Laura MacDonald
Jeromie Williams
www.2bmag.com
Montreal Postal Address
C.P. 222 Station C
Montréal QC H2L 4K1
Montréal : 514.521.3873
Ottawa : 613.238.3873
Cover photo by Andy Rioux
www.andyriouxdesign.com Jimmy Lavigne
© Andy Rioux
Unauthorized reproduction, in whole or in part,
without the written permission of the publisher is
prohibited. All rights reserved, ISSN: 1917-2761
2B Magazine 7

Editor’s Letter
Historic UN resolution backs
The United Nations Human Rights Council
in Geneva endorsed the rights of gay, lesbian
and transgender people for the first time ever
Friday, June 17, passing a resolution hailed as
“historic” by the U.S. and other backers and
decried by many African and Islamic countries.
Proposed by South Africa, which broke ranks
with other African nations, the declaration was
seen as cautiously worded. It expressed “grave
concern” about abuses suffered by people because
of their sexual orientation, and commissioned
a global report on anti-gay discrimination.
Activists have called it a remarkable shift
on an issue that has divided the global body for
decades, and credited the Obama administration’s
push for gay rights at home and abroad
with helping win support for the resolution.
VOA News reported that the overflow audience
burst out into applause before UNHRC
President Sihasak Phuangketkeow had a chance
to announce the results of the vote.
Homofront: PQ unveils new programme, stresses LGBT rights
In its newly released programme Agir en toute liberté, the Parti québécois
released an anti-discrimination plan that includes feminist and
pro-LGBT measures. “Even though some new rights have been won in
recent years, there is still much to be done in terms of integrating lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transsexual and transgender (LGBT) people in our society,”
the programme reads.
In words similar to the recently adopted Anti-homophobia Action
Plan (see p. 16), the PQ programme called for the adoption of a “real
national policy” for the full respect of LGBT rights and to combat the
“This represents an historic moment to highlight
the human rights abuses and violations
that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
people face around the world based solely on
who they are and whom they love,” U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in
a statement. Canada does not currently hold a
seat on the Council.
Following tense negotiations, members voted
in favour of the declaration put forward by South
Africa, with 23 votes in favour and 19 against.
Backers included the United States, the European
Union, Brazil and other Latin American
countries. Those opposed to the motion included
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Pakistan.
More importantly, activists said, the resolution
also established a formal U.N. process to
document human rights abuses against gays,
including discriminatory laws and acts of violence.
Same-sex relations are illegal in 76 coun-
gay rights
tries worldwide, while harassment and discrimination
are common in many more.
“The Human Rights Council has taken a
first bold step into territory previously considered
off-limits,” said Graeme Reid, director
of the LGBT Rights program at Human Rights
Watch. “We hope this ground-breaking step
will spur greater efforts to address the horrible
abuses perpetrated on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity.”
Speaking on behalf of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference, Pakistan said the resolution
had “nothing to do with fundamental human
rights.” “We are seriously concerned at the attempt
to introduce to the United Nations some
notions that have no legal foundation,” said Zamir
Akram, Pakistan’s envoy to the U.N. in Geneva.
The study called for in the resolution is
expected to be concluded by the end of the year.
discrimination. Devised at the PQ’s April convention, a month before
the Action Plan was released, the new programme calls for ministries
and public agencies to adopt their own policies and measures to “ensure
the full respect of LGBT peoples’ rights.” It further parallels the
Action Plan in calling for proactive steps to combat homophobia in
schools, the workplace, and in professional and amateur sport.
There is also a specific mention of implementing measures to combat
LGBT teen suicide, a topic which has been at the forefront of political
and media discussion this year.
Moscow Pride
activists to picket
Russian Embassy in London
Activists arrested at
“Rally in Raleigh”
8 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 9
Rex Wockner
LGBT people plan to protest at the Russian Embassy in London on
July 1. They will demand that Russia’s voting rights at the Council of
Europe be revoked.
Despite a European Court of Human Rights ruling this year that
Moscow’s yearly bans of gay pride violate the European Convention
on Human Rights, the city prohibited the march again in May. When
a small group of people attempted to defy the ban, 18 of them were
aggressively arrested, much the same as in previous years, when
the activists also were beaten by anti-gay hooligans and assaulted by
religious counterprotesters. Those arrested included anti-Don’t Ask
Don’t Tell activist Dan Choi and IDAHOT’s Louis-Georges Tin.
“Russia has shown itself to be unsuitable to have a say in the Council
of Europe,” said the organizers of the London demonstration. “Russia
must issue a full apology to the protesters and take steps to prosecute
those who are known to have taken part in violence against peaceful
protesters. It must also commit to implementing full police protection
for future Moscow Pride events. Until it has taken these steps, Russia
should have its vote on the Council of Europe suspended.”
Meanwhile, new Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said June 16 that
gays can forget about marching in Moscow. According to Moscow
Pride, Sobyanin told reporters, “These are issues of morality.”
Moscow Pride founder Nikolai Alekseev commented: “Gays are the
last discriminated social group in Moscow when it turns to freedom of
expression. We cannot go in the streets legally, we cannot register an
organization, we are basically deprived of our civil and political rights
and, after such declaration, there is nothing to even hope for.”
by 2B Staff
GetEQUAL NC’s
Gay activists in Raleigh, North Carolina were arrested during a demo
June 2 when they entered the State House with placards, demanding full
legal recognition for LGBT North Carolinians. Activists included Angel
Chandler of GetEQUAL NC, the North Carolina chapter of the nationwide
US organization GetEQUAL, Chandler’s partner Mary Counce,
and 2008 U.S. sentorial candidate James Neal. Shortly after entering
the chamber, the activists began chanting “Liberty and justice for all in
North Carolina!” They were immediately taken into custody by police
charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing.
Earlier in the afternoon of June 2, hundreds of North Carolinians attended
the “Rally in Raleigh” organized by GetEQUAL NC. The rally
focused on Senate Bill 106, a bill that would propose an amendment on
the state’s 2012 electoral ballot to prevent private businesses and municipalities
in NC from offering domestic partnership insurance benefits,
and invalidate Domestic Partnership Registries in the three cities in NC
that offer them (Chapel Hill, Asheville and Carrboro).
In spite of the charges, Angel Chandler said “It was a great demonstration,”
and confirmed to 2Bmag that entering the State House and
getting detained were not originally part of the plan. Reached by telephone,
Chandler had a lot to say about the direct action strategy: “there
is no social movement of oppressed people that has made gains without
civil disobedience. For some reason, people in the LGBT community
have been reluctant to engage in [it]. I always refer to Martin Luther
King, Jr., who said freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it
is demanded by the oppressed. We have to look back at our history and
own the movement, and not reply on other people and merely electronic
means. We have to have a revolution,” he concluded matter-of-factly.
The mission of GetEQUAL is “to empower the LGBT community and
its allies to take action to demand full legal and social equality, and to
hold accountable those who stand in the way,” using the slogan GetOUT
and GetEQUAL. Their direct action in Raleigh was harshly criticized by
Equality NC, the state’s largest gay marriage lobby group, who distanced
themselves from GetEQUAL’s “extreme actions.”
For more info on GetEQUAL NC’s actions and mandate, visit, www.
getequalnc.org and for National GetEQUAL, visit: www.getequal.org.

By Jordan Arseneault
Let Alvaro Stay:
the next generation of LGBT refugee campaigns
It was one of the swiftest and most animated anti-deportation
campaigns ever to occur on the national stage for an LGBT person. From
the time Nicaragua-born Toronto artist Alvaro Orozco was arrested
by Toronto Police on May 13, to the announcement of the stay of his
deportation on May 31, the Let Alvaro Stay Campaign, coordinated by
community members and refugee solidarity group No One Is Illegal
rallied, petitioned, posted and protested to bring attention Alvaro’s
plight. Their efforts made no difference in the final result, but there was
cause for celebration nonetheless.
The campaign used a multi-pronged approached, spear-headed by
Suhail Abualsameed of the Newcomer/Immigrant Youth Program at
Toronto’s Sherbourne Health Centre, and Edward Lee of AGIR, an LGBT
refugee group in Montréal. In addition to organizing rallies circulating
petitions, the group rapidly put together series of Youtube videos with
community members voicing their support. The campaigners bombarded
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s office with e-mails and faxes asking
him to stay the deportation, but they were entirely ignored, as were calls
from NDP MP Olivia Chow and Liberal MP Bob Rae.
Orozco is an active member of the LGBT and art community in
Toronto, where he has lived since 2004. His photo work has been
featured in the exhibit Migration Expressions Montréal’s Ste-Émilie
Skillshare, and was a recipient of a 2010 Toronto Youth Cabinet Impact
Award. Alvaro first rose to national prominence in 2007 when his
refugee claim was denied on the basis of his not looking “gay enough”
for the adjudicator hearing his case via video-conferencing in Calgary.
The story was picked up by the largest newspapers in Nicaragua,
effectively “outing” him to the entire country he left at age 12 due to
severe physical abuse by a father who threatened to “kill any child of
his that was homosexual.” The basis of his application for residency on
human and compassionate (H&C) grounds, which was granted on May
27, was the threat to his life and safety as an out queer person if returned
to Nicaragua.
Public pressure to stay Orozco’s deportation and expedite his appeal
at the federal level fell on deaf ears. Alvaro confirmed in an interview
with 2B that in the end, the only factor that helped his case was that his
lawyer, Richard Wazana, contacted the Vancouver office of Immigration
Canada asking for the deportation to be stayed pending approval of
his H&C appeal. As grateful as he is for the campaigner’s astounding
efforts, he confirmed that his case received no special attention from
the Ministry or bureaucracy. For Matt McLaughlin, co-chair of the
NDP Federal LGBT Committee, this is one case that shows the tip
of the iceberg. “Attention must still be paid to the lack of training for
refugee arbitrators, continuing heterosexism in the questions asked
and in judgments rendered, and the alarming nomination of openly
homophobic refugee arbitrators via a nomination process that is wholly
political and without oversight,” McLaughlin said.
Alvaro Orozco now has landed immigrant status, and is applying
for a work permit. “It can take a year to get the residency paper from
immigration; after that I want to finish high school and go to college,”
said the photographer, who is still recovering from the stress of his
detention ordeal.
For information on LGBT refugee and new arrival support in
Montréal, visit:
www.agirmontreal.org
10 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 11

New York
legalizes same sex marriage
Rex Wockner
New York state legalized same-sex marriage June 24.
The Senate passed the bill 33-29 at 10:29 p.m. and Gov. Andrew Cuomo
signed it into law less than 90 minutes later.
Same-sex couples can begin marrying July 25.
«This state, when it is at its finest, is a beacon for social justice,»
Cuomo said.
Twenty-nine of the Senate’s 30 Democrats voted for the bill, along
with four of the body’s 32 Republicans.
Some activists said New York’s legalization of same-sex marriage
marks the end of the road for the anti-same-sex-marriage movement,
which took away gay people’s right to marry in California in 2008 and in
Maine in 2009, removed from the bench Iowa Supreme Court justices
who legalized same-sex marriage there, and persuaded a majority of
U.S. states to ban same-sex marriage by statute or in their constitutions.
«Game over,» said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National
Center for Lesbian Rights.
«Now that we’ve made it here, we’ll make it everywhere,» said Freedom
to Marry President Evan Wolfson, calling it an «epic win.»
«There’s no doubt that today will be revered as a major turning point
in civil rights history,» said American Foundation for Equal Rights
Board President Chad Griffin. «A bipartisan group of legislators have
affirmed that equal rights for every citizen is not a partisan issue, but an
American value.»
AFER is behind the federal lawsuit against California’s Proposition 8,
via which voters re-banned same-sex marriage in 2008. The state consti-
©Flickr.com/saebaryo
tutional amendment was struck down as a violation of the U.S. Constitution
in 2010, but the ruling is now stalled in the federal appeal process.
«This victory sends a message that marriage equality across the
country will be a reality very soon,» said Human Rights Campaign President
Joe Solmonese.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey
said the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York «honors New
York’s unique history as being the place where the modern gay rights movement
sprang to life 42 years ago this month at the Stonewall Inn in New
York City -- a place where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people
stood up and fought back for their dignity and rightful place in society.»
Longtime New York City activist Corey Johnson called it «a watershed
moment.»
«It’s a turning point,» he said. «This is a significant and tremendous
loss for NOM (the anti-gay activist group National Organization for
Marriage). In many ways, it takes the wind out of their sails.»
The White House issued a tepid statement saying: «The states should
determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own
citizens. The process in New York worked just as it should. ... The president
has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same
rights and legal protections as straight couples.»
President Barack Obama has refused to come out in support of samesex
couples’ right to marry, saying he prefers «civil unions.» He has said,
however, that his views on same-sex marriage are «evolving.» In recent
days, the media have again highlighted the fact that in 1996, when he
was running for the Illinois Senate, Obama told the Chicago gay newspaper
Outlines, «I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight
efforts to prohibit such marriages.» See tinyurl.com/obama1996.
Henry-and-Josh ©getequal.org
In New York City, at least 1,000 people took to the streets in celebration
outside the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. When police made
an early attempt to clear the unauthorized street party, those gathered
reportedly chanted, «We’re here, we’re queer, we’re fabulous, don’t fuck
with us.»
New York has no way for voters to repeal laws or amend the state
constitution. The only ways to re-ban same-sex marriage in New York
would be to pass a repeal measure through the Legislature and have the
governor sign it, or call a constitutional convention. Both possibilities
are extremely unlikely.
There is no residency requirement to get married in New York state,
and same-sex couples can begin applying for licenses online July 5. Licenses
can be picked up July 24, and become valid one day after obtained.
To fill out an application in New York City, see tinyurl.com/nycmarr-lic.
Same-sex marriage also is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Same-sex marriages
from elsewhere are recognized as marriages in Maryland, New Mexico,
New York, Rhode Island and California (if the marriage took place before
Proposition 8 passed).
Eleven other nations allow same-sex couples to marry -- Argentina,
Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South
New York City
Africa, Spain, Sweden and
Pride
Mexico (where same-sex marriages are allowed
only in the capital city but are recognized nationwide).
12 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 13
© lexpress.fr
©Flickr.com/asterix611
Flickr.com/asterix611 ©Flickr.com/Dumbo711

By Jeromie Williams
Hey buddy,
First of all, congrats on the new digs, Foreign
Affairs Minister is a pretty big deal and I think
that I speak for all Canadians when I wish you
the best of luck in your new job. Representing
the views and opinions of every Canadian on
the international stage is a huge responsibility
that no one wants to see you fail at. I know, I
know, you have been getting a lot of criticism
these past few weeks about not being ready for
a job this big, but I am going to give you some
time to settle into your new role and really get
comfortable before forming an opinion either
way. It’s the right thing to do.
So look, I know the last thing that you want or
even need right now is for another person to take
a shot at you for that pesky little rumor that keeps
following you around. You know, the one where
people keep showing that picture of you, next to
that cop, at a gay pride parade, and leave it up to the
public’s discretion to decide whether you just like
cops, or you really really like cops? Yeah, that one.
Listen, a lot of worse things have been said
about a lot of other people, so the fact that you
have a small rainbow being painted above your
head by the media shouldn’t bother you. In
fact you should kind of take it as a compliment,
because that puts you right up there with the
likes of Ricky Martin, Rachel Maddow or even
Lance Bass ... how cool is that?
JohnBaird,
“Hey
Call Me Sometime”
The fact of the matter is John, that whether
it is true or not, it is something that you are
going to have to deal with if you are going to
be shaping international policy. At some point,
and probably very soon, you are going to have to
comment on something like the repeal of Don’t
Ask Don’t Tell, or the Kill the Gays Bill in Uganda
or even something as casual as «Did you hear
what Lady Gaga said about ...» and then what?
With a rumour that is so easily game-overed
via a simple yes or no answer, by not making a
statement one way or the other you are giving
it way too much power. I mean, even if it is
true, it’s not the end of the world. While 10 to
20 percent of the population of Canada would
say «Welcome to the club!» a resounding
majority of the rest of Canada would more
than likely just shrug their shoulders and
move on with their day. And as for the small
amount of Canadians that it might make a tad
uncomfortable to hear it, I have three words for
you John. It Gets Better.
Then again, it is as easily possible that it’s not
true, and here’s the best part of what happens
when you say no ... are you ready ... here it is
... everyone says «Oh, he’s not gay. Whatevs.»
All political alliances aside John, I personally
couldn’t care less if you were a transgendered
Pirate or a spaghetti monster Rhinoceros. I’ve
seen all the sharp and pointed articles about
you being a supposed Parliament Hill bully,
© cbc.ca
I’ve seen all the people shouting at you on the
Youtubes for perceived breeches in procedure,
and as much as 60% of the voting population
tries to get me to snarl at you too, I am going
to take the high road and offer to take you out
for a beer some time, because that’s just who
I am.We can go down and hang out in the Old
Port of Montreal, or we can go whoop it up on
Crescent Street - hell, I’ll even schlep over to
Ottawa for a day and you can school me about
Parliament over a whiskey sour. The point I
am trying to make here, is that I would like the
chance to meet the real John Baird. Not the John
Baird everyone tries to vilify, not the John Baird
your friends and colleagues try to convince me
is simply the bees knees, but the John Baird that
would like to change the mind of one Canadian
voter about him and just sit down and empty a
pitcher of Rickard’s on a patio somewhere.
I know your schedule is quite busy and all,
and honestly, I have trouble keeping up with
my own civilian agenda at times too, but have
your people contact my .. well me ... and we’ll
work something out. FYI - You totally get
bonus points for calling without me having to
give you my phone number.
I always did have a thing for CSIS.
Jeromie Williams lives in Montréal and
writes for The Examiner
www.examiner.com/user-jeromiewilliams
Commonwealth
Welcome Will & Kate
of Homophobes:
By Jordan Arseneault
ment for homosexual acts: Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Uganda,
Tanzania and Bangladesh, which the United Nations
has repeatedly condemned. When Uganda’s anti-homosexuality
bill was proposed in 2010, the Commonwealth
Summit became an informal arena, as it often is, for First
World leaders (like Stephen Harper) to make suggestions
to their developing world counterparts— but come
May of this year, Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill was back in
consideration. Sadly, on this and virtually all other LGBT
issues, the Commonwealth, its leadership, and the monarchy
have remained woefully silent.
As Canada prepares to host Prince William and his
wife Catherine for their first official foreign visit this July,
it may be a good time to reexamine one of the institutions
that the British monarchy represents, and what it’s
not doing for LGBT people. The Commonwealth of
Nations, known simply as “the Commonwealth”, made
up of 54 countries that were formerly British colonies,
includes the largest concentration of nations where
homosexuality remains illegal, including 5 where it is
punishable with life imprisonment. UK human rights
activist Peter Tatchell calls the organization a “bastion of
homophobia,” and is a leading voice in calling for debate
and recognition for LGBT issues at the international
level. When Will and Kate visit Ottawa this Canada Day,
will there be any voices dissenting from the adulation
and calling for a tougher take on human rights?
While the new royal couple has gained many gay fans
during their courtship and spectacular televised wedding
in April, the British throne’s heir and his bride have made
no overtures to their homo subjects aside from inviting
Elton John and David Furnish to the ceremony itself. On
the day of the wedding, police arrested activists from
anti-austerity group Queer Resistance, and no response
was made to calls for the couple to support same-sex
marriage, which is still not legal in the UK. As William
and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,
are in Canada from June 30 to July 8, visiting Ottawa,
Montreal, Quebec City, PEI, Yellowknife and Calgary,
queers and their allies have a chance to either watch
passively, or get out their placards in support of people
worldwide who are still persecuted for homosexuality.
In a scathing press release to mark IDAHOT on May
17, Peter Tatchell outlined the colonial roots of anti-gay
laws that continue to persecute LGBT people everywhere
from Trinidad to Malaysia, and accused the Commonwealth
leadership of “colluding with homophobia.”
Five countries in the organization stipulate life imprison-
Tatchell also blasted Commonwealth Secretary General
Kamalesh Sharma for failing to condemn Uganda’s
anti-homosexuality bill, and for repeatedly refusing to
respond to LGBT rights organizations letters and campaigns.
“This quasi neutral stance is hardly what we expect
when a Commonwealth member state is proposing
to execute its own citizens for consenting, victimless behaviour,”
says the advocate. With a trend towards more
state-sanctioned repression in Malawi, Gambia, Malaysia,
Cameroon, Nigeria, and Uganda, this is not a time for
the Commonwealth to remain neutral or merely give lip
service to human rights. While Canada’s current government
is not likely to lead any pro-LGBT measures on an
international scale, we can at least keep up the pressure
on John Baird as Foreign Minister to improve the state
of LGBT rights using diplomatic and political structures
like the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth of Nations sticks out as a conservative
homophobic bulwark against any kind of progress in
the many states where it could be making a difference in
human rights. Ironically, one of the organization’s slogans
lately has been “Human Rights: More than Words,” the
hypocrisy of which is palpable given that this vestige of
colonial rule has never called for their member states to
decriminalize homosexuality, and that has 2B changed.
Follow @PeterTatchell on Twitter or for more info, go
to: www.petertatchell.net
14 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 15

Québec releases its Action plan to fight
community reacts
By Jordan Arseneault
Years in the making, the Action plan to
fight homophobia was finally unveiled May
20 by Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier
and key community members who consulted
on the government’s Plan de lutte contre
l’homophobie. The plan sets out a diverse set
of action items including funding increases to
community organizations, a Research Chair
at UQÀM, and the creation of a Bureau for
combatting homophobia.
Four years after the Québec Human Rights
Commission released its report “From Legal
Equality to Social Equality” the Action Plan
to combat homophobia was finally unveiled
by Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier, along
with GaiÉcoute’s Laurent McCutcheon,
sexology Professor Line Chamberland,and the
CQGL’s Steve Foster. The long-awaited 5-year
Action Plan was greeted by a standing ovation
from the assembled community members,
activists and researchers who were gathered to
hear the details.
Justice Minister Fournier won over the crowd
of LGBT community members, who applauded
his carefully unfolded announcements of
increased funding, bureaucratic structures,
continued community consultation, and major
public awareness campaigns scheduled for
2012 and 2014. In the off-years, $200,000 will
be distributed to select LGBT advocacy groups
to spearhead their own awareness campaigns,
along with $500,000 of added funding per
annum, and a special project fund of $200,000.
Although the list of community orgs selected
to benefit from the increased funding has not
yet been announced, the presence of Fondation
Émergence, the CQGL, and Fournier’s mention
of media-friendly outreach org GRIS was a
strong indication of which ones will be favored
by the Justice Minister’s newfound largesse.
Of the $7.1 million dollars allocated for the
Action Plan’s implementation over 5 years,
$475,000 will go to the newly created “actionresearch
and partnership-based” Research Chair
on Homophobia at UQÀM, to be overseen by the
eminent sexologist and community researcher
Line Chamberland. Pr. Chamberland was visibly
overjoyed at the outcome of the working group’s
many years of collaboration with the Ministry,
saying that she was “really excited” to share the
Action Plan and its back-story at upcoming
conferences in Lyon, Madrid, and at the North
American Outgames conference in Vancouver
this summer.
But it’s not all about the money and the
good vibes. Mr. Fournier spoke convincingly of
having “learned a lot” since taking over from his
predecessor Kathleen Weil about the suffering and
challenges faced by LGBTTQ people in Québec,
in spite of the many formal and legal civil rights
victories that have been granted over the past 20
years. In keeping with the strategy of enriching
legal equality with greater social equality, the
Action Plan includes the implementation of anti-
homophobia:
homophobia measures in 11 different ministries,
notably Labour, Immigration, Public Security,
Aboriginal Affairs, the Status of Women, and the
infamous État Civil.
Activist group PolitiQ Queers Solidaires, which
has been lobbying for easier access to name and
sex change rights for transgendered people, said
in a statement that they were glad to see these
issues named in the Action plan, but still urge the
Ministry to redress its sterilization requirements
for a legal sex change with the État Civil registry.
Minister Fournier would not comment on the
possibility of removing the requirement for
gender reassignment surgery for trans people to
obtain a change on their ID cards, but the Action
plan does specifically mention “facilitating”
name changes by coordinating efforts between
ministries, and possibly loosening name change
publication requirements.
Steve Foster from the Council of Québec
Gays and Lesbians has been part of the Collectif
de travail advising the government on the
Plan for years, but he and other stake-holders
were only provided with copies of the Plan the
night before. Nonetheless, they liked what they
saw. “When the anti-homophobia policy was
announced originally, there was no funding
attached, and now there’s $7.1 million, some of
which will go to the operation of the government
Bureau,” Foster said. As the main liaison
between the working group of community
members and researchers set up to advise the
Minister of Justice, Foster added that the CQGL
is also happy to see more recommendations in
the Action Plan than they anticipated.
For Alexa Conradi, president of the
Fédération des femmes du Québec, it was
a long-awaited validation of the struggles
the LGBTQ community have gone through,
particularly with the endemic problem of being
made to feel different, and having the effects
of that ignored. “I think about my children
and what they’ve gone through… There are
complex issues at stake when you’re dealing
with homophobia,” she began, feeling the
emotions in the room and the subject at hand.
“It represents years of people’s work and years
of people living with suffering, and there’s
something touching about how we’ve gotten to
the point of validating people’s struggles.”
Conradi was happy to see that the Action
plan specifically addressed lesbophobia and
homophobic violence against women, which
is usually subsumed under mostly gay male
experiences of oppression. Even though the
plan won’t “break down hierarchies,” she
concluded, “this will send a message that
discrimination is unacceptable.”
“We have to stay on their heels” – Bill Ryan
One other very supportive voice amongst
the enthusiastic community reactions is social
work researcher and McGill Professor Bill
Ryan. Ryan was part of the Comité mixte which
was invited by the Commission des droits de
la personne to advice on the creation of the
Québec anti-homophobia policy after gay
marriage was won in 2005. He was also one of
the lead consultants in the Commission’s 2007
report, which provided recommendations for
the government’s action plan, almost all of
which were adopted.
“That was beyond our expectations. You
don’t usually get more than what you expect
from the government,” Ryan said, echoing
Foster’s surprise at the increased funding.
“They had prepared us for the prospect of
no money in the first years, so we ended up
being happier than we thought. It would have
been momentous even without the money.
The ship has changed, and this is the first of
several 5-year plans, so we’re looking at some
consistency coming out of this.”
The fact that the Action plan has adopted
virtually all of the recommendations of the
Comité mixte, and the Collectif de travail is for
him an indication of a paradigm shift in how
the GLBT community will be able to negotiate
change with the government. “These are things
that people will never experience again. We
have checked off some of the big boxes. We
have the government on our side, and that’s
not something you have everywhere. It doesn’t
mean we won’t ever criticize the government
again, but there are certain steps you climb that
you won’t have to climb again.”
Activists and media that are critical of
the plan were definitely in the minority at
the outset, in the flush of joy at the funding,
the infrastructure, and the Justice Minister’s
apparent sincerity. Unlike some cynics, Ryan
does not believe the Action Plan is intended
to neutralize dissent amongst the GLBT
community. “Realistically speaking, and I’m a
realist, you want to bring constituents on your
side. Some of it is good will on the part of the
government, but it’s also a sign that we are
now considered a constituency. The opposite is
happening on the federal level, where we are
not seen as a constituency anymore.”
Indeed, the level of support and engagement
Ryan has seen from Québec’s Liberal
government stands in stark contrast to the
situation at the federal level under Harper. “We
once hoped that there would be a secretary
of LGBT issues at the federal level under the
liberals, which looks impossible now. All we can
hope for federally is to maintain what we’ve got,
until we see a regime change,” Ryan bemoaned.
“We wonder sometimes about the years
and years of volunteerism, wondering if it
will ever pan out… It’s rare that you see a
room full of activists give a standing ovation
to a government official, which normally we
criticize,” Ryan said, adding that the job of
keeping the government on its heels is not over.
“We have to stay on their heels!” In particular,
he sees one potential weakness of the Action
plan as glossing over trans justice issues, which
remain vague within the plan. MNA Martin
Lemay echoed Ryan’s call for vigilance, telling
2Bmag that “we have to watch what happens
over time, since the current government makes
a lot of announcements, but is slow to turns
words into action.” The MNA for Montréal’s
Village and Centre-Sud said he was overall
happy that the plan brought forward and that
so many ministries are involved.
Inspiration and Hope
“Hopefully, the Québec action plan will
embolden GLBT people to demand the same
from their governments across the country,”
concluded Bill Ryan. The Québec Action Plan
is the first of its kind in North America, and is
second only to that of Brazil in all of the Americas.
For the moment, as community members await
more details on the Bureau de lutte contre
l’homophobie and on which organizations will
benefit from the funding, the consensus seems
to be that this action plan is way more than lip
service, and is a significant step in maintaining
proactive government measures to benefit the
GLBT community in a real way.
Stay connected to 2Bmag through Facebook
and Twitter @2Bmag for more in-depth
coverage, analysis, and community reactions on
Québec’s Action plan to combat homophobia.
All photos by César Ochoa
16 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 17

Pink Balls and Big Dreams
Aires Libres takes the pedestrian street to a whole new level
By Jordan Arseneault
When Bernard Plante started at the SDC du Village in 2006, no one new that the pilot project of
closing Ste-Catherine Street to traffic would still be going strong 5 years later. The SDC (Société
de développement commercial) du Village proposed the street closure in the first place just to
deal with the logistics of the throngs of people who were visiting for the Outgames that year. Now
in its 6 th year, the project is known as the Aires Libres, and this year they’re not holding back.
The Aires Libres was an experimental project from the beginning, with the Ville de Montréal
watching closely, and testing out everything from hours of operation to those funny flexible poles
that cars can drive over. “We can have terrasses open until 3am, whereas on rue St-Paul they had
to close at 11pm,” which is something that was key to the success of the street closure with the
many bars on Ste-Cath. “Aires Libres is likely to lead to a pedestrian quarter from the Quartier
des Spectacles to the Village, inspired by Las Ramblas in Barcelona,” and by the closure in 2009
of a stretch of Broadway’s Time Square in Manhattan.
“There was an immediate sense since the 2008 street closure that the Aires Libres was allowing
businesses to attract new clients without having to do extra paid advertising,” Plante explains.
Businesses in the Village, on Ste Catherine and Amherst alike, pay into a collective pot that allows
for investment in projects like Aires Libres, which will play host again this year to the Festival
International Montréal en Arts and performances by the likes of the École Nationale du Cirque.
But besides the spectacle, the bar patios, and the exciting installations that are planned for this
year, the SDC’s plans have to stay accountable to their sometimes ornery members, some of
whom aren’t happy about the closure.
“There are types of businesses that are in a massive decline already, who have been forced
to diversify,” says Plante, referring specifically to a certain XXX video store whose owner has
vociferously blamed Aires Libres for his declining revenues. “Bookstores, video stores, and
travel agencies are going through a transformation, but it has little or nothing to do with
pedestrianization,” he theorizes.
This year has also seen a lot of debate about the Village’s perceived economic well-being, with
many locals and media pointing to a sense of the area being in decline (See “Un Village triste”
from the February edition of Être). Plante is quick to bely the doom-and-gloom, saying that the
measure of economic viability is not how few empty store-fronts there are, but rather how long it
takes for an empty place to be rented (the now-closed American Apparel was rented out within a
month, for example). Unfortunately, there are a lot of property owners in the village who charge
high rents and are indifferent to leaving their storefronts empty for months on end, since there
are no city by-laws against leaving commercial
space vacant. As far as signs of revitalization
go, Plante points to the development on the
corner of Wolf and Ste-Catherine, massive
renovations planned for the Bourbon Street
Complex and the old Ouimetoscope Cinema,
and hints at a revitalization project in the
works for the languishing Station C.
A Shock of Pink
This year, the SDC is pulling out all the
stops with corporate sponsorship being
put to good use with plans for a variety of
installation projects. Known as the designers
of 2009’s Aires Libres (you may remember the
clothes pins), local design firm Paprika will
be taking over what has come to be known
as Parc Amherst, the empty lot across from
Cabaret Mado. A forest of red sticks with 3-D
lit-up letters (pictured) will make a trilingual
message visible through a view-finder: There
will be a place for each of the freedoms that you
may wish to grant yourself, the text installation
reads. They’re also calling once again on
lighting wizards Light Emotion, who did the
new lobby of Place des Arts as well as the
Canadian Pavilion in Shanghai, to integrate the
street lighting with the public art. But the pièce
de résistance will surely be “Lipstick Forest”
public art genius Claude Cormier’s kilometerlong
“floating river” of pink plastic balls known
as the Électrochoc rose du Village.
World-famous for his whimsical landscape
designs and sculptures, like Blue Tree in
Sonoma, CA, the Montréal Gardens in
Shanghai, and his Blue Stick Garden projects in
the UK and Toronto, Cormier is a home-grown
public art superstar. The 150,000 recycled
plastic balls in 5 different hues and 3 sizes will
be linked from specially installed poles the
length of the 1.1km stretch of Ste-Catherine
from Berri to Papineau. Staying true to Cormier
and the SDC’s enviro-friendly mandate, the
balls are all made in Québec and are recyclable
after the end of Aires Libres in September, and
they plan to solicit the public for ideas on what
to do with the cheerful baubles.
And last but not least, there will be an exhibit
of historical photos of rue Ste-Catherine on
each block of Aires Libres, as a follow-up to the
Pointe-à-Callière Museum’s Sainte Catherine
Street Makes the Headlines exhibit from last
year. Roundly criticized for eschewing the
importance of the Gay Village in the street’s
story, curator Paul-André Linteau was invited
by the SDC to save face by installing panels on
the history of Ste-Cath, which will serve as the
educational element in this year’s décor.
Aires Libres will continue to liven up the
Village until September 12, 2011.
www.aireslibres.com
18 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 19

30 years of AIDS and Activism
Marc-André Goulet’s
at the Écomusée du fier monde
It’s rare that an artistic tribute to the theme of AIDS, collective memory,
and community building has the power, originality, and elegance of a
series like Marc-André Goulet’s Blanc de mémoire. Eschewing the usual
red motif, which has always been symbolic of blood, sex, (and ribbons),
Goulet has created a series of portraits where activists in the struggle
against HIV/AIDS are juxtaposed with a white mobile statue that
represents at once the victims of the epidemic, and society’s tendency
to forget. Presented in conjunction with Maison Plein Coeur and the 30
anniversary of AIDS being described as an epidemic, Blance de mémoire
escape the traps of being haunting or sad: if anything, it is defiant.
The project started 3 years ago, when Goulet had the omnipresent lifesized
white mannequin statue created for a performance that explored
the duality of Narcissism, (that trait so common amongst artists).
Then, in 2009, he started to ask people to write the name of someone
who had died of AIDS on the statue’s garments in white Sharpie as an
exercise is memory. The garments, created by Envers fashion director
Yves-Jean Lacasse, are on display on plinths in at the back of exhibit,
with an invitation for people to write more names on them. “It all came
together after I decided to use the statue as a repository for memory,
to give it a commemorative value,” said Goulet, sitting in the basin of
the Écomusée du fier monde, surrounded by his portraits, which he
01
Blanc de mémoire 01.
was seeing exhibited for the first time. He missed the vernissage in May
due to being on tour with dance superstar Dave St-Pierre, where they
performed Un peu de tendresse, bordel de merde, to sold-out shows in
Paris and London.
HIV first became a reality for Goulet at 15, when a friend came out to
him as positive. A few years later, another friend’s father was diagnosed
HIV positive, which really hit home the idea that HIV was not just a
problem for gays or injection drug-users. “It made me think about how
society conceives of and treats its marginalized people,” says Goulet,
a trained actor with a theatre BFA from UQÀM, as well as a BFA in
photography from Concordia, where he studied under Geneviève
Cadieux. In between his two degrees, he did a stint with an HIV outreach
org in Burkina-Faso, which prompted him to get involved with the Farha
Foundation and the Fondation québécoise du SIDA upon his return.
Knowing that the 30 th anniversary of the AIDS outbreak was coming
up on July 3, incidentally in the same week as his own 30 th birthday,
Goulet started looking for a place to exhibit his portraits, which
originally were to have 12 in total, three for each season. He contacted
the Écomusée and proposed the project, and with the support of the
Maison Plein Coeur’s Louis Marie Gagnon, procured the funding and
connections to make Blanc de memoire a reality. The next step was to solicit his subjects, who
were each asked to choose a location and to write a text on why it was significant for them. The
results are astounding: the portraits are a veritable who’s who of AIDS activism and community
work in Québec, from Dr. Réjean Thomas, to COCQ-SIDA’s Ken Monteith, artist and instigator
Kat Coric, and Joseph Jean-Gilles from long-standing awareness org GAP-VIES. Each of them
gets to tell their story in a short plaque besides the works, which were edited for impact by writer
Éric Noël. The portraits are framed majestically, sometimes with at an extreme distance from the
subject, and always “integrated in public space,” making each image a triad of Activist, Setting,
and Memory (represented in each the all-white statue).
“Just seeing them altogether gives me a bit of a rush,” the artist confides, catching his breath
in the large, echoey space. “The interactions I had with them over the last two years changed
my life; it was inspiring to me to meet people who gave themselves over so completely to a
cause, people who have lived through things, but have kept their sense of hope, their ideals.” He
describes a particularly meaningful interaction with Michel Parenteau, who told him how he
began the Fondation d’Aide-Direct in the 80’s when his friends started dying en masse, by asking
for groceries at supermarkets and starting a food bank out of his own kitchen.
“Many of them lived through tragic events, the tragedy of their generation... for me, they’re
fighters,” says Goulet. But the bond that was formed between artist and subject from the 2-hour
photosession and conversation was bigger than he could have expected, allowing him to “connect
irreversibly” with each of them. Some of his subjects needed more convincing than others, like
ACCM’s Mark Hapanowicz, who was hesitant to be in the company of community heavyweights
who have given decades of their lives to AIDS action and relief efforts. In the end, his portrait
is one of the most effective, taken at night through the window of Métro Place-des-Arts, the
memory statue lying prone beside him.
Blanc de mémoire, like great works of art, functions of numerous levels at the same time. It’s a
community project to literally show the faces of people who have played a role in raising awareness
and provided front-line care to people living
with HIV and AIDS; it’s a commemorative
work to mark 30 years of their efforts to curb
the pandemic; as well as a commentary on
whom and what society allows itself to forget,
on the thousands of victims who are no longer
able to stand with us. Goulet’s portrait of
Evelyne Farha in Dorchester Square, site of
the first AIDS Walk that raises hundreds of
thousands of dollars annually for organizations
across Québec, is the final work in the series,
which was deliberate. “It was important to
show Evelyne Farha because she represents
the lifelong fight for awareness, and because
she comes from a generation that tended to
hold such strong prejudices.” Mrs. Farha stands
defiantly in her signature skirt suit, a warrior
and matriarch for a cause that has lost so many
lives, and inspired so much courage and hope.
Marc-André Goulet will be back at the
Écomusée on August 31, when his friends
and collaborators will invade the space for an
evening of dance, music, and performance in
response to the photo series. The event, like the
exhibit, is not 2B missed.
Blanc de mémoire, by Marc-André Goulet in
partnership with the Maison Plein Coeur, is on
display until Sept. 16, 2011 at the Écomusée du
fier monde | 2050, Amherst Street (corner of
Ontario) www.ecomusee.qc.ca
For more info on the services at outreach
provided by the Maison Plein Coeur, go to
www.maisonpleincoeur.org
Michel Parenteau (Fondation d’Aide-Direct)
02. Ken Monteith (COCQ-SIDA)
03. Joseph Jean-Gilles (GAP-VIES)
04. Marc-André Goulet
20 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 21
02
03
04

Jean-Paul Gaultier’s
Dreams are Reality
The Fashion World of JPG:
From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk opens at Montréal Museum of Fine Arts
By Jordan Arseneault
In case you haven’t already heard, Jean-Paul Gaultier was in town, and he brought the World
with him. From Sidewalk to Catwalk: the Fashion World of Jean-Paul Gaultier features more
than just fashion, at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts from June 17 to October 2. Unlike the
“Costume-Institute”-style Yves Saint-Laurent exhibit from 2008, this street-inspired couturier
gets a multi-media treatment in a show that bursts the boundaries of your typical retrospective:
it’s a work of art in itself.
Gaultier is certainly no stranger to Montréal. Aside from his creations gracing the bodies
of women and men who love romance, tailoring— and, of course all those sailors— JPG was a
frequent visitor here in the 1990s when he was dating a Montrealer long distance. He said in his
press conference last fall that he loved the city since the first time he came, and that since he’s no
longer at Hermès, he’ll have more time to visit in the future. His garments and stage creations,
at least, are being given a superb pied-à-terre for the 4-month exhibit that promises more than
a few surprises.
For art critics and fashion-watchers alike, Gaultier has been a source of fascination for his
cultural appropriations, gender inversions, and use of models whose age or size would normally
disqualify them from the runway. “I wanted to create an exhibition on Jean Paul Gaultier
more than any other couturier because of his great humanity,” explains Nathalie Bondil, Chief
Curator of the Museum. “Beyond the technical virtuosity resulting from expertise in haute
01
couture, an unbridled imagination and ground-breaking
artistic collaborations, he offers an open-minded vision
of society, a crazy, sensitive, funny, sassy world in which
everyone can assert his or her own identity, a world without
discrimination, a unique ‘fusion couture.’ Beneath Jean Paul
Gaultier’s wit and irreverence lie a true generosity of spirit
and a very powerful message for society.”
It’s been an eventful couple of years, not only for Jean-Paul
but also for his generation of fashion gurus. With the demise
of Christian Lacroix’s House in 2009 and John Galliano’s
raving downward spiral and banishment from Dior, Gaultier
is seen as the bright light in Paris couture, (now rivalled only
by Karl Lagerfeld, but he shows none of the Chanel director’s
snobbery). His unfailing good humour – he once said the best
accessory is a condom—and his exuberant love of life and
creativity, Jean-Paul Gaultier has remained the enfant terrible
of French fashion, laughing all the way to the Museum, where
2bmag had the pleasure of asking one of 4 questions he took
from the floor during the packed press conference.
“What he says goes beyond fashion. You have the sense
that you know haute couture, but you don’t really know it
until you see it up close,” said Nathalie Bondil of Jean-Paul
Gaultier’s work, but it could just as easily have been said
of the designer. In her opening speech at the Museum’s
hotly anticipated preview, Bondil praised the couturier’s
“humanist message” of taking pedestrian elements and
elevating them to high art, which the Museum in turn has
made accessible again with a stunning exhibit that will tour
Dallas, San Francisco, Madird, and Rotterdam, for the next
2 years. “Everyone can wear his fashion, whatever his or her
sexual orientation or background,” said Bondil, referring
to JPG’s subtle political message, which embraces “a huge
universe, not just corsets and sailors,” she clarified.
Packed with reporters, journalists and curators from around
the world, the preview of the exhibit in the elegant marble hall
of the Museum’s old pavilion gathered world-famous fashion
writers like Valerie Steele and Suzy Menkes, along with
documentarian Farida Khelfa and ex-model-cum-curator
Thierry Loriot, in a Gaultier kilt and vest, no less. For his part
in the conference, Gaultier was the smiling and generous
person he is known to be, and from the size of the catalogue
and thoughtfulness of the exhibit, he has a lot to smile about.
“Montréal was one of the first places to cover my first
collection, along with London and Japan,” said the couturier,
brandishing a copy of his vaunted spread in today’s
Libération. Unlike many designers, Gaultier seems to like
journalists: “I didn’t do school. I learned from watching
TV and reading fashion editorials in newspapers, and
particularly from fashion stylists,” he said, referring to his
humble upbringing in Paris, where he got his first big break
in the atelier of Pierre Cardin. Asked at one point about the
notorious “ethnic influences” of his work, Gaultier recalled
watching Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner—“Do you know
who is coming to dinner tonight?”—with his parents at
a young age, and being told that as long as he loved the
person, he could bring home anyone of any colour and be
accepted. “Later, when I asked if I could bring home a boy, it
was the same thing,” the grinning designer said of his openminded
parents. He further attributed the pervasive ethnic
influences of his collections to travelling, and to the fact
that he grew up across from a 16 th -century catholic church,
and an Algerian bar, which was on the same corner.
22 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 23
02

Asked by 2Bmag if he was ever told by someone in his
company or the press that his designs were “too gay,” Jean-
Paul Gaultier had much to say, referring to his early career
and the present day: “I saw Yves St-Laurent and Pierre Bergé
and the way they lived together, and from that moment on I
decided I would be myself. My work became a passport for
truth: when I started to work, I finished the lies, and always
showed the truth.” It also helped that the Jean-Paul Gaultier
fashion house and perfume brands were never owned by
another company, and he has always retained majority
ownership, even when Hermès was part owner.
“How could I deny how I do my clothes?” he went on.
“The clothes… are not only for lesbians and gays. There are
women who like to see fragility in men and men who like
strong women. When it comes to the press, I have nothing
to deny. I have always shown more minorities, because
the power is with the majority,” he added. But the strong
current of homoeroticism in Gaultier’s work will always be
something for which he is known, or, as Tom Ford says in
one of the panels of the multi-room exhibit, he’s not bound
by the restrictions our culture’s traditional labels place
upon us [of] ‘masculine’, ‘feminine’… those are all labels and
stereotypes and none of them seem to matter to him.
The theme resurfaced when Gaultier was asked what it
takes to create so many collections, and the periods of his
life that have marked him. “I had my boyfriend [Francis
Menuge] that died 20 years ago, to lose him is something
terrible; but if I had to choose, I prefer to have loved and
lost, even with the pain,” he explained, drawing a heartfelt
parallel between the anguish of making great work and the
pain of losing a great love. In one of the great ironies of
life and art, some of Gaultier’s greatest achievements were
made for Madonna’s 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour, the same
year that Menuge dies of an AIDS-related illness.
One of Loriot’s greatest coups is the inclusion of
Madonna’s entire Gaultier collection, including satin corsets
from Blonde Ambition and her riding outfit from the
Confessions Tour. The list goes on, with over 130 examples of
couture and prêt-à-porter ensembles spanning over 30 years.
Pedro Almodóvar lent the beaded “naked” dress Gael Garcia
Bernal wore to sing “Quizás” in Bad Education, along with
several stunning pieces on a motorized catwalk from his Ze
Parisienne collection. The inclusion of animated projections
onto mannequins’ faces received almost as much attention
in the preview as the actual clothes, and were touted as a
major element of making the clothes come to life. Ève Salvail,
Francisco Randez, singer/filmmaker Melissa Auf der Maur,
soprano Suzie LeBlanc, and TV host Virginie Coossa, along
with Loriot and JPG himself, all lent their faces to Théâtre
UBU’s Denis Marleau, whose videos use original sound and
recorded monologues to avoid the unintentional “macabre”
effect of a room full of mannequins. Interspersed intelligently
throughout the show, the mannequins appear to speak to the
viewer, inviting you to inhabit the realm between fantasy and
reality.
Fittingly, JPG himself summed it up best: “I don’t like dreams
or reality, I want dreams to become reality, because that is my
life.” Plan to lose track of time when you visit this exquisite show:
there are some dreamy pieces you will want to bring back to
reality with you, to make your own catwalk, on the sidewalk.
24 2B Magazine
From Sidewalk to Catwalk: the Fashion World of Jean-
Paul Gaultier June 17 – Oct. 2, 2011 at the Montreal
Museum of Fine Arts’ Michal and Renata Hornstein
Pavilion, 1379 Sherbrooke Street West, Montréal.
www.mbam.qc.ca
01.Curator Thierry Loriot, Designer JPG, MBAM Director Nathalie Bondil
© César Ochoa
02. © Jerry Pigeon (Studio JPG)
03. Paolo Roversi, Tanel Bedrossiantz, in a dress from the Barbès collection, fall/winter
1984-1985 Private collection © Paolo Roversi
04. © Natacha Gysin
03
04
2B Magazine 25

Memento Mori:
The Savage Beauty of
By Mark Ambrose Harris
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, the designer’s
posthumous retrospective at the MET, is a reminder
that life and death are not polar opposites, but
rather inseparable elements in constant flux. While
McQueen’s premature departure from the world
in 2010 does not steer the narrative of the show, it
is indisputable that his spectre permeates every
meticulous stitch. Featuring more than one hundred
pieces, Savage Beauty is a stunning tribute to the
constant metamorphosis of McQueen’s visionary
oeuvre. Of course, there are some re-occurring
themes and elements in the work, such as the chaos
of the natural world, the thin line between human
and animal, the fetishistic quality of accessories,
romanticism, the sublime, and the surreal.
The show begins with a garment from McQueen’s
2001 spring/summer collection, a red ostrich feather
dress with a bodice composed of nearly two thousand
hand-painted and hand-drilled microscope slides.
Björk wore this gown during her Vespertine tour,
and the armadillo shoes made famous by Lady Gaga,
perhaps McQueen’s most iconic appearance in pop
culture, are also on display. It would be impossible
to enumerate all of the clothing in the exhibit, but
some standout pieces include a steel spine corset,
a frock with crocodile head shoulder pads, a floralprint
straightjacket dress complete with flower-box
headdress, and an enormous head-to-toe cloak of
synthetic hair.
Organized by The Costume Institute and curated
by Andrew Bolton, the exhibit’s atmosphere is
tailored to match the brooding and haunting
26 2B Magazine
Alexander McQueen
aspects of McQueen’s collection. Moving from
room to room, McQueen’s pieces inhabit a variety
of environments: floor-to-ceiling curiosa shop
cupboards swimming in shadows, a hall of mirrors
filled with the sounds of a music box, a stone vault
complete with candelabras. The attention to detail in
the layout is pristine. Stains or watermarks tarnish
many of the mirrored surfaces. Wind causes a cape
to billow endlessly. In one room, the floorboards
and wall have been smashed by some unseen force,
splinters strewn about like broken teeth.
In light of the royal wedding last April, where
McQueen’s new head designer Sarah Burton shone
for the vintage-inspired classic look she gave Kate
Middleton, it is at once a rush and a relief to see real
McQueen garments in all their eccentricity.
Perhaps most fitting to Savage Beauty is the
infamous Kate Moss hologram. Entombed in a
wooden cube with slots for viewing, the mirage
shimmers inside its glass pyramid casing. Both
celebratory and morose, the hologram seems
emblematic of McQueen’s career as a whole, a
hypnotic flickering dream that deteriorates into
one final piercing speck of light, only to dissipate
completely into the unknown.
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
May 4 – August 7, 2011
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY
blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen
2B Magazine 27

His Cup Overf
GOLDEN
loweth:
Zachari Logan’s Show at LPM
By Jordan Arseneault
RG cover-boy Zachari Logan will be in Ottawa this July to oversee a very special
exhibit at Guy Bérubé’s notorious La Petite Mort Gallery. He was invited to curate
the diverse group show on a singular and sometimes shocking theme: urine.
“Initially when asked to curate, I thought back to
the kitschy pencil sketches famous in Saskatchewan,
my province of origin, depicting farm kids pissing on
tires (with various titles like, Boys Will be Boys or Farm
Morning or something to that effect),” Logan reminisces.
“My mind went also, at the same time to associations
with rich warm colours… and Rococo aesthetics. The
7 artists participating in Golden all straddle a line set
somewhere in between.” And that is the line that peethemed
art often tends to straddle, or cross, as in the
case of Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ, a seminal work
which made headlines again this past April when a print
of it was vandalized beyond repair by angry Christian
gallery-goers in Avignon, France. Is Logan worried that
there will be any backlash against the Petite Mort show?
“We’re not worried about a [public outcry or violence],
but we have other concerns because it’s a private gallery,”
he replied, reached by telephone in his native Saskatoon.
The idea of Logan curating the group show came about
when he showed his Urinal I at La Petite Mort last
year, which shows the artist with his back to the viewer,
buttocks exposed. Logan will be showing off his assets
in the drawing Gulliver II, where nine naked “Lilliputian
Zacharis” —one of whom is peeing on him— are tying
down the artist in a reworking of a scene from the
Jonathan Swift classic.
“The show is as interested in aesthetics as it is in being
provocative,” Logan says, defending the artistic merits
of the works included, which range from the Rococo
erotica of Montréal photo-provocateur Evergon, to the
painterly In the Flowers by BC native Andrew Salgado.
Both Evergon and Salgado take up what Zachari Logan
sees as the baroque theme of the Golden show, with
each of them touting influences by the great homoartist
Caravaggio, whose work is now on at the nearby
National Gallery.
In the case of Benjy Russell, whose Morning Piss: the
ties that bind us will never tear us apart graces the flyer
for the exhibit, urine is an element of what you might call
the work’s “magic literalism.” Russell photographed an old
chain saw which he and his boyfriend had been urinating
on for 2 weeks. As it turns out, there’s a compound in
urea that is like cat-nip to the butterflies, which Logan
describes as “drag queen versions of the insects we have
in Canada.” Once the chainsaw was suspended in the
trees and covered with butterflies, the vulgar origins of
the work seem very far away indeed.
While ach of the works in Golden may be analytical in
one way or another, they also “playfully celebrate, explore
and titillate through their individual associations with
piss, evolving an aesthetic of enjoyment and humour,”
Logan writes in his curatorial statement. “We are all
fountains (figuratively and literally), not of youth, but of
piss, and this exhibition explores the beauty of that cup
flowing over,” from July 2 nd – 31 st .
Come drink it in at the GOLDEN Group Exhibit,
curated by featured artist Zachari Logan.
Vernissage Saturday July 2 / 7 - 10pm
La Petite Mort Gallery
306 Cumberland Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 7H9
613.860.1555
www.lapetitemortgallery.com
28 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 29

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Boy Bitten by a Lizard, c. 1594-1596, oil on canvas, 65 × 52 cm, Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi, Florence © Nimatallah / Art Resource, NY
Caravaggio
Shedding Light on
Caravaggio and his Followers in Rome
spends the summer at the National Gallery
Revolutionary
Caravaggio lived a rough and tumble life,
with highs and lows that kept him from
reaching the heights of fame enjoyed by de
Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. It wasn’t
until the early 20 th century that he was restored
to his rightful place in the artistic canon. Born
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio in 1571, he
is now an acknowledged Renaissance master.
His treatment of religious subjects and focus
on action and gesture radically set him apart
from his contemporaries in terms of content,
first of all. He was known for using paupers and
prostitutes as models for his paintings, even
for depictions of the Virgin and saints. Always
popular with the public, Caravaggio was
revolutionary in his day for defying the strict
Counter-Reformation conservatism of the
Church that punished deviance with torture
and death.
When you look at his Sacrifice of Isaac, you
see how much Caravaggio strayed from the style
of other equally religious painters. Isaac looks
directly at the viewer, crying out in anguish:
this is action painting, raw and unidealized.
The result gives a photographic effect that
is part of the master’s other revolution, the
creation of the Caravaggesque style that would
spawn so many imitators.
Rome Comes to Ottawa
Caravaggio was a master innovator in his use
of colour and light. Employing striking reds
and umbers contrasted with dark shadows,
there is a theatricality to his paintings that
stems from his use of light to create drama.
The National Gallery show is truly a rare
chance to see these works up close in North
America, where there have only ever been
three exhibits focused on this rebel artist.
Much better known in Europe, Caravaggio was
the subject of a huge retrospective in Rome
to mark the 400 th anniversary of his death last
year, followed by a State Archive exhibit of
police documents showing Una vita dal vero,
Caravaggio scurrilous real life.
In general, however, very little is known
about the man himself. When he died, he was
buried in a pauper’s grave, and his remains
were only recently believed to be found by
researchers. The lack of written documentation
about him may be part of what has led to so
much speculation, not the least of which circles
around his sexual orientation. The question
of whether Caravaggio was gay, bisexual, or
opportunistically straight is met with a variety
of opinions, both factual and interpretive.
Homos and Whores
Although Caravaggio’s patrons, Cardinal
Franceso Mario del Monte and the aristocratic
Vincenzo Giustianini were known to be gay,
the fact that they allowed the painter to receive
commissions and fame is not conclusive for
some to “prove” his homosexuality. For proof,
some critics point only to the Boy Bitten by a
Lizard, or the notorious Love Conquers All,
both of which depict pubescent boys with an
erotic charge. In The Musicians, on loan from
the Metropolitan, you see the nubile bodies of
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1601–02, oil on canvas,
104 x 135 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence © Scala / Art Resource, New York
By Antoine Aubert
This summer, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa pays tribute to one of the
greatest painters of all time. Caravaggio was a revolutionary painter whose mysterious
and sometimes violent works made a lasting impact on art history at the end of the
Renaissance, even if he is less well known than some of his contemporaries. From June
17 to September 11, 2011, Caravaggio and his Followers in Rome gives us a chance to
re/discover a great, subversive (and possibly gay) talent.
beautiful young men on display as well. The
famous Boy with a Basket of Fruit, which did
not make into this exhibit, is also often cited as
proof of painter’s leanings.
Still, the queer theory has its detractors, who
say that his depictions of young men were just
good marketing for his intended audience, and
that Caravaggio also used female prostitutes for
models. His obsession with one such lady was
the cause of his sentence to death by beheading,
in 1606, for killing a man who rivalled him for
her affections. Caravaggio became a fugitive as
a result, returning to Rome only days before
his death in 1614. Sadly, this crime was not so
uncharacteristic of the man, who was always
getting involved in some brawl or outburst that
kept him from ever obtaining respectability or
fame in his lifetime.
Whatever can be said of his sexuality,
Caravaggio’s influence on art history is
undeniable. Valentine de Boulogne, Bartolomeo
Cavarozzi, Peter Paul Rubens, and Artemesia
Gentileschi are just some of the Caravaggesque
painters who make into the exhibit. After leaving
Ottawa, Caravaggio and his Followers in Rome
will be on display at the Kimbell Art Museum in
Fort Worth, Texas, until January 8, 2012.
Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome
National Gallery of Canada,
380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa
Tel: 613-990-1985
Toll free: 1-800-319-ARTS (2787)
www.gallery.ca
2B Magazine 31

THINGS THAT MAkE yOU GO
TOHU’s
OH!
Explosive embodiment in
Spring/Summer Lineup
By Laura Beeston
It’s a summer of Circus ahead! The boundless ability of the human
body, with its awe-inspiring acrobatic prowess and performance, ignites
an unmatched energy. Somersaulting into summer before the launch of
their 8th regular season, La TOHU is getting into full swing these comings
weeks, and is ready to make your jaw drop.
For the TOHU, crafting an impressive line-up is a labour of love not
only for the burgeoning cirque clique; this year, their playful mission
will extend beyond their tent-quarters and into the local community.
Enriching and developing the cultural experience of Saint-Michel-andbeyond
is also a big priority for the big top, according to TOHU’s General
Director Stéphane Lavoie.
In his second year at the GM helm of the circus, Lavoie explained that
the excitement of this second summer fest and eighth regular season
can be felt through its relativity. He said with a laugh that the festival
planners obviously delight in the “ooooohs” and “aaaaahs” that abound
during a show, but that the enjoyment in a larger community exchange
is equally as inspiring.
“To celebrate our space, in this huge outdoor park in our neighbourhood,
and to have it really well frequented, or discovered by the community,
where people can bring their families, their animals, [is really
exciting],” he added.
32 2B Magazine
As world capital of Cirque, Montreal will be turned on by the conditioned,
corporeal delights that the TOHU folks bring this season.
Rolling into their summer programme the second annual MONTRÉAL
COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE gets started July 7 to 24, with 15 local, national
and international troupes pitching their tents in 12 hot spots all
over the island. Running for 17 days, there will be 85 bodies of work sure
to stimulate your inner cirque. July 23 + 24, starting at 4 p.m., the Rasposo
company opens its joyously chaotic big top for a FREE banquine
performance taken from its show Le Chant du Dindon, presented at the
TOHU, while in mid-afternoon, Montréal’s African circus, Kalabanté,
hits the outdoor stage with a potent mix of African dance, singing, percussion,
breakdancing and acrobatics. From August 5-20, FALLA, the
great European carnivalesque tradition, promises to inspire and energize
with free concerts starting at 7 p.m.
Notably bringing the cirque to a Village near you for the annual Aires
Libres, the TOHU will also touch down on Ste-Catherine Est July 16 to 29.
For more information, performance line-ups, ticket prices and show
times, check out
www.montrealcompletementcirque.com
TOHU
2345 Rue Jarry Est in Saint-Michel.
www.tohu.ca
2B Magazine 33

34 2B Magazine
01
Out of the Gallery
and into the Streets
F I MA
By Michael Hawrysh
makes art inclusive
From June 29 th to July 3 rd , the twelfth annual Festival International Montréal en Arts (FIMA)
will inundate Montréal’s Village with hundreds of local and international artists to create an
immense public, outdoor art gallery and workshop. What sets FIMA apart from other festivals
is that it makes art inclusive to the public. It takes art out of the sometimes sterile gallery setting,
with its white walls and eerie silence, to a place where it can feel more like an art autopsy,
pushing it into the public realm, for all to see, experience, and participate in.
The festival, which ran for 11 days for the first time last year, has come back to its original size
of 5 days for logistical and commercial reasons. But what it has lost in duration, it makes up for
in quality. This free outdoor art festival offers the public a plethora of ways to experience and
create art, and as well as connect and collaborate with artists.
BoulevArt
Sainte-Catherine Street will again be turned into the massive BoulevArt that we have come to
know and love, showing the work of over 100 local and international artists from a very diverse
range of disciplines such as painting, drawing, engraving, sculpture, photography, collage,
graffiti, textiles, mosaics, and more! The public are exposed to both art and artist, making art
more tangible, alive and personal. You don’t need a PhD in Art history to appreciate FIMA, you
need only your senses and an open mind. The
Contemporary Experiences
On top of all the visual art that will be shown (and sold for very reasonable prices), FIMA
proposes “contemporary experiences”, a series of multidisciplinary artistic creations that invite
the public to participate in a concrete experience (psychological or physical). This may sound
intimidating, but don’t worry, you’ll survive this art attack. Here is a look at some creations that
you`ll want 2B a part of.
Invisible City
On Sunday, July 3 rd from 1-6 p.m., Jérémie Chérit (Québec) invites the public to put on a
blindfold and let themselves be led through the urban landscape. Guides will take each participant
individually, assuring their safety and steering their experience. Actors and musicians will mix
with the crowd in order to create a surprising adventure, sometimes comforting, sometimes
exhilarating, sometimes meditative, bringing the public not only into the city’s chaos but also
inside their own interior world.
My True Whisper of Skin
An ongoing performance throughout FIMA, Argentinian artist Isabel Caccia will be offering
up an unusual exchange to the public: she will paint your nails if you give her your old stockings.
She will then tear the stockings and sew them together to create a large frame that will be
2B Magazine 35

supported by structures in a park on the FIMA site (trees, lamp posts,
benches...). Other items from previous performances will be added
to create a giant new frame. This new structure will adapt to its
environment and will create a large spider-web type labyrinth that the
public can wonder through. The artist invites the public to help create
the labyrinth and will be filming the entire process and presenting the
film on the last day of FIMA. Don’t forget to bring your hosieries!
Connection and Disconnection 3
Friday, July 1 st from 4pm to 10pm at the Parc de l’Espoir, Malaysian
artist Rahmat Haron invites the public to help turn his body into a work
of art. Haron will invites the public to attach nylon ropes to his body
wherever they see fit, representing a unique perception of what we
consider to be the “art object.” Once all the ropes are attached, Haron
will stay still for a few hours, becoming a live sculpture installation. He
will then cut the ropes and leave them on site as the public has put them.
Participatory and unpredictable, this collective work is not 2B missed.
The Box of Love and Peace
Turkish artist Gulay Alpay will attempt to recreate her workshop
using fluorescent paint and other media on Saturday and Sunday,
July 2 nd and 3 rd . Visitors are invited to write, paint, tick and draw what
they wish on her art tent and participate in the work in progress.
Collaborator Emre Ertuk will undertake a surprising performance with
coloured condoms in dialogue with this interactive work.
Live Urban Art
For those who prefer to watch, FIMA offers up several live art
performances that allow the public to witness art being made. On
Saturday July 2 nd , from 1pm-7pm, the artist collective En Masse, which
brings together emerging artists who wish to reach a wide audience
with unpretentious and accessible ideas and techniques, will create
a large-scale collaborative black and white drawing. The artists of
En Masse draw from an array of fine art disciplines, graphic design,
comics, illustration, graffiti and tattoo art.
On Sunday, July 3 rd , from 1pm to 6pm, ten artists who have appeared
in Décover magazine will also create a large-scale collaborative work.
Launched in September 2009, Décover publishes the works of ten
Québec artists, emerging or professional, in each edition.
Throughout FIMA, you can catch a glimpse of Present Moments,
an installation and multimedia performance by VJ TIND (Francis
Théberge) & VJ JOCOOL (Joseph Lefèvre), where they will project
virtual images and textures on the front windows of the store Albatroz.
Though the installation can be seen every night, a live two-hour
performance will take place on Friday evening from 9-11pm.
Art and Experimental Film
In the Parc de l’Espoir, you can catch some short art and
experimental films throughout the weekend. On Thursday, June
30 th , catch a projection by Leighton Pierce (US), who works on
impressionist sounds and images which are often slowed to create a
hypnotic effect. His films appeal more to sensation than narrative. On
Friday, July 1 st , you can discover the work of Nathalie Bujold, whose
work oscillates between sublimation of the ordinary and trivialization
of the sublime. They refer to consciousness in relation to time and
perception. On Saturday, July 2 nd , you can catch the both poetic and
ironic experimental work of Nelson Henricks (Québec).
FIMA’s full program is available as of June 14 at www.festivaldesarts.org
01. SÇbastien Gaudette_2 02. FIMA 03. Martinez Diego
36 2B Magazine
02
03
By 2B Staff
FIMA’s
queer artists have issues
While FIMA’s BoulevART remains the spine and soul of its displays, and truly its raison d’être, two queer
artists will be bursting out of the kiosk-sized spaces and into the street as part of their Contemporary
Experiences programme: returning artist Patrick Lonergan, and RG cover-guy Alex Storm.
Patrick Longeran: Radioactive
Well-known to FIMA-goers from his installation performances and
graphic-inspired visual art, Patrick Lonergan is back this year for two
days of and durational performance, by himself, and in the character of
Stacey Green. While works in previous years have explored the issues
of war, violence, water use, and religion, his new Fukushima series is all
about energy.
“Since the Fukushima disaster in Japan, I’ve been thinking about the
concept of energy, the idea of consuming and expending,” he explains,
referring to the manipulated photo images that will form the backdrop
of his performances. By incorporating the element of performance,
particularly using the camp-drag of Stacey’s acid-green wig, Lonergan
is looking to transcend the limitations of mere pictures. “They’re an
exploration of space and identity. It’s a projection of reality.” Stacey
Green is a not only the artist’s femme alter-ego, she’s also his extreme
consumerist archetype. “We all have this femininity that we’re trying to
hide all the time. It’s very strong in Québec literature. I think we all want
to be women at one point, even though we all need to reassert that we
are a man,” he says, reminding us that the point of Stacey’s character is
to explore themes of gender and consumerism, not just to “drag it up.”
Now based in Québec City, Lonergan says he may eventually return
to Montréal, where he has found what seems to be the perfect formula
for a street art festival. “I don’t want the performance aspect to be too
cerebral. I want people to enjoy them, I want spectators to be provoked
but not repulsed.” It’s easy for themes like war, nature, disaster, and the
environment to seem too obvious, so this young provocateur likes to
keep it deceptively light: “People who know my performances know I’m
always entertaining, but with a core of something heavy. It’s kind of like
playing with extremes.” We’ll be all too happy to expose ourselves to
Patrick Lonergan’s radiation this July 1 + 2 at the FIMA.
Alexander Storm: Pinocchio 10
Alex Storm is known around Montréal for his many artistic and video
collaborations, showing up most recently on the March cover of RG.
For FIMA, Storm is embarking on a totally different— and aesthetically
schizophrenic— project addressing issues of child exploitation via the
Pinocchio tale that will be performed live on Sainte-Catherine Est. With
an installation of interactive “doll boxes” where passersby can listen to
first-hand accounts from exploited children from 12-4pm, there will be
two 20-minute performances of the erratic, politically charged piece
Pinocchio 10 between 5 and 6pm, on July 2.
The zany and unhinged piece has a core of global humanitarian
concern: the hypocrisy and cruelty of how global capital treats children.
“In Thailand, Mattel is employing children to manufacture Barbie dolls;
there are more laws protecting the Barbie trademark than there are
protecting children!” Storm said, explaining the starting point for the
performance work. Also informing his piece is a commentary on gender
and pop culture, with Pinocchio being played by actress Kathy Daehler
(a real girl who tried to turn herself into a toy for protection), and a
pseudo-Britney Spears played by Antonio Bavaro (aka Connie Lingua).
Addressing a core of hard-edged issues, Pinocchio 10 will also be taking
a stab at that semptiternal postmodern theme of what is real, what is
artificial, and the lies we tell ourselves to stay happy. Heavy.
For the full schedule of performances and other events, check out:
www.festivaldesarts.org
2B Magazine 37

All that Jazz:
Jazz Fest
Big Names and Local Talent at
By Boísin Murphy
We wait for it every year like the high holiday of rhythm: Montréal’s most famous mega-fest
has everything from classic Rockabilly to Worldbeat to avant-garde. While many have criticized
Spectra’s omnivorous programming for straying too far from the titular “jazz” genre, it’s the festival
wide reach that seems to be key to its continued success. With a cascade of shows by superstars
like Marianne Faithfull, k.d. lang, and Pink Martini, and with a free outdoor closing concert by
the B52s, this year’s Jazz Fest looks like one of their most inclusive and exciting programmes ever.
The Party Ain’t Over
38 2B Magazine
One of the shear clout of the Jazz Fest is its
ability to attract the world’s greatest performers
at the height of their careers. To start with the
queerest of the big names, Canadian living
legend k.d. lang will be making a one-night
stop at PdA to croon melodies from her new
Sing It Loud album. Described as a “return to
her roots,” she’s back with new material and a
new group. The out lesbian Alberta-born singer
has only made a couple of Montréal stops in
the last decade, memorably with Tony Bennett
in 2001. Flanked by these tuned-in turned-on
young instrumentalists the Siss Boom Bang, and
lassoing a repertoire of new country-rock songs
including a Talking Heads cover (“Heaven”),
she is sure to deliver a concert with the magic
and soul for that her renditions of “Crying” and
“Hallelujah” made her famous for (June 27 @
Place de Arts).
Book-ending the festival with a closing night
show at PdA, Marianne Faithfull heads to
the Festival for the first time since 2002 with
her 23rd (!) album, Horses and High Heels. The
singer and actress with the deep, uncanny voice
called on old friend Lou Reed to whip together
this blend of covers and originals, including the
plaintive “Why Did We Have to Part,” along with
covers of Dusty Springfield’s “Goin’ Back” and
The Shangri-las’ “Past, Present, Future.”. (July 4
@ Place des Arts)
From another generation of artists who
know the world of music to be a fickle and
addictive business, lifelong Rockabilly diva
Wanda Jackson will take the stage at Club Soda
on July 2. A contemporary of Elvis and Jerry
Lee, Jackson is back at the height of her game
following the January release of The Party Ain’t
Over, produced by none other than manic hitmaker
Jack White. “I gave him free reign to direct
the album,” Jackson told 2Bmag. “He pushed me
real hard. It was the hardest I’ve been pushed for
a while. After an artist reaches a certain status,
the younger generation that’s making the ideas
is intimidated, but I have always been open to
new ideas,” Jackson says. Her Montréal date
comes on the heels of sold-out shows in New
York, Bonnaroo, TN, and basically wherever
she goes. If you haven’t heard what real classic
Rockabilly sounds like, just Youtube Jackson’s
1956 “Let’s Have a Party” and the 2011 followup
“The Party Ain’t Over.”
Need we remind you of where you’ll want
to be for the closing show on July 4? The
progenitors of alternative pop-rock, post-punk
and dance, from garage rock to new wave, the
stratospherically famous B-52s will be the
literal show-stoppers at the Place des Festivals
on the last night. Perhaps the “world’s greatest
party band,” it’s possible that this should could
live up to the last two year’s stunning closers by
Patrick Watson and Stevie Wonder.
2B Magazine 39

Above & Beyond:
By Danny Légaré
When you bear the weight of the trance world on your shoulders as
UK’s Above & Beyond have been carrying since they remixed Madonna’s
“What It Feels Like For A Girl” back in 2001, you would think that A&B’s
Jono Grant, Paavo Siljamäki and Tony McGuinness would balk at the
thought of releasing an album that would overshadow 2006’s, seminal
trance opus, Tri-State. Not the case. What the trio has accomplished
with Group Therapy is something for the edm (electronic dance music)
time capsule. However, no one ever said it was going to be easy and for
some, the wait was an enduring test of faith. Fortunately for the band
and the fans, everyone came out a winner.
The last five years have given Above & Beyond international acclaim
both from their studio works and DJ sets, landing and maintaining a top
10 spot in DJ Mag’s annual Top 100 DJ List over the last six years. They
have expanded their label Anjunabeats to become an empire of sorts, one
that trance DJs and fans revere and hold as a standard in which all other
dance music record labels are compared to. This didn’t make the wait any
simpler for the millions of fans around the world that have anticipated the
album since rumors filled trance music messageboards a year ago.
Group Therapy stands as a myriad of sound, lush and sleek in
production, lyrically rich and boasts some of the finest work the trio
have ever put to tape. The ambient opener “Filmic”, the staple intro piece
to their recent DJ sets (including their recent Bal en Blanc appearance
Group Therapy
back in April) sets the tone for an album that blurs genres with tales of
loves lost, along with depth and meaning which remains unheard of for
this musical genre. Group Therapy is definitely one for even the purists
to hear and will put those that believe electronic music to be robotic and
soulless, to shame.
The electro-rock clash of “Black Room Boy” (featuring vocalist Richard
Bedford) gives the album a slight edge to the sleek, dancefloor/stadium
fillers “Sun & Moon” and “Thing Called Love”, while former Faithless
vocalist Zoe Johnston delivers breathtaking vocals on “Alchemy”, “You
Got to Go” and album highlight, the tear-jerking, proglifting, “Love
is Not Enough”. The album’s peak is not represented by the driving,
four-to-the-floor mantra that Above & Beyond is known for (although
“Prelude” comes pretty close), but with the incredibly uplifting, modern
classical “Sun In Your Eyes” – which illicit hints of ambient electronic
wizards, Brian Eno and William Orbit.
What New Order accomplished back in 1983 with “Blue Monday”,
marrying electronic dance music with elements of rock’n’roll, Above &
Beyond has accomplished in 2011, combining electronica with classic,
poignant song-writing. While the stigma attached with “dull soulless
dance music” most likely never to be shaken free of its false stereotype,
it is albums like this one that will remind that us that somewhere,
somehow, someone pushed the button, and for once, it worked.
www.anjunabeats.com
40 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 41

LOvE SUNDAYS:
Life, Love, Music and Moraes
By Danny Légaré
One of the main destinations remains the
Vieux Port in Old Montreal, and tucked neatly
into the heart of the touristy attraction is one
of Montreal’s hottest, most celebrated outdoor
parties, Love Sundays. The venue itself is
reason enough alone to make the trip each
and every Sunday from May to September.
Terrasses Bonsecours has a view of the city that
is, bar none, one of the finest, where clubbers
gaze upon the city’s skyline while sashaying to
the chunkiest and funkiest house music this
side of the St. Lawrence River.
Over the past two summers, Love Sundays
has played host to some of the finest outdoor
house parties this city has ever known. No
longer one of Montreal’s best kept secrets,
the sun-lovers’ music paradise has amassed a
following and loyal client base, thanks to main
instigator Angel Moraes. A New York-born
producer/remixer/DJ, Moraes has been active
in the underground clubbing scene since the
heydays of the early house music scene of the
late 80’s and has since emerged as one of the
most influential players of the North American
deep house scene.
The chosen one
Moraes joined up with Montreal nightlife
luminary Steve Bishop to produce the weekly
summer ritual. “Steve (Bishop) and I had been
talking about working together for a few years
prior to Love Sundays,” Moraes says. “In June
of 2009, we went down to arrange my birthday
party and one of the owners of Terrasses
Bonsecours offered us the Sundays.” The feeling
was mutual. “I didn’t choose Montreal for Love
Sundays, it chose me.”
As for taking crowds from Montréal’s
other large outdoor, electronic dance music
gathering, Moraes has no worries. “I have
always believed that competition is a good
thing, it keeps us on our toes,” Moraes says.
“In addition, I don’t think the outdoor scene is
saturated at all. Especially in a city that longs
for the summer – the more the better!”
Third Time’s the Coolest
“We were already very conscious of the type
of event, concept and philosophy the party
would be and we knew that if we stayed true
to what we wanted to do, it would be cool,”
Moraes said. “We had no idea it would catch
on the way it has. People now call it ‘The
coolest outdoor party in Montréal’.”
As Love Sundays enters into its third
season— and as they say, third time’s the
charm— patrons and supporters can expect
to see more class, plenty of those good vibes,
and some improvements from the last season.
“Everything will be better, the venue, the vibe
and, of course, the music.”
What would Love Sunday be without the
talent and chunky bass-lines courtesy of the
impressive roster of DJs that make their tribe
move and groove? The list of DJs that have
been or are booked at Love Sundays is most
impressive. Serving the beats of the past
seasons were Moraes, Hex Hector, Manny
Ward, Steve ‘Bear’ Sas, B’UGO, JoJo Flores,
Patrick Dream and Steve Aries, to name a few.
The event has also hosted pioneers of the house
music scene, including the legend that is John
‘Jellybean’ Benitez.
For those who have yet to partake of the
weekly love-in, Moraes is quick to say that
the party wouldn’t be the same without the
vibe that persists, week in and week out. “It’s
all about love,” he says. “Love for life, love for
music, love for people. What would he say to
someone who has yet to come to Love Sundays?
“What are you waiting for?” Moraes asks.
What would they expect? “Magic!!!”
LOVE SUNDAYS @ Terrasses Bonsecours
And introducing PEOPL. @ LOVE
SUNDAYS every Sunday:
JOJO FLORES & friends from 2pm-7pm
Complimentary admission before 7pm
Cover charge 10$ after 7pm
PLUGGED
Piknic
INTO
Électronik
THE SUMMER
A feast for Montréal`s sun-kissed ears
By Danny Légaré
For the past nine summers, Piknic Électronik has been serving Montréal’s electronic dance
music community with beats and rhythms, uniting the weekend warriors, the club kids, and
the baby strollers as one, all under the pounding heat of summer sun. Montréal’s summer party
season just wouldn’t be the same without the weekly escape to Parc Jean-Drapeau to go and
prance like a raver underneath the protective limbs of the infamous Iron man at Place de l’homme.
Leaving questionable modifications to their original formula aside, Piknic is and was always
about discovering new sounds and unveiling new trends in electronic dance music, all the while
celebrating the pioneering masters at work. Opening weekend (May 22) had Dubfire and local
Maher Daniel, provided the four-to-the-floor tech mantra. Sprinkled throughout the season
we have visits from Refresh (Parking) residents Roux Soundsystem, Nathan Burns, Terry
Lee Brown, Sebastien Léger, Fred Everything, Ian Pooley, Misstress Barbara, local music
collective Monitor, and many more.
Even with mounting corporate presence, the weekend love-in still remains a true testament
to outdoor partying due, in part to location, location, location. The scenic main Piknic stage at
Place de l’homme is minutes from the downtown core and there’s a metro stop a short stroll from
the dancefloor. To leave no booty unshaken, Piknic is also partnering up fellow summer festival
favorites Osheaga.
If you do end up hitting up Osheaga, grab your ticket/weekend pass to the festival and make your
way to Place de l’homme on July 31 st for Piknic @ Osheaga, which will host the crème de la crème
of edm including minimal, tech-house wizard Claude VonStroke. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan,
VonStroke is responsible for re-tweaking a wide range of commercial and underground artists from
Indy rock group “The Rapture” to Detroit techno legend Kevin Saunderson. Try not to bounce
around like a kid on a pogo stick when (if) he drops his staple “Who’s Afraid of Detroit?”.
Piknic Électronik’s ninth season hits the pavement, grass, and bushes every Sunday from May
22nd to September 25th (but not July 24th).
Rain or shine, and they mean that.
www.piknicelectronic.com
42 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 43

Toronto Pride
By Jordan Arseneault (with reports from Matthew Harris)
Toronto Pride Week has been running for over thirty years, attracts
hundreds of thousands visitors, and is so successful that it is slated to
host World Pride in 2014. But on Monday, May 23 rd , 2011, the group
that organizes it, Pride Toronto (PT), faced possible defunding for refusing
to ban pro-Palestine group Queers against Israeli Apartheid.
(QuAIA). Two councillors, the pro-Israel George Mammoliti and
Pride defender Kristyn Wong-Tam, were the main opponents in a consultation
that meandered through 5 hours of presentations from Pride
Toronto and QuAIA supporters, and groups who sought to defund
North America’s largest Pride celebration over accusations of allowing
“hate speech”.
QuAIA became a lightening-rod for debate last year when Pride Toronto
bowed to pro-Israel pressure and agreed to ban the Palestine solidarity
group, only to re-include them after the Pride Coalition for Free
Speech raised an international stink, prompting hundreds of letters of
protest, and a boycott by marshals from International Lesbian and Gay
Association. QuAIA was allowed back in, but this year will be sitting out
of the parade to appease detractors and presumably to help the cashstrapped
Pride org keeps its precious $125,000 in municipal funding.
Pride Toronto Interim Director Glen Brown hopes that now the discussion
to move on to what Pride is really about, which is representing
and giving a space for celebration to more marginalized parts of the
community, like trans people and people of colour. “We’re not done yet
from trans people are having their fundamental human rights quashed
every day, when teens are still committing suicide, when people are
still getting gay-bashed,” Brown said, on his way to meet with one of
Rob Ford’s funding bureaucrats to discuss next steps.
In order to combat the Mammoliti and pro-Israeli groups who want
to use QuAIA as an excuse to take away funding from the biggest LGBT
event in the hemisphere, Glen Brown has a positive message. “We tell
[the City] that people in Toronto are proud of the city we have. And
if the city were to cut our support and the whole thing is in jeopardy.
Some would see the city funding cut as a symbolic punishment for not
banning QuAIA. We’re telling them that cutting municipal funding
would in fact kill it, and would not be symbolic,” Brown told 2B.
© Mark Wong
Escapes Defunding… for now
Francisco Alvarez, co-chair of Pride Toronto, feels frustrated by
the controversy. “We basically became the middle man between two
factions,” Alvarez says. “We support free speech on both sides. There
was a pro-Israeli group in the parade in the last year and no one noticed.”
According to a 2009 report, Toronto Pride brings in over $130 million
of tourist revenue, with an estimated $4 million tax fall-out for the City.
In total, the City of Toronto gives only $125,000 in cash and $250,000 in
services to the event, which brings over 1 million people to the streets,
parks and clubs of Queen’s City. This year, it all goes down June 24 to
July 3rd, with funding contingent on QuAIA staying away from the
event. Unless a majority of city councillors vote against its funding,
Pride Toronto should retain its funding for this year. However, Alvarez
remains concerned. Mayor Rob Ford has questioned the need for any
funding for large cultural events. And Alvarez thinks it’s worrying that
Pride Toronto has been the first to receive this kind of scrutiny. “Why
are they singling out the largest LGBTQ event?” he asked.
Pride defunding part of Rob Ford’s larger plan
For Doug Kerr, founding member of Proud of Toronto, a group
formed out of last year’s controversy, there are two issues: there’s the
Pride issue and Rob Ford’s crusade against cultural and community
org funding known as (“Cut the Gravy” was Ford’s campaign catch
phrase). “Pride Toronto was being attacked because of their refusal
to ban QuAIA—they were the first agency under attack because they
were the low-hanging fruit, so to speak,” according to Kerr, who has
been active in the sector for decades.
“What’s driving the attack on pride is a lack of understanding of our
communities, and the open dislike of our community,” Kerr explains.
The Council meeting where the funding vote centred on QuAIA
“was horrible, because there were a bunch of people who have no
knowledge of our community, and a bunch of councillors making
grand statements about discrimination.” Proud of Toronto has been
rallying new members to get a cross-sectional culture and community
sector to oppose Ford’s plans.
“We’re still in the early days. It’s about 6 months from the election
and we have 4 more years of Rob Ford,” says Kerr, pointing out that
Ford was the only councillor to vote against
receiving provincial funding for AIDS service
organizations on the principle that the City
should have no part in them. “If he starts
cutting funding to AIDS-related and other
social services and 30 years of community
engagement, we will fight back. People died
and fought for these services and their lives,”
Kerr said defiantly.
Councillor Wong-Tam is dismayed by
the dispute surrounding Pride Toronto, but
remains optimistic. “One positive thing that
came out of these difficult and trying times is
that we have a more unified community than
ever before,” Wong-Tam says. “There’s not
going to be too many people who experience
Pride this year who are going to forget that we
almost lost Pride.”
Check in this week for more coverage of Toronto
Pride and its discontents (and its fabulous
events, of course), on 2bmag. Also check
out “The Proud of Toronto Campaign” page
on Facebook for more info on their actions.
Bornstein this Way:
Repeat after me…
By Jordan Arseneault
Pride Toronto’s Arts and Culture Manager,
TK says they wanted to make this year’s events
relevant and responsive to the margins of their
community, and to cut back on the big headliners.
Keeping with the theme of a more grassroots
Pride, and boosting their outreach to the trans
community, the guest of honour at this year’s
March will be none other than activist, writer,
and gender outlaw Kate Bornstein.
Bornstein has been a staple of queer theory
and trans activist discourse since her 1994 tome
Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of
Us, which explored how trans identities take and
remake shape within the male/female gender
binary. She is currently working on her memoir
entitled Kate Bornstein is a Clear and Pleasant
Danger and has been touring with the multiauthored
Gender Outlaws: the Next Generation
since it came out last year. We talked reached
her in New York City to talk about what she’ll be
doing at Toronto Pride, and what it all means.
“Everyone who likes sex or is ok with other
people liking sex, raise your hand! Repeat after
me: I solemnly swear to have a good fucking time,”
Kate intoned when I asked what she would be
saying as the send-off for this year’s Trans March
and Pride Parades. Asked what she thinks of the
larger North American celebrations like Toronto
and NYC, she replies wryly. “The way it is right
now, it’s ok. It’s nowhere revolutionary,” adding
pithily that “it’s no more a political statement
than the St Patrick’s Day Parade.” Their strengths
are that they help people see “there are a lot of us,”
which touches on a major chord in Bornstein’s
work: inclusivity.
By “us”, Bornstein means a lot more than the four
capitals in LGBT. To become more revolutionary,
Pride needs to welcome people whose identities,
either cultural or economic, keep them
disempowered by mainstream society, “like sexworkers,
people who are into BDSM, fairies and
sissies, people who are asexual, intersex, people
who are polyamorous, two-spirited people…”
adding that we have to “welcome them as people
and not just as ornaments on our parade.”
Bornstein is adamant that the sexual and
gender revolution has to be ever more inclusive
in order to build “a bigger umbrella of people who
are more politically effective,” and stresses the
“value of building community with sex positivity,
sex inclusivity and gender anarchy” as goals. Part
of the reason Bornstein was invited this year was
how close Canada came to adopting the trans
anti-discrimination legislation bill C-389 in
the last parliament. “If you consider the failure
of C-389, and what is going on with Catholic
Schools and GSAs, how can we form an alliance
of people who are similarly oppressed?” she asks,
saying that we need to form “a sex gender alliance
that is bigger than LGBT.”
Bornstein’s answer for how we’re going to
do this has all of the hallmarks of a new queer
anthem, echoing both artist Annie Sprinkle and
socialist revolutionary Emma Goldman: “The
very first thing people need to do is what Annie
Sprinkle tells people to do: you need to have
more sex, and acknowledge your sex and your
gender, and start having fun with it. For me, to
fuck is a political act. If I can’t fuck I don’t want
to be part of your revolution.” We’re happy to be
part of your revolution, Kate, and anyone who’s
in Toronto for Pride will be too.
Kate Bornstein will be the Trans March on
Friday, July 1 st , on Toronto’s Church Street,
followed by a reading on the Gende(R)evolution
Stage with collaborator S. Bear Bergman.
For the full programme, check out
www.pridetoronto.com
44 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 45
© Mark Wong

2B Out @
02
Piknic + Stereo
01
03 04
05 06
2B was practically inside the DJ booth for D-Unity’s
ground-shaking set at Stereo this spring. With releases in
Labels worldwide like Toolroom, Ultra and Armada + their
own Beat Therapy Records, D-Unity continue to spread
their Tribal and Techno-Tech grooves all over the world.
www.d-unity.net
www.facebook.com/dunity
www.stereonightclub.net
When it comes to outdoor dance-parties, no one does it
like the Piknic Electronik people. The May long weekend
brought out their biggest crowd ever to hear DUBFIRE.
On July 31, you’ve got 2B there for house legend Claude
von Stroke who plays the special Osheaga edition.
www.piknicelectronik.com
01. DjSimon © Erick Contreras
02. Steven & Sylvain © Erick Contreras
03. D-Unity @ Stereo © Maax
04. Mascotte du piknicelectronik © Sean MacKenzie
05. Marie Helene & Elizabeth © Erick Contreras
06. DjTerryLeeBrown © Erick Contreras
07. @ Stereo © Maax
46 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 47
07

Summer Heat
Raymond wears
Sweatpants by Aussiebum
48 2B Magazine
By Armando Branco
Raymond wears
Rufskin denim swimwear

Burnie wears :
Top by Obey Propaganda
Cap by Stüssy
Belt by Chasin’ Denim
Pant by Triús
Flipflops Model’s own
Getting out of the city to escape the summer heat—or relish it—is
an essential ritual in places where the summer is all too brief. Speaking
of brief, Armando Branco gave us a look at one of his gorgeous new
faces, Raymond, who sports the suggestion of a Rufskin swimsuit for
your viewing pleasure.
It’s the summer, so let’s be honest, it’s not really about clothes, is it?
Whether you’re walking the dogs, or feel like sniffing around the beach,
it’s definitely the season of less is more. Photos graciously provided by
Armando Branco.
www.armandobranco.com
www.rufskin.com
www.aussiebum.com
Is available online and at Priape stores. Photography & concept by
Armando Branco, Models Burnie & Raymond, Styling by Yours Truly @
77, Special thanks to Francky & Miriam & their dogs, Petra @ Revenge
/ Utrecht
50 2B Magazine
Burnie wears
Top by supreMEBEING
Trousers by SOHO NY
Flipflops Model’s own
2B Magazine 51

There’s something charmingly cocky about Andy Rioux, this selftaught
interior designer who used to work on cars doing custom
painting in his father’s body shop. He grew up constantly rearranging
the furniture in his bedroom, (“I never really knew why,” he says) and has
always been good with his hands. He applies these talents to TLC-style
total make-overs of condos and urban homes in a modern, minimalist
style that involves really getting to know his clients.
“It’s kind of strange because I enter their intimate space, and I end up
being friends with my clients. As awkward as it sounds, I wind up being
friends with 90% of my clients; they invite me to dinner, I house sit for
them, and we stay friends. Clients are clients, but I need to get along
with someone if I’m going to design for them,” he admits. Rioux likes
his redesigns to have an educational element, and he always stresses the
dual importance of function and style.
“I like things to be very clean. Everything has to be hidden, whether it’s
the remote, or your wallet and change when you walk into your house.
Even for someone messy, it’s easy to keep it tidy if everything has its
place. One of my clients that I’m doing now is 26, it’s his first place. Last
week I told him that we’re going to organize his kitchen and bedroom
space so that afterwards you just have to maintain. And he really got into
52 2B Magazine
Andy Rioux’s
Style+Function
Total Make-Overs
By Jordan Arseneault
it!” I certainly wouldn’t mind getting a few tips from Mr. Rioux, since he
has a rabid contempt for clutter that I could really benefit from.
He’s also a master of making inexpensive furnishings looks deluxe,
and takes special pride when he convinces a client to jettison that ugly
couch that just clashes with everything. “When I do a project and I need
furniture, most of the time clients give me carte blanche, especially male
clients. Guys tend to be easier to work for because they are easier to
satisfy and impress,” he confides. One recent coup was convincing a
client that he could sell off his old couch and replace it with a cleaner,
classier fold-out from Danish retailer Jysk. Rioux is not beneath going
to Ikea either, but he likes to mix things up, in one project using kitchen
cabinets for a living-room entertainment unit (who knew?).
Rioux’s amazing eye for clean lines, chic materials, and functionality
have gotten him called to LA, New York, Toronto, and even Nassau,
Bahamas. And what do his clients get from an Andy Rioux make-over
that they couldn’t do on their own? “You have to think outside of the
box. Everything has to not only look good, but it has to be functional.
As an interior designer I bring logic to the details. Like with my recent
client, I had to explain to him that the couch and coffee-table combo
was not practical because when you sit down to watch a movie, don’t
Before
After
2B Magazine 53

54 2B Magazine
Before
Before
After
After
2B Magazine 55

56 2B Magazine
tell me you don’t put your feet up on the coffee
table! It’s important to me that the space you’re
in be so comfortable that you don’t want to
leave it. You need balance.” Needless to say, he
went with an ottoman, and the couch got sold
off to get one that fit the new design better.
Every time he designs and decorates a space,
it’s with his client’s comfort in mind, and it’s his
job to wow them with style and ideas.
But this sexy design maverick is very reluctant
to talk about trends: “A lot of people ask me
what the trends are. I will never be a trendfollower.
It’s one thing in fashion, but interior
design is different. Every time I do a place, I
want it to be timeless. I don’t have the mindset
of doing something really trendy because I don’t
want people to have to redo it right away,” he
stresses. Although he really didn’t want to talk
trends, I managed to get him to tell me some
hot new flooring treatments that he’s been
using. One recent project involved sanding and
re-staining a condo’s original hardwood floors
from “beige” to a charcoal colour with a high
gloss finish. He’s been wanting to try concrete
floors with an epoxy finish too, which he says
are also gaining in popularity.
“When I do my design, I like everything to
look like a page from a magazine,” says Rioux,
and we certainly couldn’t argue. “For me, it’s
important because your house is your nest, it’s
where you think, it’s where you live.” For more
info on Andy Rioux’s “eclectic interiors”, check
out www.andyriouxdesign.com

The Canadian Guild of Crafts
A showcase of artisans to enrich your spirit and your home.
Stone, wood, and metal: the Canadian Guild of Crafts is a showcase of art and design pieces
that blend ancient tradition with modern style. Located near the Musée des Beaux-Arts since
2002, Guild’s museum and gallery space has designed its interior with clean lines of untreated
wood and white walls to give full attention to the collection in the gallery. The many crafts and
sculptures on display bear witness to the diversity of human talent and the materials that can be
used to express an artistic vision. All works in the boutique are made by hand in styles to meet
all tastes and sold at prices to meet all budgets.
The sculpture and artwork reflect the creative expression of Canadians across the country
with significant contributions from the Inuit and First Nations peoples. In one section of the
gallery finely crafted silver jewellery shares space with displays of colourful animal pottery, pure
form ceramics, woven clothing, spiritual Haida masks and hand crafted pepper mills that are
almost poetic. Another space in the gallery highlights the carvings, ceramics and prints of the
Inuit from Nunavut and Nunavik. The images, shapes, and activities of every day life in this
harsh environment influence the narratives of these sculptures giving them a unique expression.
In this culture man and animal are often one and the same. The hunter takes the form of a
walrus to become better at catching fish; a mother and child are transformed into a bear in order
to have the strength to hunt seal.
The Guild also maintains a permanent collection of Inuit art. Situated on the second floor
of the gallery, this collection reflects the evolution of Inuit art over the past 100 years. About
200 works are currently on display with another 800 placed in reserve. The earlier works
show a range of implements that were used for hunting and fishing some made animal hide
and fish bone. Soapstone is the predominant material for most of the sculptures carved in a
likeness to both the animals the Inuit see and hunt and to themselves as hunters in this northern
environment.
The Canadian Guild of Crafts was founded in 1906 with a mandate to conserve, encourage and
promote Inuit and Amerindian art and Canadian fine crafts. The Guild was established in 1895 as
the Women’s Art Association, an organization that sought to revive the tradition of crafts by giving
fair remuneration to the women producing the work, many of whom lived in remote rural areas.
In 1906 the Woman’s Art Association was officially declared a federal non-profit organization and
changed its name to the Guild. The Guild’s objectives were primarily to preserve and encourage
the practice of crafts by making it an honourable and lucrative profession, seeking to promote and
give value to the oral and artistic traditions of Canadian cultures by allowing them to earn their
livelihood in their communities and maintain their way of life.
1460 Sherbrooke street west,
suite B, Montreal
514.849.6091
www.guildecanadiennedesmetiersdart.com
All photos by César Ochoa
Design Talks
The Talked-About town at PVM
Place Ville Marie will pay tribute to Montreal’s fifth year as a UNESCO
City of Design this June with a new exhibition entitled “The Talked
About Town.” Presented in Place Ville Marie’s shopping mall from
June 4 through September 30, 2011, this show will feature the talents
of Montreal’s designers in seven disciplines: graphic design, industrial
design, exhibition design, architecture, landscape architecture, interior
design and fashion design.
The exhibition gathers luminaries of various design fields, as part of
the build-up to PVM’s 50 th anniversary next year. “Design is a creative
activity that shapes the quality of our environment, contributes to our
cultural expression and builds on our personal identities,” says PVM rep
Dany Gauthier. The list of names is like a who’s who of important firms,
from Marie Saint-Pierre and Philippe Dubuc for fashion, to architects
Saucier+Perrotte, trendy exhibit designers Atelier Punkt, and graphic
design trickster Paprika. Interior design is especially well-represented
by local firms Aedifica and Cabinet Braun-Braën (known for their
tour-de-force interiors at Pullman, Club Chasse et Pêche, and Old Port
eatery DNA).
Montréal became North America’s first city in 2006 to join the
prestigious UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Design.
Buenos Aires and Berlin received this same distinction in 2005.
Celebrating 5 years of this distinction, the exhibition will open alongside
the Design Montréal Open House event from June 4 to 5.
The Talked About Town – Place Ville Marie
From June 4th through September 30th, 2011—Free admission
www.placevillemarie.com
Photo: Centre de design de l’UQAM : Model for an interior expansion
by Rodney LaTourelle
58 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 59

Au Chaud Lapin
European cuisine with a
North American Twist
Sasha Gauvin
In keeping with the tradition of Mediterranean-style cooking, Kaza Maza’s menu
is full of flavor and warm sensations. For a year and half already, owner Fadi Sakr
and Saad Maksoud have been welcoming patrons to their cozy, unpretentious Parc
Avenue location to share some of the Syrian sunshine that infuses their cuisine.
The baba ghanouj is phenomenal, the lamb kafta with pistachios is a delight, and
the sour cherry kebabs are superb. One dish you’ll have to try is the tender lamb
shank, bathed in a delicious yogurt sauce with fresh herbs, not to mention the
excellent kibbé nayyé, a Syrian-style beef tartar. Such rich flavours lend themselves
to sharing plates with your dining companions, which allows everyone to get a better
taste of the menu. A meal with so much flavour is best accompanied by a glass of arak,
a licorice-based liqueur, and you finish off with a cardamom-spiced “Turkish” coffee.
The weekend offers a whole other experience: the Syrian brunch. The menu is a
delectable combination of salty and sweet dishes: the perfect excuse to escape the
monotony of the standard eggs benny. Kaza Maza’s brunch creations include the fattet
houmous, a layered dish with whole chick-peas, tahini yogurt sauce, clarified butter
and pistachios, or the houmous kawarma, a humus plate with marinated lamb and
pine nuts. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll love the selection of Damascus jams (made
with rose water, figs, and apricots), served with fresh akkawi cheese and walnuts.
Every Tuesday night at Kaza Maza is devoted to live Middle Eastern music. For
the warmth, the flavours, and the outstanding food, you’ll be adding Kaza Maza to
your list of local favorites after just one visit.
4629, avenue du Parc, Montréal
514.844.6292
www.kazamaza.ca
With a warm and inviting atmosphere, Au Chaud Lapin combines the classics
of European bistro cuisine with delicious wild game. The distinct flavours of North
America prepared with the finesse of the Old World: the best of both worlds.
A cuisine off the beaten path
“We like to define Chaud Lapin as a North Amercian bistro, a cuisine made with
local ingredients that correspond with the seasons (simple, fast, affordable) that
offers classics such as tartar, grilled meats, but also wild game meats,” explains owner
Jean-Benoît Hinse. You have to try the beef steak or their raviolis with duck confît,
two house classics, to fully appreciate the extent of Chef Jean-Cédric Morency’s
talent. He’s a graduate of the ITHQ in Italian cuisine, with fresh homemade pasta
and game meat amongst his specialties.
The attention to quality can be tasted in every bite of Jean-Cédric Morency’s
exquisite dishes, all of which use either certified organic or organically produced
meats.
Besides the food, the four co-owners are deeply proud of their impressive wine
list. “From a total of around 175 wines, more than half are either organic or natural,
meaning without added sulphites. Also, we try to offer a choice for every taste at a
reasonable price. For example, we offer around 30 different red wines that vary in
price between $30 and $50,” explains Hinse, who selected the wines himself.
This summer, the owners of Au Chaud Lapin will christen their new patio, which
will allow patrons to enjoy their meal while basking in the sun, or under a starry sky.
For late loungers, the resto is open until midnight Thursday to Saturday.
1279 Avenue Mont-Royal Est
514.522.2379
www.auchaudlapin.ca
Open 7 day/week in the summer
Table d’hôte from $19 Thurs.-Sat before 7pm.
Kaza Maza:
Syrian Warmth
Fanciful:
Gâteaux Janice Cakes
By Laura MacDonald
Not two minutes after meeting Janice I am enjoying one of the most delicious
desserts I’ve ever eaten. The cake she has brought for me to try is a rich chocolate
cake between layers of chocolate ganache and white chocolate filling covered in
butter cream icing with dulce de leche topping. Basically, I am in heaven. All interviews
should be this good.
Janice is the one-woman powerhouse behind Gâteaux Janice, a made-to-order
Montréal cake business that not only creates cakes that are total flights of decorative
fantasy, but also bakes everything from scratch, assuring that they taste positively
fantastic. Looking through her portfolio, I see the work of a total perfectionist.
Elegant roses and lilies with petals so delicate that they look almost too real to
eat and playful cakes that imitate flower pots, shoes, books and fish. Apparently no
idea is too much of a challenge for Janice.
But this master of icing sugar isn’t a graduate of a fancy culinary school. The only
formal schooling she’s had was a night class on basic cake decorating. Through
practice and experimentation, Janice taught herself to make cakes that would
stand their ground against any reality TV show baker. Nowadays her plate is full
with clients who keep her on her toes, looking for more and more complex and
off-the-wall creations for their weddings, birthdays and fundraisers.
Since the summer season of celebrations is upon us, I asked Janice what’s hot
for this year in the world of cake. She replies that berry shortcakes and red velvets
are very en vogue right now and that she personally recommends something along
the lines of a lemon curd with either blueberry or raspberry. But no matter what
the trend, assures Janice, don’t be afraid to order the good old standards because
chocolate continues to reign supreme as the most popular flavour of all.
514.295.1700
www.gateauxjanice.com
The Piz’za-za restaurant and wine bar, housed in a charming old red brick
house, adds a real touch of class to the Vieux-Hull district of Gatineau.
Trendy locals appreciate their impressive wine list and often drop by for a drink
after work, or to dine on one of their many gourmet pizzas. Originality and flavour
are on the menu here. Piz’za-za has an urban decor, with brick, wood and mirrors,
centering on their impressive bar and open view of the kitchen. It’s on the second
floor that we find the pièce de résistance, their large glass wine cellar that would
make any oenophile drool. During the summer months, you’ll want to check out
their lovely back patio.
The restaurant staff is remarkably friendly and quick, creating a welcoming and
inviting atmosphere. Employees receive regular courses on the wines offered in the
restaurant to improve their service. The menu has many charms, for example, their
tomato gratin with brie and raclette cheese made with Griffon beer. Bold, simple,
and exquisite. The pizzas are delicious and made with fresh ingredients like fennel,
fig, mango and smoked trout, and their salads and pastas are colourful and fresh.
Every season, the chef makes up a new menu inspired by seasonal local ingredients.
The restaurant also offers wine tastings hosted by oenologist Richard
Charbonneau. With varying themes, these workshops are a fantastic way to
discover the diversity of wines while savouring a succulent meal.
Piz’za-za is definitely worth the detour. Thanks to its proximity to Canada`s
capital, it is common for locals and tourists to cross the river for some good food,
good wine, all at a reasonable price. To view their menu or find out about their
wine tastings, visit their website at www.pizzaza.ca
36, rue Laval
Gatineau, Québec
www.pizzaza.ca
Piz’za-za:
Fine wines and gourmet
food in Vieux-Hull
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Saunas, Public Health and REZO collaborate on Charte OK
By 2B Staff
Santé publique joined HIV prevention org REZO in launching the
Charte OK today. The charter is a voluntary commitment on the part
of 4 saunas in the Village to distribute condoms, prevention info and
services on site.
Modeled on similar programmes in Europe and Australia, the
Charte OK is the brainchild of the Montréal office of Santé publique,
in response to the growing need for prevention and outreach amongst
gay and bisexual men. The difference with this project is that it has the
sauna owners on board, and that’s a big step, according to Charte OK
stakeholders.
So far, Charte OK has signed up GI Joe, Oasis, Sauna Centreville
and the 5018 to agree to stock free condoms from Santé publique in
Charte OK dispensers, as well as provide prevention information in the
form of pamphlets and postcards. These measures will be in addition
to the testing and vaccination outreach that the CSSS Jeanne-Mance
has already been in doing in saunas since the 2005-2006 Argus Study
was released, showing 1/7 MSM in Montréal were infected with HIV.
Alarming rates of syphilis transmission (2009 rates were 40 times higher
than in 2000), were another factor which motivated Santé publique to
get more proactive in the outreach, and to work closely with prevention
org REZO.
“We were already present on different sites doing prevention outreach
and encouraging testing and vaccination,” said REZO director Robert
Rousseau. For Alain Arsenault, the Charte OK is just a formal extension
of the kind of work that was already being done by REZO and the CSSS
Jeanne-Mance in saunas in the Village and elsewhere. Participating
saunas will be able to display a poster confirming their adherence to the
charter’s 3 principles and 3 provisions:
- To ensure free access to condoms at all times;
- Make info on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STBBIs readily
available;
- Promote prevention and sexual health services.
The materials and services provided will include condoms, custommade
condom dispensers—with a handy hole that only lets you take
2 at a time (“Just big enough to fit two fingers,” said Alain Arsenault
matter-of-factly)—as well as info materials and “periodic prevention
and sexual health promotion activities.” Notably, there was no mention
of lube amongst the materials, and the reason quickly became obvious:
if it’s given away for free “it would cut into our revenue,” Éconfirmed
Oasis-owner Luc Généreux and others on the Charte OK committee.
Généreux was on hand to represent the private sector’s involvement
in the charter. “The goal is to adopt prevention standards that will be
part of quality control measures to inspire confidence,” in the patrons
and prospective patrons of the city’s saunas. Reading from his notes,
Généreux stumbled and joked “I’ll be better next time,”a comment
that was met with a jovial reaction from the media and community
in attendance. Although Charte OK has received its funding as a pilot
project for the next two years only, many hope it will be renewed if
shown to be effective.
While other cities such as Barcelona and Toronto have adopted
municipal by-laws requiring that saunas offer free condoms at all times,
the approach in Montréal will be different. Rousseau and Arsenault
both confirmed that making the Charte OK mandatory was not possible
given that the Ville de Montréal does not have that kind of jurisdiction.
Therefore it was up to Québec-funded Santé publique, the CSSS, and
REZO to make the voluntary programme happen. Arsenault credits
Bernard Plante from the Société de Développement Commercial (SDC)
du Village for getting the saunas to come on board.
Of course, the project will come with its own website, in this case a
microsite that will contain mainly links to Santé publique and REZO
prevention information. REZO’s Gilberto Brito confirmed that www.
chartok.com and the project as a whole would be up and running
within the next 2 weeks.
Left to right:
Dr Richard Lessard, Jason Champagne, Robert Rousseau, Luc
Généreux, Alain Arsenault. © Patrick Lemay
62 2B Magazine 2B Magazine 63

C-6064 Cuba M, 23, 1,73 m, 85 kg, Cuban.
Honest, not complicated, a true friend, romantic,
passionate, sexy, 100% masc. I am
Yoandy, naturally tanned skin, brown eyes,
athtletic and brawny body. I love nature
and healthy entertainments. I’m not looking
for a perfect physical but a spiritual
person. I also seek friendships.
6065 U.S.A M, 49, 5’9’’, 170 lbs, blue eye /
blondish hair. Frequent visitor to Montréal.
Handsome nature lover, ISO masc. alpha
top. Arabs, Turks or hirsute any race, for
friendship, poss. +. Photo replies only.
6066 Cuba H, 47, Cubain noir. Cherche
des correspondants. J’aime le cinéma, la
danse, le yoga, la musique et les langues.
Écrire en français, espagnol, anglais, italien,
allemand.
6067 Canada H, 46, 5’8’’, masc., ch. court,
beau cul, bien équipé, bronzé, sexy, rasé.
Mon nom est Jean, cherche H. 30-50 sex,
amitié bienvenue.
6068 Cuba M, 23, Cuban. I study in university.
I have open mind. Please send me
a letter.
C-6069 M, 25, 1,73 m, 62 kg, Cuban, good
looking, dark haired, bright eyes. Honest,
sincere, I need a relationship 30 to 75.
C-6070 M, 38, 1,86 m, 86 kg I’m civil enginer.
I want to find a serious couple and
that he loves me. I speak Russian, French
and English.
Q- 6071 Montréal H, 47, 5’12’’, 125 lb,
6.5’’ circoncis, look jeune, non poilu. Rocker
non sadomaso tendre, affectueux, pas
efféminé, instruit, fumeur, pas de drogue,
ni d’alcool. Cherche H. 35-65 sérieux pour
relation durable, simple, affectueux, franc,
sens l’humour. Toutes ethnies bienvenues.
Obèse, violent, buveur, drogué s’abstenir.
G-6072 Ghana M, 28, 5’8’’, 85 kg, dark skin,
short hair, hot, warm and passionate guy,
athletic built and TOP. I’m open minded,
intelligent, great sence of humor. Looking
for warm and loving long term relationship.
Interested in music, sports, photographing,
cooking, gardering and traveling.
C-6073 Pelo oscuro, piel canela, ojos cafes,
Chico de mente abierta, sincero, sencillo y
romantico.30 y.o., Espero correspondencia
de chicos de entre 30-50, serios, afines
a mis caracteristicas para ampliar mi circulo
de amigos.
6074 N.B. Canada Homme début 50e, dé
sire faire la connaissance d’un bel homme
costaud, sportif, poids proportionnel, poilu
de préférence, âgé entre 18 et 35 ans,
non fumeur si possible. Aimant la nature.
But amitié et possibilité de relation plus
profonde. Bienvenus aux haltérophiles.
6075 Ghana Sexy, handsome black, guy
30, looking for serious man to meet soon.
6076 A good-looking, honest, intelligent,
manly Ukrainian boy, 24 y.o., H. 177 cm,
74 kg, dark-blond hair, green eyes, with
university education, good health, nice
body and good character. I do not smoke
and do not drink alcohol. Seeks my special
man, real best friend for correspondence,
good meetings, holidays together,
friendship, romance, love and for happy
long relationship.
6077 46 ans, 5’6’’, 142 Lbs, 8’’ Non-circoncis,
séro+, cherche mec 40-55 ans,
pas bedonnant, enjoué, cochon, comme
moi : pisse, odeurs naturelles (cul, aiselles,
couilles, sueur), tendre et versatile. Black+
Têl XXX bien venus !
6078 40 y/o, 1.80cm, 82 kg, mulato. Cantante
profesional, deseo contactar amigos
en Canada y el mundo para correspondencia
en mi club del amor y la amistad.
6079 Ghana I’m Robert, sexy romantic
Black guy looking for any man to be my
lover and to treat him cordly, gay friends
welcome too. Any age is welcome plus
meeting.
6080 Cuba 44 años, bisexual con preferencia
por hombres, trigueno, ojos cafés,
1.70m, 65 kg, sagitario. Me gusta la playa,
el cine, las discotecas. Busco amistad o relación
estable con hombre bisexual o gay
completo (activo/pasivo) entre 19 y 50 años.
6081 Cuba 26 y/o, White hair, Black eyes,
clear skin. Gay looking for a friend. I need
love and peace. I like music, cycling and
chocolate. I’m simple and complete.
6082 Rétraité soixantaine, barbu, poilu,
chevveux grisonnants, Allure véome et intello.
Doux, respecteux, discret, passionné.
Cherche homme mur, libre le jour en semaine,
pour donner libre tours à un échange
de fantasmes…caresser tes rondeurs et lécher
tes pieds me conduiront au 7e ciel.
6083 Saguenay 2H, 48 & 52, 165 & 145
lb, 6’ & 5’8 cherchent amis et couples
semblables pour profiter des plaisirs à la
campagne. Aimons nature, musique, art,
livres, voyages.
6084 Cuba Mulato, 29 y/o, tall, elegant,
serious, honest. Masseur. Looking for a
serious and stable relationship with a gay
man, 30-60 y/o. Friends write me back.
6085 Montréal Renouveau au Qc. après
25 ans d’absence, cherche ami(s); 45 ans,
5’9, 170 lbs.,instruit, cultivé, artiste arts visuels,
bilingue, pas d,acl, cigarette, drogue.
Bel apparence.
6086 Montréal 62 ans, 5’7”, 165 lb., italien,
look Jeune, gym 3 fois/ semaine, cheveux
chatains, deux ambrés, aime Tous les
plaisirs de la vie. Cherche Idem pour rélation
sérieuse. Fumeur s’abstenir.
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