a ~ iii ve Canon Sylvana d’Angelo, oard member with the Vancouver Art Gallery, on Oct. 14 at the Vancouver Art Gallery showcased her latest project Spiritual Pilgrimage 2018. eHoTo By LISA TANH Melding print and online, the experimental showcase of the future By LISA TANH eb and print me- dia collided dur- ing the Vancouver Art Book Fair this weekend, slashing production and shipping costs. Free and open to the public, the multi-day festival consists of ev- erything from books, magazines, and other experimental forms of publication from across Canada and the globe. VABF was held at the Vancouver Art Gallery between Oct. 13-15. It is the longest-running interna- tional art book fair in Canada and attracted thousands of Vancouveri- tes over the weekend. “I am really big on accessible art because I view art as ideas and sharing critical thinking by engaging with works, visually or physically, [in a gallery setting] it should be free,” Sylvana d’Angelo said, a graphic designer, board member and next year’s art direc- tor for the VAG. d’ Angelo said her latest website and publication project, Spiritual Pilgrimage 2018 consists of images by participating artists from Van- couver and Seoul, South Korea. The full content can only be seen after printing as a zine. Spiritual Pilgrimage 2018 launched at the fair and will be “I view art as ideas and sharing critical thinking by engaging with works,” — SYLVANA DANGELO, BOARD MEMBER OF VAG shown in 2018 at Unlimited Edi- tion, an art book fair in Seoul, South Korea. d’Angelo said another exhibitor, Decoy Magazine, based in Vancou- ver is using a “fresh approach” to web and print as well. “We have seven artists that we're working with who are part of the digital art subscription that we do.Normally, people only see the artworks by getting an email at- tachment, but instead we're work- ing with artists to get digital work shown physically. So, it'll be things like GIFs, MP4s, JPEGs — that kind of thing,” Lauren Marsden said, editor at Decoy Magazine. Decoy Magazine will have their first physical exhibition, The Chan- nelers, at EMMEDIA, a gallery and production society from Feb. 2 — Mar. 3, 2018 in Calgary. Marta Ribas, a book fair attend- ee, said that she liked seeing “a lot of things together in one space.” “T think that’s the most valuable thing about this book fair. You can just come here rather than just go to a bookstore and than online,” Ribas said. D’Angelo says that as the gal- lery’s upcoming art director, she plans to explore web and print me- dia in a grander scale. “My favourite part about print is having something I can hold, and my favourite part about web is that you can easily share it. So, ’'m try- ing to explore projects like that,” d’Angelo said while showcasing her work. Trans activist slams addiction Using poetry as a too/ to open up discussion and to destigmatize trans issues By TARAN GILL aven Salander a trans wom- R an and activist hopes to des- tigmatize and create conver- sation around these issues through her poetry. “Many trans women have had to deal with extremely harsh con- ditions and consequently, depres- sion; suicidal ideation, addictions and other mental health issues have been a big part of our life experi- ences,” said Salander. Salander, who has been writing poetry for 20 years, and publicly sharing it for four, preformed at Cafe Deux Soleils on Commercial Drive Oct. 9 during a Van Slam event. ‘The context of her writing dis- cusses her addiction, mental health issues, and her experience as a street-level survival sex work in hopes others will one day be able to do the same. “T have received a lot of feed- back from members of the audi- ence who felt really moved and I think, to some extent, liberated by my readings,” Salander said. “It is important for those of us who can, to be visible and speak out.” Courtney Lewis, a trans woman and recovering ad- gE dict, who attended the event, said she found inspiration from Salander’s po- ems. “Her words were touching and I am more in- spired to keep fight- ing my urges,” said Lewis. Salander, who spent 45 years of her life knowing that she was not meant to be a = man, came out at age 50. She is satisfied by the prog- ress made towards transgender rights but is worried of 4 looming backlash due 4) to LGBTQ:+ due to the rising representation / TV and movies. Her performance ended with a poem titled “The candle for Shauntau”, an emotional eulogy to her partner, whom was _ also a_ transgender sex-worker, whose murder remains 4, unsolved till day. “We have seen alt-right and white su- premacists pres- ent at our rallies for transgen- m® der and queer | rights,” — she said. “T don't think we are totally iso- lated from the up- surge of right-wing fascists and bigoted attacks.” Raven Salander, trans rights activist PHOTO BYTARAN GILL Love one, Non-heteronormative relationships thrust into the spotlight By ANA ROSE WALKEY GBTQ+ and polyamorous L relationships are more com- mon on TV and in movies, with the intention of creating a more accepting future for people outside of the heterosexual marital norm. TV shows such as Modern Fam- ily and Game of Thrones feature a range of these relationships. Online personality, Jessica Perry, ex- plained that the increase in the rep- resentation of all kinds of relation- ships might be because the people who are writing them are also outside of the heterosexual mari- tal norm. Perry identifies herself as “Polyamorous and pangendered grey-pansexual, which means to me I am all genders and beyond gender. I am attracted to one’s soul rather than just their sexual anatomy.” In regards to TV shows and movies representing her relation- ships, Perry said, “It does feel forced sometimes. It's like, why is that person there that really doesn't have a purpose in the show? And it's just to not get hate mail. But when someone's actually a good love all writer and they're writing these off of their life experiences it feels true and not like it's fake or forced.” Katherine Frost, head of business affairs for OUT tv: a Canadian LGBTQ+ television network, says the increased representation of all relationships in entertainment media is creating normalization. “As our laws change, everything sort of trickles down from there... the more portrayals of other things you see, the more normal it be- comes”, Frost said. Elisabeth Cooke, direc- tor of Inclusiv- ity, a service that trains people to- wards managing diversity in their company who also specializes in empowerin LGBTQ+ youth, thinks this is af- fecting LGBTQ+ people in a posi- tive way. “Everybody wants to watch TV and see themselves in a char- acter, and for a really long time, you couldn't do that,"said Cooke. "you're seeing them have a depth in character that we didn't necessarily see before, letting people be more than just that one thing.” Jessica Perry ONLINE PERSONALITY