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«Moon Girl», Exclusive Edition Fine Art Print by Meredith Watson - From $25 [SHOP NOW]

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The only declared federal NDP leadership candidate is standing in solidarity with Black Lives Matter Toronto in the wake of the group’s protest at the Toronto Pride parade.

Ontario NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo, who serves as a critic for LGBTQ issues, released a statement Wednesday on behalf of her party’s LGBTQ committee.

“We want to express our concern for the alarming amounts of hateful speech that BLM TO has been a target of since their non-violent direction action during Sunday’s Toronto Pride parade,” the statement reads. “We recognize that BLM TO is an irreplaceable part of our community and represents voices of those who have been marginalized and excluded for too long.”

Members of Black Lives Matter Toronto shut down Canada’s largest Pride parade for about 30 minutes Sunday with a peaceful sit-in. The parade only resumed when Pride Toronto’s executive director signed a list of specific demands, including more funding and community space support for racialized communities and a ban on police floats in future parades.

That proposed exclusion has already proven to be the most contentious issue, particularly after Pride Toronto later said it didn’t sign off on banning floats associated with police. Toronto Mayor John Tory also released a letter of support to the Toronto Police Association, saying he would have “serious concerns” if officers could not participate in future events.

Black Lives Matter Toronto says it has been flooded with hate mail and racist messages this week.

In the statement, DiNovo and committee members state that while many take part in Pride as a celebration, the event remains “inherently political.” They say it should come as little surprise that Black Lives Matter Toronto was selected as an honoured group by event organizers.

“Historically, our communities came together and organized for safer spaces for all of us. Black drag queens and Black Trans and queer folks were some of the original organizers of Prides across the world,” it reads, adding that activists reminded Pride of its “roots” as a march on behalf of marginalized people.

“The non-violent direct action undertaken by BLM TO at the Pride parade was a warranted taking up of space.”

DiNovo, an ordained United Church minister, has represented Toronto’s Parkdale-High Park riding since 2006. She has long been considered a champion of the LGBTQ community and tweeted last week that she has participated in Pride events for more than 45 years.

When she launched her leadership bid last month, DiNovo said LGBTQ rights would be a core principle on which she would fight.

She also made specific mention of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Saying Black Lives Matter should be more than lip service,” she said at the time. “It must mean an end to systemic racism.”

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The Pocketbook of Love  Mouna Kalla-Sacranie (2016)

This is a handmade, hand-bound, handbook, made with the intention of capturing the essence of what love - in all its many forms - can feel like. The idea for this handbook came to me a few months ago, when I came across this post in which by poet/writer Naveed Khan ( @navk​ ) was asked to describe love - without using the word love. I was so moved after reading his descriptions, I felt compelled to ask him if he would allow me to illustrate his words. He said yes, and so the Pocketbook of Love was born.

He broke his definition of love into the following six pairs which constitute the ‘chapters’ of this book:

1. warmth and luminescence 2. comfort and compassion 3. trust and empathy 4. support and security 5. passion and affection 6. nostalgia and longing.

To see each page in more detail, click here 

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“2000” at Sydney

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Vendors in V.I. 

Lagos, Nigeria 

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If only I had the funds to get one of those!

Here’s a roundup of the watercolour paintings I made for my solo show ‘Aspirational’ which ended this week. You can read more info on the show’s themes here and the titles of each piece are below! 

**I’ve got a few of the framed original pieces for sale, if you’re interested you can contact me on lcallaghan.work@gmail.com**

- Every job is a self portrait of the person who does it, autograph your job with excellence 

- F.R.I.E.N.D.S Fight for you. Respect you. Include you. Encourage you. Need you. Deserve you. Stand by you.

- For one minute, walk outside, stand there, in silence, look up at the sky, and contemplate how amazing life is

- Travel doesn’t become an adventure until you leave yourself behind

- Yoga is not about touching your toes, it’s what you learn on the way down

- Art is you being free from all the worlds heaviness

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I made a trashcan for people’s hopes and dreams. 

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I don´t feel like going out today

so I´m going to stay and let it rain

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amir khusrow (1253–1325 CE)

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Beyoncé “Lemonade” by Jonny Ruzzo

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Zanis Waldheims. Geometrical Abstractions. 1950s-1970s.

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I’m glad I was in the Stonewall riot. I remember when someone threw a Molotov cocktail, I thought: “My god, the revolution is here. The revolution is finally here!” I always believed that we would have a fight back. I just knew that we would fight back. I just didn’t know it would be that night. I am proud of myself as being there that night. If I had lost that moment, I would have been kind of hurt because that’s when I saw the world change for me and my people. Of course, we still got a long way ahead of us.

Sylvia Rivera, Stonewall Veteran and S.T.A.R. and Gay Liberation Front co-founder (via)

Today (June 28th, 2016) marks the 47th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion.

(via faegayleh)

<3 An important anniversary <3

(via intergalactic-ashkenazi)