THE INTERSECTION
“Company Policy”dedicated to queer & bipoc voices in art & film
This is a queer company.
We feel it’s important that this be made excruciatingly clear.
This is not a company that is marketed to queers and run by straight, cis allies who believe they possess the tools and interests necessary to appeal to queer tastes and give queer people a good time.
This is a company started by a queer, transmasculine lesbian who also happens to be black.
This company is queer the way a cherry is a fruit.
“Hey, isn’t a cherry actually a berry?”
Although we agree that specific terminology can often be useful, we think it’s important not to overlook the function, importance, and accuracy of Umbrella Terms.
This company believes in the importance of queer spaces, by queers for queers. This company - in the same way - believes in the importance of BIPOC spaces, BIPOC for POC.
Spaces like the aforementioned create the possibility of authenticity, creative freedom without the presence of prejudice, and above all, realness. This company believes in realness. We think that a story should be told in the wholeness of what it is.
For those concerned with Nomenclature, we have developed an easy guide for the friends and family of the concerned, found below by scrolling to the “Handy Dandy E Z Link.”
If you’ve got any additions or suggestions for our guide that can help it be more comprehensive, do not hesitate to reach out to us.
The guide is not a complete representation of our company’s perspective, more so a community project that is an ongoing collaboration amongst those concerned.
Personally, we aren’t super fond of labels. Oftentimes, they can be restrictive and insufficient.
Especially where Intersectionality is concerned.
For those unfamiliar with intersectionality, we’ve got a handy dandy guide for that as well, just below this section.
This company is an Intersectional company through and through. Much like all intersectional folx, we exist at the intersection of life and art.
L’art Pour L’art Productions was born from a need for queer & BIPOC spaces in the film and art scene. Dedicated to the underrepresented voices of queer & BIPOC filmmakers and artists, and striving to protect the stories we want to tell.
This company exists to empower those voices to tell their stories as they see fit without policing, without watering them down to seem palatable, without revising their representations of lived experience to align with the perspectives and opinions of others. No to how it should be.
Yes to What It Is.
Here at LPLP, we do not believe in labelling a person or idea at first glance. We believe that the truth of a matter is in its complexity, in its unnamable qualities. Oftentimes the qualities that are most important remain indescribable. It is here in the spaces between words and the failures of existing language that truly interesting things can happen.
We believe that the best way to approach art is to keep an open mind and to wait and see.
We believe that everything exciting and worth waiting for is yet to come - so we ask that you - along with us - stay tuned.
on INTERSECTIONAL
IDENTITIES…
What does it mean to be many things at once?
This is something nobody would answer the same way. Just as every person is fundamentally different - because of countless ways their lives change their perspective throughout the flow of their development - every identity is built on countless fundamental - and life altering factors.
How many paths are there through a city from one location to another? How many ways are there to draw a picture of a face? Every feature of a person’s life becomes a part of the way their lived experience manifests.
Understanding complexity is a prerequisite to understanding Intersectionality. It’s not as simple as words - it’s as complicated as a human life.
Now, when someone uses the term ‘Intersectionality,’ they are usually talking about the impact that certain features have on their life. Things that change the way they approach life and other people - and things that change the way life and other people approach them.
Intersectionality - in simple terms - is the intersection of multiple distinct identities. Often, when we use terms like this to describe the experience of an identity in society, however, we are talking about the disadvantages that society places on this identity.
Many identities that face discrimination from other groups in society are all vastly different, and concern different aspects of life, like race or sexuality. All of them are fundamentally human qualities, and all of them simply describe different ways a person interacts with the world.
Sometimes, being gay means the world interacts with you a little differently.
Being a black person - or any person of colour - you’d find that the world has certain quirks reserved for people like you - regardless of who you are underneath your skin.
Intersectionality is the convergence of these vastly different identities and lived experiences in one person.
Someone who is Black, Gay, and Trans has a different lived experience than someone who is Black, Straight, and Cis, and they’d also have a different lived experience than someone who is White and gay or trans.
There are many other identities that can converge in an intersectional identity, such as those concerning ability, neurodivergence, class, and so on.
Most often, though, the discussion of Intersectionality concerns the convergence of a few main categories: RACE, SEXUALITY, AND GENDER IDENTITY.
Then again, a person of a certain race who was born in the country they live in also has a different time than someone of the same race who was born somewhere else.
The complexity of a person can be seemingly endless - which is why it’s always better not to assume - and instead to be open to learning about a person from that person themself!
You know what they say about ASSUMING.
~When you assume~
DON’T!
Regarding Lesbians…
While our company strives to empower all Queer & BIPOC voices - we definitely have a special place in our hearts for Lesbians.
We feel that there is a shocking lack of spaces dedicated to Lesbian voices and stories - especially in Toronto.
That’s why we feel it’s important to note that this company - as it was founded by an intersectional Lesbian - is passionate about Lesbians.
We want lesbian art, lesbian stories, lesbian events, and fixed lesbian spaces.
The Toronto art scene is tough enough as it is for women and trans folks, and it can seem impossible to navigate as a Lesbian.
This is the damn company for that.
Let’s make a scene.
In Conclusion…
The goal of L’art Pour L’art Productions is to make lesbian & queer films, art, and events, and to make room for queer & BIPOC voices in the often white & male dominated scene.
We like unusual stories and bizarre events. We like unusual ideas and bizarre people.
We like things that move us and we like to get projects like that moving.
To quote famed & beloved author, marxist, and transgender activist Leslie Feinberg:
“Try imagining a world worth living in, and then ask yourself if that isn’t worth fighting for. You’ve come too far to give up on hope”
Stone Butch Blues
Media lists…
It takes a village to raise an intersectional gay… as well as lots of books and movies! Have a look at some recommended media we found formative, fascinating, or fucking awesome.
BLACK-OWNED
LESBIAN-OPERATED
TORONTO-BASED
L’ART POUR L’ART PRODUCTIONS is an intersectional company. We strive to celebrate the variety of identities that our company represents. This part of our website is dedicated to community-building for people like us and education and involvement for those with other identities who’d like to learn more!
