WE WERE ONCE PEOPLE: A CONVERSATION ABOUT DISPLACEMENT AND BELONGING
Writer in residence Sue-Shane Tsomondo invited fellow African artist JustMoe to discuss the loss of language and voice. This topic is loosely inspired by a quote from NoViolet Bulwayo’s debut novel We Need New Names, “Because we were not in our country, we could not use our own languages, and so when we spoke our voices came out bruised.”
In partnership with Esker Foundation, we’re delighted to share a series of talks borne out of the WriteON writing workshops. This first residency features two authors who were invited to develop a response to RELATIONS: Diaspora and Painting curated by Cheryl Sim, and organized by the Phi Foundation for Contemporary Art, Montréal. The exhibition is currently on view at Esker Foundation.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Writer in residence Sue-Shane Tsomondo is a poet, educator, book curator and the creator of Sue’s Stokvel, a Calgary-based literary arts platform. Sue’s Stokvel highlights the work of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) writers. She has previously performed for Woolfs’ Voices and Single Onion. In 2020, Sue-Shane appeared onthe cover of the Calgary Journal. Sue-Shane has also been featured in Arts Commons, Avenue Magazine, The Calgarian podcast, In Rehearsal podcast and the Artful Conversations podcast. In 2021, Sue-Shane (Sue’s Stokvel) partnered with Humainologie to create The Khumbul’ekhaya project + workshop for Empathy Week. Sue-Shane is a WriteON 2019 alum.
Mohamed Ahmed (Just Moe) is a multidisciplinary artist from Sudan and developed on the Southside of Edmonton, in Millwoods. A recent graduate of the acting program at the National Theatre School of Canada and a musician under the name Just Moe. Authenticity is a main force of his work, and he hopes to share himself as authentically as possible with the world.
A special thanks to Calgary Arts Development for making possible the WriteON 2021 program and our first critic-in-residence program. We'd also like to thank our partner Esker Foundation for creating space for these writers and making this residency a deep learning experience.