A series of love; by us, for us.
Break the Cis-tem, 2023 | March 26th - April 2nd, 2023.
This inaugural event series was in celebration of and in advocacy for the transgender and gender diverse community living on Epekwitk. This series included 5 events: Community Craft Day, Let's Get Medical, Dungeons in DRAGons, All Cis-tems Go, and Let's Get Loud!
This event series was made possible by the GEDI program developed by the Government of Prince Edward Island.
Community Craft Day
A pre-series event.
We invited our community to Beaconsfield Carriage House to share space and make beautiful decor to TRANSform Beaconsfield Carriage House, the first homebase of Break the Cis-tem! We are consistently blown away by the talent and creativity of our community.
Too often, event series' are contributing to systems of oppression such as capitalism. We consistently strive to move our organization into a place where we can avoid engaging with these systems and minimize our impact on the environment / climate change. This is a driving factor as to why we wanted to make space for folks to create multipurpose decor. Furthermore, we were mindful to shop local when we could, borrow from other organizations such as Pride PEI &. PEERS Alliance, and purchase multipurpose decor that has longevity.
Let's Get Medical
Via Zoom Teleconference.
Let's Get Medical was an online community support group for individuals looking for guidance and support in navigating PEI's healthcare system; while the majority of folks were specifically interested in learning more about gender affirming care, others were simply looking for advice on how to self-advocate for any and all things medical - from surgery to ear-aches. We are proud to have had two incredible panelists in attendance to share wisdom from their lived experiences, and would like to share special gratitude to GACPEI for the work they do in advocating for dignified TGD healthcare on PEI.
Dungeons in DRAGons
Scored live by Craig Fair.
On Transgender Day of Visibility, we blew the roof off of Beaconsfield Carriage House with an event unlike any other PEI has seen before. Dungeons in DRAGons was a live action role play game brought to the stage, and scored live by Craig Fair Music Productions & hosted by Lady Fefe Fierce! Four adventurers led by our distinguished Table-Top, brought the audience through a thrilling adventure - tying in local, PEI lore and hinting at trans rights throughout the story, this event was not only wildly hilarious and fiercely entertaining, it was also heartfelt and healing to many in attendance. The event closed with a panel discussion facilitated by Lady Fefe Fierce to give the players an opportunity to talk about what inclusive table-top & role-play games mean to them as TGD individuals.
All Cis-tems Go!
Fine art show & book launch.
Led by our Art Curator, Julie Bull (they/them), All Cis-tems Go! made history by creating space for PEITN's first Transgender & Gender Diverse Fine Art Show & Anthology book launch!
Julie, with the help of our Art Curation Committee, curated and edited our first anthology titled "In-Between", a collection of stories, poems and other written art forms that tell the tales of local TGD individuals; our experiences, the beautiful, the painful, and everything In-Between.
The event began with spoken programming, including poetry from Julie Bull, and many of the authors of In-Between! There was also space for our fine art artists to talk about their works on display. After the programming, the floor opened for folks to peruse, enjoy snacks and refreshments, and purchase art from local TGD artists and artisans.
Details on how to get your copy of In-Between coming soon!
Let's Get Loud!
A public gathering for TGD solidarity.
In the face of anti-trans rhetoric, hate and organizing across Turtle Island, and specifically PEI, we decided to pivot our original event series to speak to the concerns and fears folks in our community, our allies & loved ones were experiencing in the lead up to BTC, 2023.
Our response was to facilitate a public gathering and march; we were floored by the large crowd of love that poured into the city to show solidarity for our community.
We are particularly grateful to have had such an amazing lineup of speakers, both from inside our community, and partnered organizations such as: BIPOC USHR, Pride PEI, PEERS Alliance, Egale, Our Landing Place and more!
The hate was getting a little loud, but on April 2nd, 2023 we showed PEI that
LOVE IS LOUDER!
Stay Tuned! Photo Gallery Coming Soon.
We will be uploading a gallery of all the gorgeous photos taken at BTC, 2023 by To The T Media. While we had consent stickers at the event series to indicate NO PHOTOS, consent is an ongoing process. If there is a photo of you posted through our socials or website that you no longer consent to, please email us at info@peitn.com re: Photo Removal.