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Pride, politics, and the pause on performative allyship

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Peak Web
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ILLUSTRATION: a market shelf with Pride merch being pushed aside, while non-descriptive merch is placed front and centre.
ILLUSTRATION: Jill Baccay / The Peak

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer

Taking a stand on certain issues is a useful tactic for businesses to connect with their consumers. For example, the recent Canada-US trade war has motivated Canadian companies to advertise using the “Buy Canadian” trend. Unsurprisingly, companies capitalize on their consumer base’s desire for their purchases by reflecting consumers’ values to increase their market profit. One of the communities that is targeted for profit maximization is the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Companies plaster colourful flags for the purposes of virtue-signalling, otherwise known as rainbow capitalism, every June. 

Trends in the public sphere of the 2010s were increasingly accepting of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, largely due to the growing visibility of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in media. It seemed that, due to the increase in people supporting the community, companies followed suit, shifting their marketing to fit the values of the mainstream consumer base. This practice has provided us with the Skittles’ “only #OneRainbow matters” campaign, and brands like Starbucks pumping out pride merch with gusto. Still, this is seen as antithetical to Pride by many in the queer and trans community, since corporations thematically profit off the exploitation of working class people, which will always marginalize queer and trans people disproportionately. 

Additionally, a company should be more than rainbow-coloured for a month to be considered an ally to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Discrimination in the workplace remains a prevalent problem for queer and gender diverse people: In fact, about 73% of 2SLGBTQIA+ people experience harassment and violence due to their gender identity or sexuality at work at some point in their career, according to the Canadian Labour Congress. If your company is tolerant of anti-trans talk in the coffee room but will sponsor your city’s pride parade for a prime spot, that’s not an ally: that’s an opportunist. If you have to hide your gender identity from your bosses and/or coworkers to avoid discrimination, that is not a welcoming environment. 

Where are these performative corporations this year, though, when the pride flag should be waving in our face at every commercial break, bus stop ad, and banking login page? This year has seen a massive pullback on Pride Month’s commodification, with companies that were such avid supporters in the past. Large corporate sponsors, like Anheuser-Busch, are walking away from funding pride parades. Companies like Skittles are choosing to quietly donate to GLAAD instead of running their usual no-rainbow campaigns. Is it no longer profitable to be a performative ally? 

If your company is tolerant of anti-trans talk in the coffee room but will sponsor your city’s Pride Parade for a prime spot, that’s not an ally: that’s an opportunist.

One thing that a corporation will never be is a true advocate. The pattern is painfully familiar: a brand embraces diversity when it’s profitable, only to retreat the moment their bottom line is threatened. Recently, this retreat came at full display when Pride Vancouver experienced a considerable pull back of support by major corporations. Pride Vancouver isn’t the only one confronting a world of disappearing allyships, Pride Toronto, is among many others across the country, experiencing such disengagement. Companies, such as Google and Home Depot, have dropped their donations without citing a reason. This isn’t surprising considering both of those companies’ pasts in exhibiting anti-2SLGBTQIA+ stances. Where Google actively censors 2SLGBTQIA+ content across its platforms, and Home Depot donates to anti-2SLGBTQIA+ legislators.   

Despite the progress made in 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and visibility, we are learning first hand that political trends cycle. We are experiencing a vocal political shift to the right, even among the younger generation. Young people are becoming increasingly conservative, driving polls to favour the likes of Trump and Poilievre. With vocal outcry against trans rights to bathrooms and gender-affirming care, leading the discriminatory discourse. 

So what does this mean? No more performative allyship? For now. There’s a chance that some companies will be back though, cloying for attention with neon Target shirts to get the festival queers back in their corner. Once the social trends favour the left of the political spectrum again, they’ll be a valuable market to corporations once again. At least now, we are able to see which companies, such as Ben and Jerry’s, can hold their ground, when the right-wing gets to rioting — with their not-so-subtle social media posts telling us where their values lie. 

Being an ally is not something that can be confined to the month of June, or when the economy is strong enough to handle a little activism. Pride is not something to be commodified, it is a display of strength, empowerment, and love. Even though corporations are backing out of pride for selfish reasons, Pride Month is better off without corporations inserting themselves in a space that isn’t about them. The presence of corporations at pride parades has homogenized the nature of a rich and diverse community that overarchingly values grassroots efforts, loyalty, and identity. We always knew that companies were just hopping on the bandwagon. Now we’ve got the proof in the pudding.

Book Nook: Young adult queer book recommendations

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Peak Web
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It is a photo of the spines of the listed books neatly arranged on a stack
PHOTO: Puneet Aulakh / The Peak

By: Rusham Verma, Peak Associate

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

If you’re a sci-fi fanatic and a hopeless romantic, this book was written just for you. It’s about a lonely and walled-off 23-year-old girl, August Landry, who moves to New York. There, she meets the bold and charismatic Jane Su. August’s love at first sight quickly changes into a race against time to get Jane back to her timeline. 

While the book is premised on a “love-at-first-sight” plot, it also dives deep into grief, loss, and the oppression of the queer community in the 1970s. 

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Reading paranormal romances is always fun, and this one does not disappoint! This story follows a transgender boy named Yadriel, hailing from a Latinx family who wants to be a brujo — a magic user who guides the dead. In trying to do that, he accidentally summons a rebellious, chaotic, and handsome ghost named Julian. Julian died under very suspicious circumstances, and wants to know what happened, not leaving Yadriel’s side. This romance story evolves into an epic love story, featuring side mysteries, a slow-burn romance, and a grounding in Cuban and Mexican culture. 

Yadriel’s determination to make his family and community see him for who he is and to fully accept his identity makes this story’s heart — something that will stay in your mind as a celebration of identity, culture, and belonging. 

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

If you liked Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, then this is the perfect next book to read. It follows a 15-year-old trans boy named Spencer Harris, who enrolls in a new private school after a horrible incident in his old one. He wants to keep to himself, not come out to anyone and just play football. As we can expect, there’s a brooding, brilliant, bisexual star-player on the team. Justice looks emotionally guarded but notices everything, along with the chemistry between him and Spencer. 

This book is for readers who desire a fluffy and cute queer romance, without the trauma that is more often than not, present in queer romances. The moments between Spencer and Justice are soft, vulnerable and hopeful all in one, which will make you want to re-read it as soon as you finish it. 

Pitt Meadows saves WrestleMania 42

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Peak Web
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A WWE ring put on a grassy field/farm. The WrestleMania Pitt Meadows illustration should be hanging from the top of the image, over the ring. Inside should be John Cena and a hillbilly looking farmer getting ready to square up.
LOGO ILLUSTRATION: Victoria Lo / The Peak IMAGE: Gudrun Wai-Gunnarsson / The Peak

By: Katie Walkley, SFU student

This week, WWE fans of British Columbia are celebrating with more fervour than Hulk Hogan flexing his win against Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3. I know there are lots of peace-loving pumpkins out there who don’t know what I’m talking about. So, here’s the hoedown throwdown. To the utter joy of the guy who carries around the Vancouver for WrestleMania sign at every show, our very own Pitt Meadows has become the host of WrestleMania 42!

Before WWE made this, they had already gone through two locations. Their first choice — New Orleans — didn’t have the same bang for their buck as their next choice, the hip and happening Las Vegas. After turning their backs on Louisiana, the corporate weasels in charge of WWE financing went on a very necessary business trip to scope out their new location. During their trip, they “lost” the company card and found it maxed out at Circus Circus.

With no money, the jabronis had no choice but to look for a third location. Their desperation took them all the way to humble ol’ Pitt Meadows, where they found a local legend willing to let them use his farmland as a free arena in exchange for a wrestle with John Cena.

“This event is in line with our strategic tourist goals for 2050,” Pitt Meadows Mayor Nicole MacDonald told The Peak. “We haven’t had this much buzz in town since Jesus was born on one of our farms!”  

Now that you’re up to speed, it’s time to dish on some anticipated drama.

The cargo in the gossip trains has told me that WWE superstar Naomi received her tractor licence soon after hearing news of the venue change. Looks like she’s still angry! Recently, she came clean about her secret backstage attack on Jade — she literally suplexed her onto the hood of a car. Ouch. All she wanted was to protect her friendship with her tag team partner Bianca. When her apology didn’t work, she threatened to hurt Bianca next. Hopefully, once they experience the peaceful farm life of Pitt Meadows, the girlbosses will reconnect. However, as someone who has had her days of rowdiness in her youth, I can tell you that the Meadow can bring the sour out of even the sweetest apple in the pie (and we all know that Naomi has that tartness to her).

We can also look forward to WWE’s modern take on jousting. This was one of the main conditions that Pitt Meadows had for hosting this event — given the fact that they have to pave so many new roads to accommodate all these darn tourists. That’s right, it’s exactly what you’d think: horseback wrestling. Some may say that this is even less advanced than jousting’s first appearance in medieval times. I would say, so is every so-called “modern” thing these days (you feel me, fellow oldies?). Anyways, WWE is calling all Pitt Meadovians to enter their mighty steeds into a draw that will choose which lucky beasts will carry our wrestling heroes into victory.

So, with all the information we have so far about next year’s WrestleMania, we are stuck tossing and turning over two burning questions: first, will Naomi make peace out of hate? Second, and most importantly, will Uncle Joe take down John Cena?

There’s only one way to find out. I’ll see you on the hay bales next spring for the biggest show that Pitt Meadows has seen since the farmer’s market of ‘05.

Random thoughts from the editor: Global cooling

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Peak Web
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A man wearing a blue shirt sitting in front of a laptop. He looks like he is thinking about something with his hand rubbing against his chin.
PHOTO: Christian Velitchkov / Unsplash

By: Mason Mattu, Humour Editor

If everyone places 10 gallons of ice cream on the pavement, will global warming be . . .  solved? If so, how do I measure 10 gallons or buy ice cream with my arts degree? Time to ask Reddit, I guess. Yours faithfully, Mason Mattu.

Exploring ConnecTra Society’s 2025 Abilities Expo

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Peak Web
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This is a photo of a man and woman in wheelchairs smiling for the camera. Nurse Next Door and other folks are pictured in the background.
PHOTO: Jeremy Dyson / ConnecTra Society

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer

On June 9, ConnecTra Society hosted its 14th annual Abilities Expo at Yaletown’s Roundhouse Community Centre. ConnecTra is a non-profit that links “people living with disabilities to activities, services, resources, and opportunities.” More than 45 vendors and performers shared their resources and knowledge with the community, including people living with disabilities, caregivers, and health professionals. The Peak attended the event and interviewed Emily Chambers, ConnecTra program coordinator, to learn more. 

PHOTO: Jeremy Dyson / ConnecTra Society

The theme of this year’s expo was “How to Thrive in 2025: Your Wellness, Your Way.” Chambers explained that “wellness looks different for so many people, especially when we’re dealing with a lot of physical disabilities, chronic pain, you kind of have to define that for yourself.” Visitors could expect to interact with organizations with a wide range of focuses, including “outdoor recreation or mental health support.” The expo’s 45 vendors included WorkSafe BC, BC Blind Sports and Recreation Association, and Theatre Terrific Society. 

“Wellness looks different for so many people, especially when we’re dealing with a lot of physical disabilities, chronic pain, you kind of have to define that for yourself.” — Emily Chambers, ConnecTra program coordinator

ConnecTra has become more attuned to the needs of the community over time, Chambers said. Every year, they learn from the community to ensure the expo is accessible: “We used to be really catered to people with physical disabilities, and we’ve really branched out in the last three years to be more inclusive of cognitive disabilities, sight impairments, hearing impairments,” she said. Two ASL interpreters were present at both the expo’s keystone presentations, and live captions were displayed on the screen. 

PHOTO: Jeremy Dyson / ConnecTra Society

First, Simon Paradis and Kara Stanley performed a song-and-story called “I’ve Been Better; I’ve Been Worse.” Paradis performed blues songs about his experiences with chronic pain, while Stanley shared some tools on the complex issue and personal experience of pain. “When we talk about self-care and resilience, often the elephant in the room — the thing we don’t talk about — is pain,” said Stanley in her performance. She explained, “Extreme pain radically jeopardizes a sense of safety or pleasure. And so, focusing on those things, safety and pleasure, this is not a frivolous pursuit. It is not a selfish pursuit. It is critical to the overall health of the nervous system.” 

“Extreme pain radically jeopardizes a sense of safety or pleasure. And so focusing on those things, safety and pleasure, this is not a frivolous pursuit. It is not a selfish pursuit. It is critical to the overall health of the nervous system.” — Kara Stanley, expo speaker

PHOTO: Jeremy Dyson / ConnecTra Society

Stanley also shared that a key mission for repairing the nervous system is finding ways to “promote that sense of ease or safety, fun, pleasure, and connection, belonging.” Stanley said for her, that’s “engaging with stories and through movement practice,” and “for Simon, that journey has always led him back to music.” 

Another presentation featured was a spiritual talk by life coach Chi-ka Harada. “The more you get curious [about your emotions], the better you get to understand yourself, and be able to build a life that aligns with you and your deepest desires,” she said. Harada pushed the audience to “imagine what it feels like to be confident” and embody the person that you imagine, because “they already exist inside of you.” 

PHOTO: Jeremy Dyson / ConnecTra Society

The expo also featured two interactive activities straight from ConnecTra’s weekly agenda of events: adaptive chair yoga led by Bobbie Seale-Cobiskey and a contemporary improvisation dance class led by All Bodies Dance Project.

Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society celebrates Father’s Day with Powwow

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Peak Web
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This is a close-up photo of an Indigenous person at the Powwow in their colourful regalia.
PHOTO: Mercedes Innes / Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer

June 14 and 15 marked the third annual Father’s Day Powwow, hosted by the Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society (VAHS) in Vancouver. The event was focused on honouring Indigenous “fathers, grandfathers, and sons through drum, dance, and culture.” The Peak attended the Powwow near Britannia Secondary School and spoke with VAHS executive director Carrie Humchitt of the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation for more information.

PHOTO: Mercedes Innes / Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society

The Powwow is about being able to “lift up the men,” Humchitt said. “They deserve to be honoured,” as well as “the murdered and missing Indigenous men and boys and Two-Spirits.” Planning for the event starts in the fall, with fundraising efforts and grants to cover costs. “We also have regalia-making workshops all the way up until the Powwow,” Humchitt explained. Regalia is traditionally worn during ceremonies and celebrations, featuring unique individual, familial, and cultural aspects. It tells a story for those who wear it, reflecting identity and creativity. Regalia may also be a distinguishing factor for different types of Powwow dances.

“Vendors come and it’s an opportunity for them to sell their arts and crafts and come together and be a part of the community. We have food vendors as well, who we’re thankful for feeding everybody here. It’s an opportunity to get Indigenous foods,” Humchitt said.

“Culture is healing for a lot of our people.” — Carrie Humchitt, Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society executive director

PHOTO: Mercedes Innes / Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society

They also noted that the Powwow is alcohol and drug-free. “Culture is healing for a lot of our people,” Humchitt said. “We’ve had people who have taken The Red Road once they started connecting to their culture, so it really is significant in that way.” The Red Road, an organization started by Charles Robinson of the Choctaw Nation, is about “a deep commitment to living life in the best way possible,” including sobriety. “There’s intergenerational trauma from residential schools,” which Humchitt’s parents attended, and they explained that healing from this trauma is still an ongoing process. 

Humchitt’s favourite part of the Powwow is the beginning, when the event begins “in a really good way.” They said, “We carry the flags, and we honour our Elders and everybody who’s here, and it’s just a good opening every time.” The phrase “‘in a good way’ is a concept used by many Indigenous Peoples to recognize work” done with “high levels of integrity, moral strength, and communal spirit.” It is a recognition that time is non-linear and cyclical — that choices have far-reaching implications.

PHOTO: Mercedes Innes / Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society

The event featured three drum groups, with Black Lodge Singers as the main event. The group is “quite famous in Powwow circles,” Humchitt explained. “Whenever there’s a Powwow, there are other drums that come along and partake. It’s a good thing, we love it when extra drums show up because they add to it.” Along with drum and song, the Powwow centres around dance, featuring “everything from tiny tots, to Elders, chicken dance, fancy dance, grass dance — every kind of category imaginable,” they said. Each dance has its own unique history. For example, the chicken dance mimics the prairie chicken’s mating ritual, originating from the Niitsítapi (Blackfeet) Nation before becoming a pan-Indigenous dance. Some dances are competitive, with a winner chosen by judges.

“It’s just a beautiful event,” they added. “We plan on doing it every year, and we think about ways that we can improve it for next year. We’re just happy.”

Facebook Dating solves the issues with modern romance

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Peak Web
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A girl with her face painted blue crouching down in her washroom. Next to her is a speaker.
PHOTO: Katie Walkley / The Peak

By: Katie Walkley, SFU Student

In our modern era, staying single has become an appealing option. I count my blessings every day I don’t have to be married by age 14 like my foremothers. My romantic interactions are limited to checking out the SFU hotties on the 143 bus (hmu baddies). Just kidding, please don’t, I’m not ready. 

Anyways, I have noticed that many of my friends also experience the epic highs and lows of singledom. On one hand, I would not give up my solo nights watching old Survivor seasons for ANYONE. However, I need to take a peek at what we’re missing out on. Thus, I have taken it upon myself to investigate how to find love as a dating-curious-loner-queen.

The saying is true that love finds you when you stop trying. And I really had given up on that one fateful night where after asking, “Why on earth does Facebook have a dating app?” I made myself a Facebook Dating profile. 

No bio. Just a picture of me in my alien makeup sitting on my friend’s toilet. 

It was originally just to see what kind of hooligans were finding love on my Aunt Linda’s favourite app. Then, my curiosity grew into respect like a caterpillar’s transformation into a slightly larger caterpillar. So, here are my three reasons why Facebook dating will change your status from unwitting loner to reciprocal boner just in time for some summer romance. 

  1.       Low standards: boost your ego!

My extraterrestrial form has received many confessions of love and coffee invites after the briefest of exchanges. Since it is impossible to fumble a Facebook diva, even the most inexperienced, non-committal users will feel like fine shyt in no time. 

  1.       Absence of rizz: assure a genuine connection

Most Facebook daters have limited real-life dating experience. Some are even bold enough to sing their woes in their bios. One man wrote a full paragraph about how he’s a good-looking guy — so it’s not his fault he hasn’t had sex in over a year. I could tell his hand was relieved to take a break from its full time job and write that paragraph. You can rest assured that these people aren’t putting up an act because they tell you things that most wouldn’t give up under torture.

  1.       Loneliness across the board: you’re not the only hermit

In a land where people have resorted to finding their other half on Zuckerberg’s social hellscape, the inhabitants surprisingly do not have the most frivolous social lives. This means they will text you back faster than even your closest friends. With their abundant free time, they put lots of thought into their responses and they don’t mind giving you a double, triple, no, wait, septuple text.

So, is Facebook the place for you to embark on your first relationship? God no! I hope you said no or else you’ve misunderstood everything I’ve said worse than an ignorant bachelor misunderstands 500 Days of Summer. But is it the place for you to go from time to time to safely flirt while remaining peacefully single? Absolutely.

Political cartoon: BCNDP passes Bill 15

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Peak Web
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Political cartoon: BCNDP passes Bill 15
CARTOON: Cliff Ebora / The Peak

SFU study indicates men surviving intimate partner violence don’t have enough support

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Peak Web
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This is a black and white photo, composed so that only a man’s black silhouette is visible in front of a white, grey, and black gradient in the background.
PHOTO: Bita Eskandari / Unsplash

By: Corbett Gildersleve, News Writer

Content warning: mentions of physical and sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, substance abuse, and suicide. 

A new study co-authored by Dr. Alexandra Lysova and Dr. Eugene Emeka Dim was published on February 28 in the Journal of Family Violence, examining how men surviving intimate partner violence (IPV) deal with their abuse. Lysova, an SFU criminology professor, and Dim, a University of Victoria assistant professor in sociology, highlighted that men in Canada were significantly less likely to receive support due to stigma, a lack of dedicated services, and poor coping strategies. The Peak reached out to Dr. Lysova and CJ Rowe, director at SFU’s Sexual Violence Support & Prevention Office, for an interview, but could not conduct an interview by press time.

This study reviewed previous studies conducted on the topic, drew data from the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) victimization survey, and analyzed 2016 interviews with 16 men who experienced IPV. Although the interviews occurred almost 10 years ago, the researchers found that “there have been no significant changes in societal attitudes or support systems” toward men who experienced IPV in Canada. The men who were interviewed were over the age of 18 and had experienced IPV in their married, common-law, or dating relationships. 

The study states, “Previous studies utilizing the GSS 2014 data found that men were significantly more likely than women to report experiences of physical and/or sexual IPV (2.9% of men and 1.8% of women in current relationships).” However, the 2025 study highlights that men were significantly less likely to seek support than women, revealing several disparities, as found through several statistics. For one, the study found women “are more likely to confide in their families (56.3%)” compared to men (27.8%).

“When men survivors wanted to seek support through counselling or other services, some were not immediately available to them, or they were expensive.”

The interviews showed that the men’s coping strategies fell into four areas: “denial of abuse and/or withdrawal, diversion to work or other activities, maintaining the relationship, and seeking help after the abusive relationship ended.” 

One respondent said, “I wasn’t (coping). I was just existing. I guess I was dissociating; that would be my best guess. I still don’t remember those memories; it’s a bad time of my life. Obviously, I tried to repress it.” Another respondent who focused on other activities said, “I hide . . . work more, play video games, do home projects, and other activities.” Others tried to focus on saving their relationship through seeking couples counselling, Alcoholics Anonymous support groups, or focusing on helping the abuser instead of themselves. One man said, “I thought I could be a hero . . . I focused solely on trying to help her, instead of trying to help me. Alcoholics Anonymous group helps you look at the alcoholic person from a different perspective. I loved my wife and I believed that she would change.” Only after the relationships ended, some found support through counsellors or groups: “I’m going to the male support center every week for meetings,” one noted.

When men wanted to seek support through counselling or other services, some were not immediately available to them, or they were expensive. From the 2014 GSS victimization survey, a substantial percentage of respondents had incomes below $40,000, with (at the time) counselling sessions costing $50–220 per session. One of the 16 interviewees said that after their breakup, they sought out suicide prevention support and shelters, but “every helpline was for women and children.” One man noted, “So, the message for me was, don’t call this number . . . Even shelters in Toronto are all named for women and children.” Fortunately, he was able to find support through his job benefits — something that not all men survivors have. The study concluded that a “nuanced understanding” of the factors affecting men “is crucial for developing policies, practices, and interventions that comprehensively meet” their needs.

For more information, the study is available here. If you or someone you know has experienced physical and/or sexual abuse, you can contact the SFU Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office, call 778-782-7233, or email [email protected]. They support anyone in the SFU community and are open to all gender identities and sexual orientations. Additionally, the BC Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse provides individual and group therapy sessions as well as victim services at 604-682-6482 or [email protected] (Vancouver), and 672-963-9931 or [email protected] (Surrey).

The Vancouver Arts Book Fair returns to the city once more

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Peak Web
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The picture shows a book fair, focused on a few books on and around a table
PHOTO: Kate Bezzubets / Unsplash

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer

From July 4–6, 2025, the Vancouver Arts Book Fair (VABF) returns to the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, bringing you not just knowledge transfer, but also many visions of what a publication can be. It is not just “Canada’s longest-running international art book fair,” but one of the most persistent, having been an annual Vancouver staple since 2012.

Kay Higgins, board chair at VABF and professional development coordinator at SFU School for the Contemporary Arts, attributes this longevity to “stubbornness.” Higgins has been attending art book fairs with her partner since the early 2000s. For her, this work is more than just making and selling books; it is about the intimacy inherent in this physical exchange. “It’s something that has gone from my hands to a stranger’s hands,” she says. 

For Higgins, it is also about self-expression and resistance. Art publishing “can be very, very political,” she notes. “It’s got the potential for you to express ideas that wouldn’t be very viable to express even through a small press.” And yet here they are in our hands: zines, risograph editions, photocopies, hand-stitched booklets, even envelopes. 

“There is so much variety in what we do,” Higgins continues, her passion for publishing evident in her voice. “A book is not just a vessel to put things in. It is a thing in itself,” she quotes from Ulises Carrión’s The New Art of Making Books. As beautiful objects, these publications have a life of their own, and book fairs are vital spaces for this culture of appreciating books to be made and passed along. 

However, Higgins is keenly aware of the limits of space, time, and funding. “We need to be able to do things we haven’t done yet,” she says. Imagining a future where arts book fairs can create broader networks of solidarity with Indigenous artists, those from the Global South, or those making art under oppressive regimes, she admits, “We are still in the infancy of working with Indigenous artists, including artists from the host nations.” This decolonization is not uncomplicated, as some might find even the book a colonial form. 

However, her work is ongoing. “My vision is that we manage to get everybody a living to produce work that creates meaning,” she shares. Mindful of the tension between these independent cultural spaces and her more institutional roles, she recognizes the limited power we hold as artists and scholars. Yet, she believes learning to work with institutions is a way to triangulate power, to make space for work that would otherwise be impossible. It is personal and political. And it has a cost. 

Yet, artist-publishers from all over the world show up: Brooklyn, Seattle, Tokyo, Eindhoven, Shanghai, Hong Kong. From established names like Art Metropole and Emily Carr/Libby Leshgold, to some of Kay’s personal favourites like Brick Press, Cathy Busby Projects, HOMOCATS, Wendy’s Subway, and more, the fair is packed with diversity. The best part? It is also free to attend and open to all. The books are often affordable, and most exhibitors accept debit and credit payments. 

Higgins first learned about art publishing in her twenties, with creative projects like File magazine by General Idea, which parodied fashion and culture, and Aspen magazine, which came in a box. It was a revelation to her then, that “anything made public is a publication.” That same wonder and sense of possibility is what VABF is about. 

Wander in. Stay awhile. Witness what happens when strangers gather around ideas made tactile. And take something home — a sense of community but also a book or two — a reminder of the long, invisible chain that connects us. No special equipment or knowledge required. Just curiosity and some time. So, head out to Yaletown to see the fair for yourself!

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024