As my time at UofT is coming to an end, it has become increasingly important for me to look to my peers for insight and support in the process of shaping my practice as a museum professional and feminist. After covering Atleigh Homma’s If I’ve Been Enveloped in Tenderness (Curated by MMSt candidate Kesang Nanglu), I felt inspired to find other cool projects women in MMSt are accomplishing and discuss their take on intersectional feminism in the arts & culture sector.
My last post was a conversation with Margin of Eras Gallery, which highlighted the importance of DIY spaces in Toronto to support marginalized artists. DIY projects are community-driven platforms that support underrepresented groups through artistic appreciation and experimentation. Lately I’ve been exploring how DIY spaces can foster intersectional feminist communities. I’ve also wondered how DIY projects can contribute to a museum practice.
It became clear that Melina Mehr (MMSt candidate, web developer, writer, and zine-maker) was the person to speak to. Melina founded invisibilities a series of self-published zines that seek to make visible narratives that have been omitted or erased, and act as a platform for marginalized groups to expand their creative networks. After being involved in small DIY communities for nearly ten years, Melina sought to fill a gap of diversity and intersectionality she found in Toronto zines.
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| invisibilities issue No. 1. Photo courtesy of Melina Mehr. |
Read our conversation below:*
Why do you think DIY culture in the arts is important?
In a lot of ways, it seems like one of the few genuine outlets left to share work. You’re not relying on other people’s money, and therefore don’t need to satisfy the particular preferences, requirements, or politics of the organizations or people who are paying you. It’s entirely up to the artist to create whatever they want without barriers or filters.
How do DIY projects complement and/or challenge your more traditional museum practice/studies?
DIY projects provide the space for experimentation and are anti-capitalist in nature and practice. It challenges traditional museum structures in that they don’t require donor funding, which in turn affects the work created, as mentioned above. It complements museum practice in that DIY projects allow for community building, conversation, and network growth in a similar way to an institution’s educational and public programming. Curators and interpretive planners also have the ability to be radical in their work by rejecting the colonial frameworks that museums did and still do function within.
Both issues No. 1 and 2 of invisibilities directly call for writing and visualizations from womxn, why was this an important distinction for you?
The distinction to only include work from womxn for Issue No. 1 was important because it related to the medical field, which has a history of violently under-representing, misrepresenting, and generally misguiding womxn — particularly womxn of colour. Womxn’s experiences of navigating healthcare and dealing with doctors is vastly different than the experiences of men, so I wanted to highlight that. Issue No. 2 relates more to creating a space for histories and narratives which have often been unacknowledged or unrecorded. I have never described invisibilities zine as a project explicitly for womxn by womxn, but rather as an attempt to uncover certain narratives, which so far, have been by womxn. That doesn’t mean I won’t open up submission to all genders in the future. But I do like the idea of someone picking up the zine and perhaps not even initially clicking in to the fact that all the content has been created by womxn. Where it becomes so natural that it doesn’t need to be stated.
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| “’What does she do all day?’ Reflections on isolation and the cycle of healing incurable illness” by Amanda Lovell (invisibilities issue No.1). Photo courtesy of Melina Mehr. |
How does your gender inform your creative practice (in museums, with invisibilities)?
Being a woman does not necessarily inform my practice as much as being a woman of colour does. The intersections between race, gender, and class are deeply rooted and not often recognized in much of the contemporary political discourse. In all the work I do, both professionally and personally, I try to put inclusivity and access at the forefront. I often refer back to this quote by Toni Morrison, who said, “When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.”
Has a community formed around invisibilities? What does that look like?
The launch for Issue No. 1 was so unbelievable that I still can’t wrap my head around it. It was at Wise Bar in Bloordale. I wanted to choose a fully accessible space (which is few and far between!!!) and Wise Bar’s cozy atmosphere seemed like the perfect spot for my expected turnout of maybe 20 people. Before the readings even started, we were beyond capacity and had to turn away folks for the rest of the night! Over 100 people ended up coming out and the zine’s first run of 80 sold out. It was wild! That felt like a community event because all the contributors got to meet each other, I got to meet them for the first time, and the space was just full of conversation and connection. The community since then has mainly been through the Instagram account. I am still trying to think of more ways for people to connect. I’ll get messages on IG or emails from people who have read the zine, but I want there to be a way for those comments to reach publicly so that all the contributors know how important their work has been for others.
Can you tell me a bit about the theme for issue No. 2 and what it means to you?
The theme centers on stories of womxn from the diaspora and immigrant families as a way to record transgenerational memories and reflections of identity. The themes in each issue also relate to myself (it would be a bit odd to create a platform for a group that I have no knowledge about or experience with myself, no?) Both of my parents are immigrants, and my family members have these unbelievable stories of escaping Iran during the Revolution as religious refugees. I have been making an effort to record some of those stories, as my grandmothers are getting quite old now. I know other people have similar experiences, so I thought an issue focused on these kinds of transnational memories and how they shape people’s own identities would be valuable.
Who are your museum muses in Toronto?
People I’ve worked with at the AGO who I also currently work with at MOCA in the visitor experience teams have been amazing. They’re so dedicated to creating positive interactions with visitors and producing fun and engaging tours. The ladies over at Margins of Eras Gallery and CUE are really active in changing the landscape of museums (although I’ve never personally met any of them). My OG muse is my friend Khristine, who graduated from MMSt a few years ago and was the one who helped me figure out the steps I needed to take in order to grow more in the field. She shares my sentiments about decolonizing art institutions and trying to think more progressively in how we approach our jobs. Anytime I find myself struggling in the field, she’s a great person to talk to. My non-Toronto shoutouts are to the three female directors of Studio Museum Harlem and Kimberly Drew in NYC, and the ladies running the programming at Alserkal Avenue and Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai.
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| invisibilities issue No. 1 open to film photograph of Krystle Nacion, one of 5 womxn Melina interviewed. Photo courtesy of Melina Mehr. |
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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