Please join me and Rolyn Chambers this Thursday for a SALACIOUS double-fisted book launch. Rolyn is releasing his first book, The Boy Who Brought Down A Bathhouse, a collection of stories about the infamous St. Marc’s Spa. RAID: Operation Soap was the play I produced last year with co-conspirator David Bateman. Operation Soap was the police […]
Category: Queer Politics
PLEASE to join us at the AGO this Wednesday at 7pm for a legendary performance by KEITH COLE, featuring gay porn star Ryan Russell, drag sensation Maria Delmonte with cinematic landscaping by queer filmmaker Raymond Helkio. This commissioned work is part of TORONTO: Tributes + Tributaries which explores the work of Canadian artists active between 1971-1989 through modern day performance art. TWO SHOWS ONLY: Wednesday, October 26, 7pm […]
Graphic design for the Dignity Initiative: Raymond Helkio | Recent years have witnessed significant progress in many countries around the world in the realization of the fundamental human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, from securing decriminalization of our sexuality and protection against discrimination to achieving recognition for our relationships and families. But […]
It’s been 35 year’s since the Metropolitan Toronto Police simultaneously raided 4 bathhouses, arresting over 300 men in grotesque display of power intended to humiliate the men they found. These raids were the catalyst for one of the most significant turning points in Canadian LGBT history. Dubbed Operation Soap by police the raids sparked outrage among the […]
DAILY XTRA, MARCH 14, 2016, Chris Dupuis Queer zine redefines family and supports Glad Day in the process MyGayToronto.com, February 29, 2016, Drew Rowsome Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Fuck You: A Zine About Family eBook PDF download Buy Now ($8) Limited addition hardcopy in-store at Glad Day Bookshop or send us an email.
December 1st, 2015 | Bawdy House Texts launches across New York City. This unapologetic outdoor art installation is a potent reminder of the most significant historical turning points in queer history. Never forget, never again. Curated and designed by Raymond Helkio. LAUNCH DETAILS COMING SOON Email Address First Name Last Name
The “Karma Condo” construction workers at 21 Grenville Street are still at it: teasing, name calling, whistling, gawking and tormenting people who live in the neighbourhood. They don’t pick on everyone mind you, just the meek, overtly gay or visibly out. Take Enza Anderson, she’s been directly battling these bullies for over two years and the […]
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Raymond Helkio Join us for a discussion & debate with representatives of all four major parties on key issues for LGBTQ communities in Canada. The event features representatives from all four major Canadian political parties running candidates in Ontario with the discussion moderated by Brenda Cossman, from the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies. Unlike […]
While waiting for a bus in downtown Toronto, Enza Anderson looked up because two City of Toronto workers in an orange and blue truck were snickering and taunting her. When she didn’t respond they drove their large city-issued truck up along side of her and called out ”Look at the batty bwoy!”. This is pretty terrible behaviour […]
We’ve taken over the third floor space at Glad Day Bookshop, the world’s oldest queer bookstore, to bring you an epic collaboration of artist work including Brad Fraser‘s triptych Cock Therapy, Blue Nude by David Bateman plus legendary photos by Raymond Helkio. Even if you don’t want to buy any art you should come out to our party this Saturday because you’ll get to […]
My heart’s broken. I am a card-carrying homosexual who wears his politics on his sleeve. I do this out of respect to the queers before me who stood up to injustice, fought back and won. These are the people of moral courage and they are responsible for much of the freedoms we enjoy today. How dare you use oppressive […]
MAY 21-23, 2015 QUEER CITY CINEMA 12TH INTERNATIONAL QUEER FILM FESTIVAL REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN Directed by Raymond Helkio and Rolyn Chambers Combining footage from the final days of St. Marc’s Spa with interviews from Toronto artists Sky Gilbert, Keith Cole, Brad Fraser, Drasko Bogdanovic & Shane MacKinnon, Death Of A Bathhouse explores the art culture and ultimate demise […]
In June 2014, over 500 activists, academics, lawyers and policymakers from across Canada and around the world came together in Toronto, Ontario for the WorldPride Human Rights Conference which raised the level of awareness of global LGBTI issues in Toronto and Canada and provided a launch pad for the Dignity Initiative. There is currently no framework […]
PrEP or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis is the use of anti-HIV medication (a blue pill by Gilead Sciences called Truvada) which keeps HIV negative people from becoming infected. This is not a smart strategy for STD prevention because it’s is only effective against HIV and so while our community watches HIV rates decline, we are now facing soaring rates of Syphilis and other STDs. Is this […]
Post by Raymond Helkio.
I started volunteering with the WorldPride Human Rights Conference in 2012 when all we knew was we wanted to put on a human rights conference in conjunction with Pride Toronto and the UofT’s Mark S. Bonham Centre For Sexual Diversity Studies. Over the next few years I got to work with an international queer community of activists and I learnt […]
You read that correctly, as part of the 36TH Annual Rhubarb Festival we’re transforming Buddies in Bad Times Theatre into a bathhouse that Hamlet would be proud of! PLEASE DONATE AND JOIN OUR LOCAL ART REVOLUTION This faggy-feminist production of Hamlet In A Hot Tub combines live theatre, video and drag into the first contemporary […]
This past summer the LGBT Giving Network partnered with the Association of Fundraising Professionals Inclusive Giving program for the 4th annual Philanthropy Conference at The 519 Church Street Community Centre. Just wait until next year! Graphic design: Raymond Helkio
AIDS ACTION NOW!, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre present the video launch of Think Twice this Tuesday November 18, 2014 at 7pm at 12 Alexander Street, Toronto. Poster design: Raymond Helkio, Videos: John Caffery
If you missed this year’s LGBT Giving Network Philanthropy Conference, you can catch some of the highlights below. It was an incredible two day learning and development extravaganza! Video by The Reading Salon‘s Raymond Helkio.
Saturday June 21, 9PM | as soon as it gets dark outside of The 519. Free and dirty! A queer pop-up piano lounge celebrating free speech and all that is fierce. This event is free. Pulp Lounge @Nuit Rose from Raymond Helkio on Vimeo.
IN YOUR POCKET explores the immediacy and intimacy offered by smartphone technology. Curated by RT Collective in association with Inside Out film festival featuring work by: Drew Lint, Tera Mallette, Tawiah Ben-Eben M’Carthy, Drew Danielle Belsky, Vika Kirchenbauer, Brendan Healy, Alejandro Santiago, Drasko Bogdanovic, Mikiki Mikiki, Raymond Helkio, Amy Pearl, Apathy Club, Coral Short, Sam […]
For more than a decade, Mirvish Productions operated La Cage theatre in downtown Toronto. As the resident performers at La Cage, The Impostors have earned rave reviews. But it’s the shows final number that gets them the standing ovations. And tonight The Impostors are getting ready to bring their high-glam drag spectacle to the small […]
Hosted by Andrea Houston and Roy Mitchell (ROYNATION), Queer Russian Cabaret put on an amazing event at videofag in show of support for our LGBT brothers and sisters in Russia. If you missed our Pride House Cabaret: A Five Ring Circus you can check out the performances here. Video: Raymond Helkio
Join us for a gay old time as we show our support for our LGBT Russian family. videofag, Toronto | February 1, 2014 In this video: andrea houston, roy mitchell, donnarama, brock hessel, david bateman, amy lester, elle chronique with video by raymond helkio ? music: the whole she bang, velvet goldmine + noctune opus […]
Guest authoring for PositiveLite.com, Raymond Helkio says that despite Toronto’s awful mayor Rob Ford, the city now has a chance to redeem itself in the global LGBT rights dialogue that is WorldPride 2014. How many saints, martyrs and human rights activists do we have locked up in Canada right now? More importantly how many of […]
This is a chance for the LGBT community to come together to discuss the issues that matter to us and to further our human rights around the globe. Your support will help provide opportunities for important dialogue between grassroots leaders and contribute to this growing international movement. We need your help to cover the costs […]
Happy first year anniversary to The Reading Salon! 100 videos, 25, 000 YouTube views, 5 live shows, 2 gallery and one festival screenings. Thank you for watching!
Categories
We Love YumeEe!
Special Emergency Issue (Retro), Graphic Design: Raymond Helkio, Art Direction: Rolyn Chambers. Printed in Toronto. Featured in this spread: Lena Love.
RISE UP! Calling all Toronto queer artists, activists, and superstars! We’re making a promotional video for The WorldPride Human Rights Conference 2014 and you can be a part of it! Tell us what global LGBT human rights mean to you and be part of history! Drop us an email or look for us at Toronto […]
My Sex Is Genderless by Raymond Helkio Videofag Monday May 27 + June 2 2013 7PM An intriguing and personal exploration of the immediacy and intimacy offered by the smart phone technology. Based around the ambiguous phrase “What’s Your Sex?”, the screening will present new works by Toronto based artists Julian Calleros, Kiley May, and […]
Combining footage from the final days of St. Marc’s Spa with interviews from Toronto artists Sky Gilbert, Keith Cole, Brad Fraser, Drasko Bogdanovic & Shane MacKinnon, we explore the art culture and ultimate demise of one of Toronto’s longest running bathhouses. Worldwide preview screening Thursday May 30 at 9:30pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox as part […]
In an article titled Henry Comes Knocking: Video discloses absurdity of Court’s HIV non-disclosure rulings AIDS ACTION NOW gives a big thumbs up to The Reading Salon‘s efforts with this work. The criminalization of people living with HIV (or any illness) is an epically wrong way to manage a public health concern and is a […]
Categories
The Reading Salon
Watch past shows here The Reading Salon is an experimental moving art event that gives voice to the printed word. Every month Toronto artists come together at a TBA location to celebrate the spoken word. One hour later we go live with a 15 minute curated performance of the work. In our first installation From […]
Queers for Social Justice logo: Raymond Helkio Queers for Social Justice is a coalition of queer community groups, organizations and causes. The group was formed at a community town hall meeting for queers on May 27, 2012. We have come together to bring a unified message of social justice and politics to Pride 2012. Drawing […]
Please join me Thursday May 24th at 10PM (EST) on Blog Talk Radio with host Roy Mitchell for the show ROYNATION. We’ll be talking about The Great Meeting Room, Free Speech, Moral Courage, the Rob Ford: Prove It! campaign and Roy’s trending fashion. It’s going to be lively! Blog Talk Radio is free and you […]
Please join me for this year’s amazing line-up of films at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival. This year I have sponsored the film August which is showing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Friday May 18th, 2012 (7:15pm) and I hope you’ll be able to join me for another year of incredible LGBT […]
Categories
Rob Ford: Prove it.
Dear Rob, I hear you turned down another invitation to show your support for Pride day in Toronto – what a shame. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for spending time with the family but perhaps you haven’t considered the implications of being our mayor. It requires of you to be supportive of a diverse […]
Launched this past September, Male Call is the most comprehensive national survey of men who have had sex with men in Canadian history. For the final few weeks of the campaign, professional soccer player and former Montreal Impact most-valuable-player David Testo is joining us to encourage gay and bisexual men across the country to participate […]
He’s part of the team behind those witty “Fact or Phallusy” sex survey ads you may have seen on Facebook. Or not, depending on if the social media site banned them. Raymond Helkio is our new Man of the Hour, explains Male Call Canada, and then takes our TMI Questionnaire to reveal the accidental boiling […]
Male Call Canada is a national university-community collaboration that surveys men who have had sex with men. Participation goes a long way in helping create effective community health programs. Read the story in xtra! about about our recent facebook ban and then come join our fanpage! Graphic Design: Raymond Helkio