In this day and age, media representation matters more than ever, as it enables people to grasp a deeper understanding of themselves and others in the world. It also has the extraordinary power to transform popular imagery into real world practice of love and hate, and peace and violence. 

Join us on Thursday, June 3, 2021  for an important discussion regarding racialized women’s representation in the media with Mercedes Batiz-Bennet, Cory Lee and Yukari Peerless in collaboration with Intrepid Theatre. 

Mercedes Batiz-Bennet is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and award-winning Director from Mexico. She moved to Canada in 1997 and completed a BFA in Creative Writing and a BA Honors in Philosophy from the University of Victoria. She also holds a Diploma in Film Production from the Pacific Film & New Media Academy.  Approaching expression from as many angles as possible, she has worked as writer, dramaturge, director, set and costume designer, translator, adapter, actor, puppeteer, multi-media artist, screenwriter, film and video editor, cinematographer, and director. In 2014, Mercedes won the Canadian Stage Award for Direction at the SummerWorks Festival in Toronto with her play "El Jinete – A Mariachi Opera", and in 2015 she was chosen as the Distinguished Alumna of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Victoria. She is the poetry, fiction, and non-fiction editor at Bayeux Arts, and the artistic director of Puente Theatre.

Early on, Cory Lee gravitated towards music; studying piano, violin, and electric mandolin, enrolling in a musical theatre program and relentlessly honing her vocal chops from the age of eight onwards. As a result, she became intensely focused on improving her voice. The record wasn’t an overnight success and Lee worked tirelessly to find partners who could help it reach a wider audience, approaching label after label in an effort to raise interest and ultimately paying out of her own pocket for radio promotion to get the ‘The Naughty Song’ on the public radar. 

While music is her first love, Lee is also a talented dancer, model and actress. She has juggled both music and acting effectively over her career, she decided to take a break from recording to pursue acting exclusively and appeared in numerous feature films and in television series like Being Erica, The Listener, The Chris Isaak Show and others. From Music to Acting Cory is a Canadian triple threat to watch for.

Yukari Peerless is the owner of Lucid Communication and is the host and producer of the Living Brave Podcast. She also serves as the Director of Communication at Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society, and is a board member at the Canadian College of Performing Arts. She also sits on the Arts, Culture, and Education Committee at the National Association of Japanese Canadians .Through these various roles, Yukari works to bridge the cultural gap between Japan, her native country, and Canada. She  has emerged as the go-to person for Japanese culture and performing arts on Vancouver Island. 

Please join us for an evening of information and sharing, as we learn about the profound power of representation in the media.

Closed captioning is available for this event.

The event link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83368613299

For media enquiries, please contact domi@sniwwoc.ca at least 48 hours prior to the event.

We acknowledge that this event is hosted from the traditional territory of the Lekwungen people, currently and specifically the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.