Imagination for Liberation

Hello, I'm Sideah [she/her] and I'm a poet and actress living and working in Vancouver, also known as the Musqueam/Squamish/Tsleil-Waututh territories. I like to write a lot about identify, belonging, and longing. I hope my personal work of feeling 'othered' opens other conversations about resistance, and still finding beauty in the mundane.

Artist Statement

I have submitted a poem called 'to live as a revolution.' I often think about the current state of the world and my ancestry. The world becomes too overwhelming and sometimes I think back to my ancestors and how they would think of us living, and how we fight to live and create art as a way of staying connected.

Reflection and Connection to "Imagination for Liberation"

I think, in trying times it's so, so hard to use imagination for liberation. For me, it's grounding to think of things in an ancestral sense - to think that perhaps, my grandfathers and great grandmothers could look at the changes that we have collectively made and swell with pride. I use my skin tone as a micro example of these outdated beliefs we have carried for centuries and centuries, take a nod at the ancestors behind us, and allow it to create space to imagine for a better future. At times when things feel dark, and dreary, remembering all the changes we have made is the path forward.