Description Rich Story Hour - Part One

Where do stories come from? On September 27, 2025, in Lee Lifeson Art Park, 5 tellers will take the stage. Inspired by a prompt, and by the land they’ll be speaking from, each teller will share a unique tale. In this episode, we meet each of the tellers, and hear from them about where their creativity comes from, what stimulates their imagination, and what elements of the land currently occupied by Lee Lifeson Art Park gave birth to the stories they’ll share.

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The Description Rich Story Hour and The Hopewell Garden Audio Story are created by Christine Malec, Rebecca Singh and Katherine Sanders. They are a trio of artists who came together for the purpose of creating audio experiences of the natural world from a Blind-led perspective.

These stories are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Toronto Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Foundation.

Logo Image Description: A square with large yellow text that reads, "Described Toronto" and below it "PODCAST" in all capital letters, within a yellow rectangle. The title is layered on top of a photo of diverse women standing side by side outdoors in a park. One of the women holds a white cane.

Transcript

Christine Malec (00:05)
Welcome to this episode of the Description Rich Story Hour podcast series. My name is Christine Malec and I'm one member of the Described Toronto Collective. This project started with the idea of the land, specifically the land currently occupied by Lee Lifeson Art Park. I personally got excited by the idea of a park dedicated to, even named for, musicians, a park that celebrates art by incorporating it, invites art by offering a stage and an amphitheatre where art can be produced. 

As a group, the three of us who make up the described Toronto Collective, Katie Sanders, Rebecca Singh, and myself, share an active interest in untold stories, unknown histories, and a robust, respectful, and mindful relationship to nature, the environment, and the land we live and work on. When we started talking about the kind of event we wanted to create in this park, we landed quickly on the idea of storytelling. With equal ease, we knew we wanted to tell stories of the land we would be on, the land currently occupied by Lee Lifeson Art Park. Personally speaking, my relationship to the idea of a land acknowledgement has evolved. For me, as a descendant of settlers who grew up not genuinely aware of my own place in our colonial history, I first understood a land acknowledgement to be the recognition of those who had occupied this land before Europeans. Over time, with the help and wisdom of one of our storytellers, Trina Moyan my sense of a land acknowledgement has shifted a bit to also hold space for just the land. It has been here so long before us and will be here so long after us. It simply is. It supports life of so many kinds and holds so many stories, its own, ours, those who've been here before, and those who will come after. 

With all these ideas in our minds, we imagined a storytelling event that is itself a kind of land acknowledgement. So we came up with the following prompt to stimulate the creativity of the tellers. Create a story in the past, present or future that takes place on the land currently occupied by Lee Lifeson Art Park that involves a meeting or a parting. And go! The tellers are each of us from the collective, Katie, Rebecca and myself, Olivia Short, Trina Moyan, and Shak Gobert. On September the 27th, in the park dedicated to art, we'll hear these stories. But before that happens, how great would it be to hear from each teller about how they create, where inspiration comes from, and what motivates an artist? How great?

Well, you're about to find out. I spoke with each teller and asked some of the same questions. How does the creative process begin? When is your imagination and creativity most active? And what elements of the prompt or the park were most active in the story creation? I loved the diversity of answers I got. They ranged from ideas of embeddedness in nature to the pragmatism of deadlines and everything in between. On a hot July day, Katie, Rebecca and I met in the park to do some exploring and some chatting, and I had the chance to pose my questions to them. Let's start with Katie.

Christine Malec (04:14)
And we are in what is currently Lee Lifeson Park in July, as you can tell by the cicadas, which are persistently alive and telling us that summer will indeed end someday. And I want to talk about stories and how they get created. And so ⁓ one of our tellers, Katie Sanders, is with me right now. And I'd like to ask you, Katie, when you are presented with a creative task such as a story prompt, how does your creativity start?

Katie Sanders
It starts with the deadline, to be quite honest. The pressure of having to deliver a finished product is what motivates a good deal of my, the actual work that goes into my creativity. ⁓ In terms of a real answer to that question about being creative and thinking creatively, ⁓ someone taught me a long time ago about a term called punctum which means the little thing that gets you, that sticks in your brain about something. It's usually something small and it's, ⁓ you're like, why do I keep thinking about this? But that turns out to be, if you want to, if you think about that and extrapolate from it and think about why it's a punctum for you, ⁓ you can be led down some very creative paths. 

Christine Malec (05:45)
Well, that leads into another question I have, which is,When you read the prompt for the story and you thought about this land, which is currently occupied by Lee Lifeson Art Park, what was your connection? Where did your creativity start? What road did it start taking you down? What element caught your attention?

Katie Sanders

⁓ That's a great question and I mean one of the reasons we chose this park to work in is because of all of the different public art pieces which initially were what caught my attention and I like to do a lot of research and find out as much as I can about them so we'll have some information about that on this podcast I hope. ⁓ So those were what caught my attention and the research gave me more context ⁓ to think from, create from.

But the thing that stuck in my head that I couldn't get out is the sort of figure eight double helix pathway that's over on the southwest corner of the park. And it weaves in amongst these grassy type ⁓ plants. ⁓ That spiraling and that kind of constantly moving, like the path is not the fastest way. It's not the straight line.

It makes you take a long time to wind through it. ⁓ I'm making a curving motion with my hand as I say this. That's how I feel when I'm walking through it, is this is taking me on a journey instead of just taking me out of the park or into the park. So I thought about the journey to get here and ⁓ that's been what's inspiring me for my story. No spoilers. I can't wait. ⁓ Is there...

a time of day or a particular activity that ⁓ stimulates your creativity that gives your mind the freedom to wander? Walking.

Christine Malec  (07:43)
Yeah

Katie Sanders (07:45)
Any time of day if I'm walking and I'm not listening to something or know, actively distracted, that's when my mind really starts to, I think that mind-body connection really ⁓ instigates a lot of thoughts and connections. yeah, I walk here, I walked as much as possible from the subway and to the subway and ⁓ walking around the park and just anytime I'm walking somewhere, I'm always, that's when the juices are flowing.

Christine Malec (08:16)
In studio, I spoke with Olivia Short, who's arguably got the most experimental approach to creating and telling.

Christine Malec (08:24)
Olivia, welcome and thank you for taking the time to speak with me today about your contribution to the Description Rich Story Hour. Can we start by, can you sort of introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your practice?

Olivia Short (08:39)
I guess I'm a multidisciplinary artist. My work is involved in a number of different artistic mediums, but sort of at the core of everything is sound. ⁓ That's what I originally trained in. So I trained as a classical saxophone performance major at the University of Toronto. So yeah, so I ended up playing all this very cool...

I use weird in a loving way, but like more experimental, you know, more like often like texture and color and all these things that you don't always get to see in sound or hear in sound, you know, depending on how you think of it. ⁓ I got to explore those things. And I think that led me to want to do other things later on as well. So yeah, my practice is very much rooted in sound, but I love the visual arts. I love theatre.

I've worked with dancers at different periods of my life. ⁓ I kind of love like where it's forced me to go into. So, you know, I do some stuff with video art that came out of the pandemic and, having to do live streams and trying to figure out how do I represent my art in other ways? And like doing video art has become something I'm really loving and, know, not as good at, but really enjoying working in it. And then just, you know, working with theatre artists and, know, people in that field.

You know, getting into things like I've done some sound design for shows and also I just love like the costumes and makeup from everything. And that's not necessarily just a theatre thing. It's like, you know, drag and, ⁓ all these other sort of theatre adjacent or maybe in theatre, but just in different realms that aren't necessarily in like a theatre house, you know, that are maybe more like, you know, at the bar, you see this kind of performance or somewhere else, but.

yeah, this is a long answer to say, like, I enjoy many things and in the end, like, I just really like telling weird stories that don't always make sense.

Christine Malec (10:43)
So how does that, like on the, the event in Lee Lifeson Art Park on the 27th, how will your skills be brought together with, know, with no spoilers? Is it going to be musical? Is it going to be text-based? What, how do these things come together into a storytelling moment for you?

Olivia Short (11:05)
Yeah, first for the event, ⁓ I'm planning on working with text, in a more abstract and fragmented kind of way. ⁓ I love a lot of abstract art and surrealism and ⁓ art that is a little more experimental and maybe doesn't give you the story in a straight-ahead fashion. ⁓ And also that leaves space kind of for the audience member to engage and experience with it in whatever way they kind of want to, which is nice. Like they can hear it and be like, ⁓ this bit of text means this to me. Or like, I don't know, it just reminds them of something. So I'm definitely working with texts, but I'm also going to work with, ⁓ sound and music as well. I, I'm an improviser now as a, musician. So a lot of the work I do in music is like playing saxophone and using voice and text with my loop pedal and kind of looping these sort of fragments and creating sort of like an asymmetrical soundscape. ⁓

Christine Malec (12:09)
Are you going to have your looping pedal with you?

Olivia Short (12:13)
That is to be determined. I think so. There's a, there's a, there's a strong chance. I worked with it a lot and I really enjoy working with it. Um, uh, and then there will also probably be a costume and, and made up of some sort, but I'm still figuring that part out.

Christine Malec (12:29)
I look forward to that!

Christine Malec (12:33)
there, there's a few questions that I've been posing to all of us who are going to be storytellers on that day, because I'm just so interested in people's different creative processes. And so when you have a, a creative project, either one that's been prompted to you or one that you're thinking of, are there parts of it that come to you first?

Olivia Short (12:56)
Yeah, I like many, many people, I think. ⁓ You know, having a phone with you all the time and having access to something like, you know, the Notes app is a very useful tool for me in my practice, especially just like, I'll be out and about doing things or I'll be in places, you know, like around other people and things will come to mind. And I just have like, have to write it down in that moment. ⁓

So I have a very long list of just, sometimes they feel like random thoughts. they're probably not that random, but just thoughts I've had that have popped up kind of in their own way at the right moment. And yeah, it's like this little, I always use the reference of like a shelf, but it's kind of like just like a basket in a way of just thoughts or prompts. ⁓ or even actually I also use my voice memos, ⁓ quite a fair bit.

especially for like melodies or just like something I've heard. Or sometimes I hear something and I'm like, ⁓ wow, that bird makes a really weird, interesting sound. ⁓ that's lovely. Like Cardinals are great. I love when I hear Cardinals. I never used to pay attention to them. And I, there's a couple in my neighborhood that I think they're the same ones. I see them regularly. So I like to record them when I can. ⁓

So, and then, yeah, so I kind of use these tools to kind of capture like just these thoughts or these moments. And then I come back to it later and sometimes they make total sense and they don't always, but I kind of like that too, that it's like past me giving future me these little nudges to be like, here's a thing, you can use it. And so that's kind of often how these things end up working is like, I had an idea and it might be related to this project or it might be something from before. And I'm like, it really fits with this. I'm going to use it.

Christine Malec (14:54)
Is there a time of day or a particular kind of activity that you find is the most generative, like a time or activity in which your imagination just really flexes?

Olivia Short (15:07)
Being outside of my house definitely helps a lot. ⁓ Whenever I am kind of around, I think other people help a lot. I find often being in theaters, watching a movie, stuff comes to me then, or ⁓ when I'm out on walks, kind of going places in my neighborhood, or being in coffee shops around other people. I'm not sure if it's fully like... necessarily other people being the motivation or inspiration, but I feel like that helps in some way. And also just hearing like the sounds of people, ⁓ whether that's talking or just like, you know, people shuffling around or people walking or, you know, the noises that come with people existing.

Christine Malec (15:54)
I find that too. I've some of my best world building happens at music festivals. And the reason is that sometimes not every band on stage is, the one I'm there to see. sometimes music is, you know, it's good, but it's not totally absorbing me, but there's this big crowd around me and something about being embedded in a crowd. And in this case, it's all happy, positive people. So that's just awesome. But there's something about that too. I feel that being embedded in a sort of sea of humanity. ⁓ I find that creatively sort of stimulating ⁓ also. when there's a, you know, there's the prompt for this story that you'll be composing on the fly, perhaps on the 27th, but there's also the park itself. And so I'm wondering ⁓ if there's a specific aspect of the prompt or of the park itself, the land occupied by the park that was inspiring to you in thinking about ⁓ the creation that you'll present on the 27th.

Olivia Short (16:55)
I hadn't been to, I haven't been to this park yet. ⁓ so I've been looking at it online and kind of, you know, photos people have taken either, you know, like the Google, the Google set of photos and videos, or just kind of, looking around on social media for just like more casual things that people have posted about the park. ⁓ but in reading about it and kind of learning, you know, the inspiration for the naming of it and, ⁓ sort of like the way it's been decorated around sound and like the band Rush. ⁓ you know, obviously prompts me as someone who thinks about sound a lot in all its fat, you know, all the facets of sound. ⁓ I was thinking a lot about, you know, the listening while you're in a space like a park. And especially when you're in a city like Toronto, where it can, you know, Toronto is not the noisiest city.

You know, there are obviously much bigger, larger, noisier, chaotic cities, but Toronto has its own brand of that. Like it gets noisy. It gets quieter. Some of the noises are more, you know, human made versus like nature. yeah, I guess I was just thinking kind of about the kinds of sounds of where this park is specifically located and like what those sounds would be like. ⁓

And I kind of, don't know, I just kind of like to imagine what that might be like. And I'm very curious, like if what I imagine in this moment while talking to you and the actual between now and the actual performance, ⁓ if that will be the same to me or not. ⁓ yeah, I was just thinking a lot about like listening and being in the park and, ⁓ but, ⁓ also just like if you're outside performing, like what are all the sounds around you, you know? ⁓ is it the like the trees moving in the wind? Is it construction in the distance? Is it people talking? And sort of that kind of thing is, ⁓ I guess the kind of things I often think about when I'm in an environment like this.

Christine Malec (19:03)
Thank you so much for your time. can't wait to share the stage with you on the 27th and to hear your composition.

Katie Sanders (19:10)
Yeah, it'll be so fun!

Christine Malec (19:12)
Back in the park, we're going to hear from Rebecca. I've worked often with Rebecca on audio description related projects, and it was super fun to hear about her creative process and how she works in other parts of her practice.

Christine Malec (19:27)
So Rebecca, I'd like to ask you some of the same questions. When you are ⁓ tasked with something creative, how does your imagination start with that?

Rebecca Singh (19:40)
Well, I think for me, I think creatively most of the time and I have to sort of remove the creative thoughts ⁓ to kind of sort of get down to business. And so I have to ⁓ put sort of walls around ⁓ my ⁓ imaginations and my dreamings sometimes in order to gather up.

usable ideas. So for me, there is a process that kind of when given, you know, some kind of a prompt, I have to sort of find ways to corral where in which direction my thinking and my imagination is going in order to like successfully create something that can actually actually be executed rather than ⁓

just a whole cloud of new ideas. It's always been like that for me. ⁓ And so I found ways to ⁓ work through that and with those creative sparks.

Christine Malec (20:48)
You're like a sculptor who has to peel away things from the marble to get to the actual piece of creativity. I find that for me, I either start with an idea or a place. I almost never start with a character. That almost never happens for me. ⁓ often for me, the creativity is to look into the past or the future.

As a reader, I'm very much science fiction or historical fiction. I'm always escaping one way or the other. so, ⁓ particularly in this case with the location, it's the time. ⁓ Time became my axis where I started moving from. When you saw the prompt and considering that we are, you know, this land that is currently occupied by Lee Lifeson Art Park, was there... an anchor point, something in particular that caught your creative ⁓ interest to build from.

Rebecca Singh (21:45)
Well, I think for me, I have in the last few years really been more exposed, I think, than ever to our missing histories. So the missing history of women, for example, women's contributions and certain things and the histories that like I've just been more and more conscious that things have been taking place on whatever land I'm on for for millennia, for millions of years. And I, and this was in part sparked by ⁓ working on some visual art where I came to really learn and understand, ⁓ sometimes we have on with visual arts and other artworks, it says artist unknown when the name isn't known of the person who created it. And I went through a show and there was a particular label that said, you know, whatever the title you know, maybe of the work was or whatever the type of work it was and it said artist unknown and then it got changed to artist previously known and that to me was a massive shift because yes that person was known and that person was loved and had a family and worked on this piece for I don't know how many hours. ⁓ but it happened, it existed, it was a real human and that has value. And so I kind of carry that with me now and it sort of erased the idea of like, I don't know, there's this idea of a blank slate, which of course doesn't help me with my existing challenges of having too many ideas. But what this project and sort of the idea of a prompt ⁓

you know, how that connects to this idea is it's totally validating, right? Like there are so many different histories within this land and histories that we don't have access to. And in my work in the last few years, I have been thinking about ways to access those histories, including ⁓ just these wonderful like fantasy little trips that I go on where like I think of a statue that maybe could be in a certain place that would commemorate something that happened that doesn't exist and then I dream about audio describing that and I wonder about making things real through words in that way and using the skills that I have like also gained as an audio describer working on things that are real and tangible to create, ⁓ I don't know, to create things that don't exist. I won't say more because my story does go into that, but ⁓ yeah, that's where the spark is for me on that level. What about for you, Chris? Where does it land for you?

Christine Malec (24:59)
For me, it's the music. So this park is called Lee Lifeson Art Park and it's ⁓ commemorating the members, two members of Rush. And ⁓ there's an amphitheater, there's sound sculpture and music is my passion. Every day there's music in my life and sharing music in public spaces is a big part of how I live and what the values I have, what I think is important. And so to have a space that's dedicated to music is a very important idea for me and it really resonated. that became the ⁓ mild spoiler alert. My story looks into the future. And so this space that is currently in theory on paper in its expression is dedicated to music and performance. How might that look in the future? How might that become even deeper and richer? So my story kind of plays with that. But for me, the idea of music shared in public spaces is so foundational, is so important, part of my daily life that ⁓ that was the draw ⁓ for me into making a story that takes place on this spot that is currently Lee Lifeson Art Park.

Christine Malec (26:24)
And finally, we're going to hear from Trina Moyan and Shak Gobert and I'll let them explain how they are working together. ⁓

Christine Malec (26:34)
I'm here with Trina and Shak and I'm just going to invite you one by one to introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about you. Can we start with you, Trina?

Trina Moyan (26:42)
Sure. So ⁓ I'll introduce myself in the language, in my language. So tan se, that's hello, how are you, in Nehiyawewin and that's the four-bodied language.

So I'll what I just said was that I am a four-bodied human being and I'm from the Frog Lake First Nation. And then I told you my name in Cree, which is the wild flowers, the seeds that blow everywhere freely. So that's who I am in the language in terms of my identity. But here in the city, I do all kinds of things. I'm an actor, I'm a playwright, and I mostly serve... the Indigenous community and ensuring that their voices are heard ⁓ within development and redevelopment projects in the city. So thanks for having me, Christine.

Christine Malec (27:51)
Thank you. And Shak, can you tell us about yourself?

Shak Gobert (27:54)
Yeah, for sure. So, Tantse as well. Nia Shadrach, Shako Bear. Nia Pasquaw Mustuskape Sewena. Nia Oche Iksiksagagan. Frog Lake First Nation Treaty 6 as well. So, I said, Hi, hello. ⁓ My name's Shadrak, my English name, but I go by Shak usually. And my Cree name, Pasquaw Mustuskape Sewena, means the buffalo that blows into the earth and ⁓ brings forth the ancestors.

⁓ So yeah, a bit of longer one, but I love it. And here in the city, I do a lot of work around Indigenous community and technology. So specifically 3D modeling, kind of emerging tech, if anyone knows what that is, which is like 3D modeling and augmented reality and such. And I also do some public engagement work. So same kind of stuff around ensuring that our Indigenous voices are heard, more so with a youth lens to it, ⁓ predominant. So yeah, that keeps me busy.

Christine Malec (28:56)
Thank you. And there are two of you because you are collaborating on this story. And so at the event on September 27th in Lee Lifeson Art Park, Shak, you will be there and Trina, you will not be there. And it's Shak's voice that we will be hearing. Trina, can you explain without too many spoilers, the collaborative process of how you are both involved with the story?

Trina Moyan (29:20)
Okay, so here's the secret. If it's okay with you Shak.

Shak Gobert (29:27)
Yeah, of course, I didn't want to out you.

Christine Malec (29:31)
Wow, I'm getting really excited now!

Trina Moyan (29:35)
Big secret is that Shak is my son

Christine Malec (29:40)
Ha ha!

Trina Moyan (29:44)
So, in terms of collaborating, guess we've been collaborating ⁓ since the day I hosted him in my womb.

Christine Malec (29:56)
That is a phrase you just don't hear often enough. Thank you. Thank you for that.

Trina Moyan (30:03)
He's my son and he's a beautiful young man and ⁓ I'm so pleased to be collaborating with him. And it comes really truly from our perspective as Nehi Awak, the four-bodied human beings because we are traditionally a matriarchal civilization. And so I feel that it's so beautiful and appropriate that

He is telling the story and here's why. The matriarchs, ⁓ we are the ones who give ⁓ direction or we're the ones who in essence make those big decisions. And then we inform the men in terms of how they should proceed in following through with those directions. there are many First Nations communities that are in fact matriarchal and all of that was turned upside down.

So we are slowly reclaiming that natural way of being in community. So for Shak to in fact, we're working on this story together. ⁓ But for me to have sort of birthed this story ⁓ is a lovely way then for me to hand it over to him to tell it. And so maybe Shak, you want to add to that?

Shak Gobert (31:30)
That's just a nice long way of her saying, I'm actually going to be acting for the next six weeks in Halifax. So Shak, you have to go do this. No, I kid, I kid, I kid. No, but it is. It is a collaborative approach. mean, I think we may have mentioned it briefly already, but the story itself, it being a creation story, and for those that may not know Indigenous creation stories tend to ebb and flow in terms of how they're told, but the ethos of it, the intent, the actual lesson, let's say, the teaching embedded, that stays constant. So it's interesting, because even though this is our story, it's actually a collective community story of our people, Nehiyawak people. So this is kind of like our take on it in a way. And I'm excited to be able to share that.

Christine Malec (32:20)
Yeah, that's very interesting because I'm asking the same questions of each storyteller. And my first question is about in the general sense, where does the, the, the kernel of a story come from for you as the storyteller, the story creator. And, ⁓ for me, mine comes out of my imagination and different stimuli there, but it sounds like maybe the process is a little. Different when you are coming from a body of knowledge. So Trina, maybe I'll ask you this first. What's the, you know, what's the source of, the creative part when you are asked to tell a story?

Trina Moyan (33:02)
So I mulled over this question and I sat with it. And then I realized that almost every story I've shared or dreamt, whatever has come to me, it's always a part of searching for my identity, searching for... who I am when I say I'm a Nehiyaw eskweo, that four-bodied woman, human being. It's always about trying to answer fully what my responsibility is as a four-bodied being and then what my gift is and then to have the courage to share it. I don't know if that answers the question, but that's kind of the, it always seems to be that's the beginning the kernel, what is my responsibility in any given moment? And then a story comes from that. this is how I can't speak for all Indigenous people by any means, but this is the way and the reason stories created and shared amongst my people. That they're not just like stories to be told for entertainment, but that there is a purpose, there is an intention, and that inside those stories you will find like the code of ethics, how to behave in life, how to be true, and to, I guess, those, what we call those grandfather teachings. How do we do that to serve our purpose in a good way?

Christine Malec (34:39)
Shak, how do you feel you fit in there in the collaborative process? Like where is the root of creativity for you?

Shak Gobert (34:47)
Yeah, it's quasi similar, but a little different because like when I think about that question as well ⁓ and creativity, like when, for instance, when a new story comes along and I'm told it for the first time, especially if it's a, if it's an Indigenous creation story in this context, I'm always looking for the similarities. Like what is, again, what's the teaching? What's the intent that's underneath it? But also how did that person or that storytellers creativity layer on top of it? Like my mind sort of fixates onto both.

And in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to comedic or just kind of funny aspects of a story, I love to fixate on what is different, like how they've melded that story in a different way and added their own flair to it. Whether you're looking at a Cree creation story or an Ojibwe Anishinaabemowin creation story, you'll see those similarities. But to me, the fun part is seeing the differences and how they've made it their own. So that's what stands out to me, I find.

Christine Malec (35:46)
So Trina, is there a particular time or activity that really stimulates your creativity?

Trina Moyan (35:53)
Yes, it's always, I find in my garden. I love gardening. ⁓ I grow my own medicines, my sweet grass, my sage, my tobacco. And when I'm sitting ⁓ with those plant beings, the protocol is you sing.

And I remember asking my mom, well, I said, well, mom, I don't know the traditional songs for these plants. And she said, that's why you're supposed to make them for yourself. You make them with that relationship you're having with those plants. And so really, a song is a story. So oftentimes, I'm finding when I'm gardening or just taking care of the flowers, ⁓ something comes out of me and I'm singing or I'm talking to them and some sort of an interesting little story⁓ is revealed to me through that process. Yeah, I think that's my favorite place to be.

Christine Malec (36:51)
Lovely. How about you Shak? Is there a time or an activity that seems to really stimulate your imagination and your creativity?

Shak Gobert (36:59)
Usually it's when I'm on the road. Usually it's when I'm traveling or I'm somewhere new. And I don't always mean like, you know, traveling super far, like out of the city or to a new province or a road trip. Although those are key times. But even just like getting out of your sort of normal routine and maybe out of your neighborhood, somewhere different, somewhere unique, somewhere that sort of opens up the mind to different perspectives. Yeah, I find that to me is like when you kind of

Yeah, when you break your mold, and that way you're kind of just influenced by this flood of different, let's say. And it's also top of mind because we were on a big road trip too just back in June, back out west to our home community. And that was like a great time and environment to just share stories, hear new stories, meet new people, and old friends and family too. So it's,

Christine Malec (37:50)
you

Christine Malec (37:51)
So the prompt for this story for the description rich story hour was to tell a story that in the past present or future set on this specific land currently occupied by Lee Lifeson Art Park involving a meeting or a parting. So that was a prompt and storytellers were welcome to be guided by that or not. But I'm curious, Trina, for you.

Was there one particular element of that land, the land currently occupied by Lee Lifeson Art Park, where we will be on September 27th, that was stimulating to your imagination or your sense of how the story will be told?

Trina Moyan (38:31)
Definitely. ⁓ So that park is actually right here in my neighborhood. I'm only about four blocks from it. I have visited the park several times ⁓ with my little dog Coco. And I mean, as a First Nations woman, am always a little bit saddened when I don't see Indigenous history represented.

When I was walking through the park, was thinking about the land, the people, the Indigenous people that lived here on the land before it was colonized. And I wondered how can I, especially now that I live here, sort of help to ⁓ inform my neighbors and my friends about the truth of the land, the truth of the Indigenous people, the truth of, I think, not just that park, but Toronto the meeting place, the place where the trees stand in the water, Dagaronto, Ontario, that, Ontario, it's beautiful, Lake Ontario, ⁓ it's so beautiful. know, broadly speaking, our province, our city, this park, how can I, as a First Nations person, ⁓ and this is the opportunity to tell that story, to be there right on the land, to tell our creation story and to send that spirit out to the listeners there that Shak will do when he's there on the 27th. So I'm not sure that there is something specific about the park, but it was just being there and standing there and not seeing ⁓ Indigenous people reflected in the park, even though we've always been here.

Christine Malec (40:19)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Christine Malec (40:21)
How about you Shak? there anything specific about the park that caught your attention?

Shak Gobert (40:26)
Yeah, it was actually just there yesterday because I was doing some 3D scanning to create some of the 3D models of the public art installations there. So it's really top of mind and maybe that's why my mind is also fixating to those pieces. And the one thing that kept coming back to me was all of the pieces relate, of course, to sound. That's obviously an intentional theme, the amphitheater, all the different speakers and all the geometry there.

And I was thinking of when it comes to storytelling and especially our Indigenous worldview, how everything is about intent and active and good listening, right? So a lot of those pieces make sure that you're reminded to listen. And we always say that you have two ears and one mouth, so you can listen twice as much as you speak. And that just kept coming back to me. It's like, it's about listening, it's about active listening, it's about listening to all the stories, not always like...

You know, it relates to the ego too, not always just telling your story, listening to other people's stories. Like, and that's also why, especially in our community, you find it takes a long time sometimes to get an answer from elders or, or your aunts and uncles. It's cause they're really listening and they're really taking that in and they want to give you a good answer. It's not about speed. It's about listening first, taking the time and then speaking much later. So I was thinking of how to interplay with all that and how I'm gonna meld that into my storytelling on the 27th.

Christine Malec (41:56)
Yeah. So beautiful. Thank you both. Those, that was a lovely conversation. That's, really, really appreciate you taking the time to, uh, to sit and just talk this through. And I can't wait to hear the story on the 27th. No pressure at all. No pressure at all.

Shak Gobert (42:09)
No pressure, no pressure.

Trina Moyan (42:15)
You're gonna be great, Shak.

Christine Malec (42:17)
You are, are, can't wait.

Christine Malec (42:20)
I'm so excited to share the stage with these creative folk. We really hope you can join us on September 27th at Lee Lifeson Art Park in Willowdale, North York, Toronto. From 2 o'clock to 3.30 for the description-rich story hour. Starting at 1.15, there will be a touch tour, including 3D printed models of the artworks in the park and a tactile map of the park itself.

There will be sighted guides available for blind and low vision guests to help guide artwork and the amphitheatre. The park and amphitheatre are wheelchair accessible and the storytelling will have ASL interpretation and incorporate descriptive language. If you can't make it to the event itself, we'll be recording it and you can look for it on this podcast series in early October. Thanks for listening.