More than Just an Arts Festival: Communities, Resistance, and the Story of Desh Pardesh

Abstract

Desh Pardesh was a Toronto-based arts festival that strove to bring forward the voices of those who are most silenced inside the South Asian community and society at large: gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans-gendered people. This article tells the story of Desh and discusses the impact of the organization/festival through a focus on three themes: the building of alliances to foster community resistance through the arts, the link between cultural and civic participation, and the notion of “home away from home” belonging. In putting together this case study the author draws on mainstream and ‘alternative’ print media sources, post-colonial theory, her own experience and solicited observations from individuals closely involved with Desh Pardesh throughout its 13-year existence.

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