SHARINE TAYLOR + P’EARD EXPERIENCES PRESENT
sponsored by
✱ hurricane melissa relief fundraiser
✱ hurricane melissa relief fundraiser
gran’ market, or christmas market, is an annual christmas eve tradition in jamaica that dates back centuries. typically held in town squares, it’s a hybrid night market and cultural festival where attendees can buy last-minute christmas gifts, hear live music, eat food and celebrate with others before christmas day.
in this diasporic iteration, we recreate this event inspired by a tradition that is revered by our community while raising funds for organizations and communities in jamaica.
100% of all proceeds go towards relief efforts.
saturday,
december 6th
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it's ok* studios
(468 queen street west)
important info
admission
$25 or five items from our donation list
artist marketplace + artisan corner
purchase prints, exclusive art pieces and merch from local businesses.
event overview
6:00 PM — marketplace opens
9:00 PM — short film showcase
11:00 PM — marketplace closes
food + beverage marketplace
experience a taste of the caribbean with our wide array of authentic, homemade food from the region.
home: yaad and abroad.
“Learning about Jamaica is how I understood the world. It’s culture and cultural producers have been at the forefront of my curiosities as a writer, has given me insight into my own heritage and I’m still, and will forever be, amazed at Jamaica’s global and generational influence. Through programming ‘home: yaad and abroad,’ I wanted people to either be reaffirmed in what they see and know about jamaica, or expand their understanding of who and what we are as a people in yaad and abroad.”
— sharine taylor
the films
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![Poster titled 'Play It Out: How Toronto Got Soul,' featuring a man singing into a microphone and walking with one foot raised, with a background of multiple images of the same man in different poses.]()
'nana' — sounds & pressure (2024)
against the changing face of toronto’s little jamaica, where she established some of the city’s landmark reggae record stores, singer nana mclean challenges outdated stereotypes and establishes her reputation as the queen of reggae in canada.
dir. graeme mathieson & chris flannagan
courtesy of the national film board of canada.
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![Illustrated movie poster for 'Out of Many,' featuring a woman with long hair, surrounded by trees and patterned background.]()
out of many (2020)
the bubble of asha’s privilege is popped when she sees the dead body of a street cleaner while out with her driver. from this point on asha’s world seems tainted, and she is thrust into deep introspection.
dir. rebecca williams
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![A dark-skinned woman in a red shirt stands with her eyes closed as a dark-skinned man in a blue shirt holds a chicken on her head. The background is green and blurry.]()
burnt milk (2023)
‘burnt milk’ centers around a monologue by una (voiced by tamara lawrance), an isolated jamaican woman in london around 1985. as she takes a moment of solace to make burnt milk, she is flooded with spiritual imagery that takes her home.
dir. joseph douglas elmhirst
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![A movie poster for "Patty vs. Patty" depicts a man holding a large stack of beef patties, standing in front of a street scene with brick buildings and a sign for a restaurant named Kensington Patty Palace. The poster includes award laurels and a tagline about ground beef wrapped in bureaucracy, with credits and logos at the bottom.]()
patty v patty (2022)
‘patty vs. patty’ tells the story of Toronto’s bizarre 1985 “Patty Wars,” when Jamaican-Canadian bakers went head-to-head with the federal government over the name of their beloved beef patty.
dir. chris strikes
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![Silhouette of a woman sitting on a chair indoors near a window with curtains and potted plant, sunlight streaming through the window.]()
home (2020)
a first-generation carribean-american woman plants new seeds after reconnecting with her family’s matriarchs in quarantine.
dir. sadé clacken joseph
the filmmakers
about the organizers
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sharine taylor (she/her) is a toronto-based, interdisciplinary creative with over ten years of experience across editorial, event planning, film and advertising industries.
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darynel beckford (he/they) is a dynamic jamaican-canadian costume designer and wardrobe stylist. born in mandeville, manchester, jamaica, darynel is renowned for pushing boundaries with his creative work. darynel likes to consider himself a multi-hyphenate creative, and through being the curator of pear’d collective, seeks to connect communities through art and culture.
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on a macro level, the aim of pear'd collective is to host community centered, financially accessible engagements that facilitate community building through our varied curated experiences. even though our mission is to primarily centre bipoc queer caribbean individuals (diaspora included) in these spaces, all are included.
