We Live Here

We Live Here

In 2009, Arts4All presented We Live Here! An Outdoor Extravaganza of Tall City Tales and Alleyway Odes throughout the grounds of Pelham Park Gardens TCH. Written by Liz Rucker and directed by Lisa Marie DiLiberto, This performance incorporated poetry, stories, and music   developed throughout a three years exploration of urban narratives called The Cities Project. Featuring the Parkdale Singers, the Arts4All Players, and Pelham Park Afterschool Children, the play celebrated two years of outreach and collaboration with Pelham Residents.

Toronto is home to a large indigenous population including residential school survivors and intergenerational family members who have been impacted by the history and legacy of the residential school system. The sacred land on which we stand has been a site of human activity for 15,000 years. This land is the territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. The territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. Today, the meeting place of Toronto is still the home to many indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work in the community, on this territory.