Toronto-based Improvisers Making a Difference

Wearing many hats comes with the territory as a musician in 2020. Well, try adding festival-organizer to your list of duties!

Meet alto saxophonist/visual artist Bea Labikova and soprano saxophonist Kayla Milmine. These two Toronto-based improvisers are impacting their creative community in a really big way--with and without their instruments. 

From March 5, 2020, to March 8, 2020, Bea and Kayla will present their second annual Women From Space festival, presenting sixteen women-led ensembles over the course of four days. The festival will take place during International Women's Day weekend.

Some featured performers include Susan Alcorn, Kris Davis, William Parker, Ingrid Laubrock, and many others.

1. Sam Newsome: Congrats on your second year with the Women from Space festival! So, how did you come up with the name? Was Sun Ra an inspiration in some way?

Kayla Milmine: I came up with the name “Women from Space” for a music series I ran at Tranzac. When we decided to create the festival, we thought this was a unique and fitting name, as the festival happens over International Women’s Day weekend. I did draw inspiration from Sun Ra, especially the film “Space is the Place”. I like the idea of ‘women from space’ exploring the universe for new musical sounds and ideas and featuring them in this festival.
 

Bea Labikova: Oh and there is also that  ‘women from space - space for women’ aspect of the name. 

2. SN: That makes total sense. And Bea, in addition to being an accomplished saxophonist and improviser, you’re also a great visual artist. Did you create that amazing picture for the festival advertisements? It looks very Frida Kalo-inspired. Is she an inspiration?

 BL: Thanks, Sam! Ha, Frida. Yes, I can see it, especially in her direct look, but I didn’t think of it before!  Each year we want to have a different space-woman featured, hoping that in several years we will have a nice portrait collection of different kickass space-women. In general, I want all the artwork to convey empowerment, spaciness and lots of colors! So I went from there, followed my imagination and tried to create something I am excited about.  

3. SN: You've definitely made your point. And Kayla, with you hailing from Montreal and Bea, your roots being of Slovak origin, how did the two of you meet?

KM: We met in Toronto about five years ago – shortly after I moved here from Montreal. I believe we first played together in a saxophone quartet, and then our musical relationship grew and since then we’ve played in several various projects together.

BL: Haha, the first time we met was actually at an improvised shadow puppet / Halloween house concert at my place. Kayla was performing in a noise-trio with a friend we have in common. I think half of the band showed up in pink unicorn onesies? I was dressed as a deciduous tree.

4. SN: That sounds fascinating. I'd love to see some pics!

Another question:  Even though the festival is centered around women players, I see there are also some men performing as well. 

KM: Yes, our mission is to be inclusive of everyone. Our goal was to create a festival that is majority women-performers, but not exclusively women. I do my best to present the festival as a celebration of International Women’s Day – which anyone and everyone can/should celebrate!

BL: Yes, everyone is celebrating! I would just add that the men performers are mostly in supportive roles...all 16 sets of the festival are featuring and focusing on the work of women as improvisers, composers and bandleaders. 

5. SN: It looks like a great line-up!

Also, it seems as though the music industry—particularly in jazz and improvised music—has been making a serious effort to address gender inequality. I’ve certainly noticed this in the United States. Have you felt the effects of this in Canada? And has it made it easier to get funding, or just support in general?

KM: Yes – I think the awareness of gender inequality is at the forefront of the arts right now, as it is something that needs to be addressed and changed. I think that because of the nature of the Women from Space festival being majority female performers, we are able to make a good case as to why this festival is significant. We are overwhelmed with the amount of support we have, especially since it is only our second year of the festival.
  

BL: I would say that awareness about gender inequality, but also all around diversity including artists of all backgrounds and cultures, indigenous performers, LGBTQ identified is becoming at the forefront of the arts. Projects that are actively working on creating this balance stand a good chance of being supported by the municipal, provincial and national arts council here in Canada.  

6. SN: Toronto seems to have a pretty thriving improvised music scene. And there seems to be an already a sizable female presence, even without having a festival that’s female-focused. Is there any truth to this?

BL: I would say yes and no. The jazz and improvisation scene is changing with there being so many more women now - as compared to even 10 years ago. Despite encouraging trends, I still see a gender imbalance on stage as well as in the audience...for example for certain instruments like bass, guitar, and drums, the disproportion is quite obvious.  But I can proudly say that we are not the only ones who are thinking along these lines. There are many curators, promoters and bandleaders here in Toronto who work very hard to present shows that are more gender-balanced and more diverse all around. This is inspiring to see...but I think there is still a long way to go to reach the point when such balance occurs effortlessly.

7. SN: This is a great thing. Certainly long overdue.

Also, what is your selection process like for booking acts? Is it more you reaching out to musicians, or are you having your inboxes flooded with submissions?

KM: We did put out a call for submissions, as well as selected acts that we thought would fit nicely in the festival. We also put together a couple of the acts; asking specific musicians if they were interested in playing/working together. So I guess it’s a mix of everything!

BL: We received many more applications than we expected actually...and they keep coming. It’s great to see the interest and support and it feels like we tapped into something that is important and pressing.  

8. SN: Right now, the WFS festival seems to be a two-person operation. Any plans to expand your team in the future? Assuming you plan to make this an annual event. 

      

KM: I would like to expand our team over the next few years. We would like to make WFS an annual event, so having more people on board would be most helpful. All in due time!

BL: Yes - expanding on the team is in the future! 

9. SN: I'm sure you won't have trouble finding eager participants to join your team. 

Last question. If there are other young aspiring women festival organizers out there looking to follow in your footsteps, what advice would you give them?

BL: Well to be absolutely honest, we are still quite new to this….we are doing our best while learning as we go!  I made a special effort this year to meet with a few people who have been running various arts organizations for a long time to talk about their experience and pretty much pick their brains. That was really helpful for me and I very much recommend that...people are generally happy to share their wisdom! 

10. SN:  I'd like to thank you both for your time, and I wish you the best of luck with the festival.


For more information about the Women from Space Festival, please visit www.womenfromspace.com.

And all other questions can be directed to Bea and Kayla at info@womenfromspace.com