Q Summit Poetry Intensive 2026/27

About the program

Q Summit is…

A portal? A club? A lucky break? The feeling of drawing a spiral with 3 markers? A bunch of guys being dudes? An avant-garde Trust-fall? A Trans-Queer-Utopian Diorama made out of borrowed denim and pocket trash?

Q summit is a 2-month long poetry intensive for 2SLGBTQ+ youth (ages 19 to 29) who want to deepen and invigorate their writing practice through guided exploration in a dedicated cohort! Join facilitators Melly and Mart in this stylistic and experimental program that fosters Queer connection, and creative development. Weekly thematic workshops will consist of writing, reading, research, discussion, sharing, living, laughing, loving, and ultimately—collective inquiry into our Queerness as it relates to poetic subject, form, medium, and creative approach. Participants will write towards a collective anthology of new work and a final live performance. Participants can expect new chops, new tricks, new worlds, and new friends.

Program Details

Dates: Mondays, September 28 to November 30, 2026 (9 workshops)
Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Location: In-person at Lakeshore Arts (2422 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Etobicoke)

Please note, there are 10 spots available. Only selected participants will be contacted with a confirmation email from the Programs Manager. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, September 23 at 11:59 PM. Apply now!

Participants who complete the program will receive a $125 honorarium after the program’s end date in acknowledgement of their dedication. Participation and consistent attendance are required to receive the honorarium.

Who is this program for:

2SLGBTQ+ identifying youth, ages 19-29, located in Toronto.

If you require more information or help with this registration, please contact Revital Weiss, Programs Manager, at CommunityPrograms@LakeshoreArts.ca

About the Facilitators

Martin Gomes (he/they) is a writer specializing in music & poetry. He’s been afforded the opportunity of performing for people & places such as Opera Atelier, CBC, Sony, Soho House, Warframe, Nuit Blanche, TOLive, and Treemonisha. With their art, he hopes to set an example of craft commitment, empathy, and observation wherever possible in an attempt to spread messages of loving each other’s neighbours even through all the noise.

Melly Davidson is a poet, performer, and facilitator. Melly’s current works take form as interactive media performances (Piss or Beer, Idiot Plot Desktop, etc). Find her in ROOM, CV2, Arc Poetry, GLYPHÖRIA (Metatron Press), Silverfish, and beyond. Melly co-runs the Devotional Chaos Reading Group. Today she is moved by profound synchronicities in youtube comments, and the karaoke versions.

Carmen Ocampo Velázquez (She/They) is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist, curator, and psychologist originally from Colombia. Her experience centres on healing, identity, and social change through collaborative engaged art. Drawing on a clinical psychology background spanning over 30 years, she catalyzes creative processes that foster individual and communitarian resilience and empowerment. Carmen holds a Master’s in Environmental Studies and is the founder of Matiz Project, a transdisciplinary collective harnessing the transformative power of art to deconstruct social narratives and reclaim collective voices. Currently, she serves as an Art & Wellbeing Facilitator and Board Member at Lakeshore Arts (LSA).

Aisha (she/her) is a youth advocate who uses storytelling and art to amplify young people’s voices in civic and community spaces. She is a member of the Canadian Center for Cultural Diplomacy and the King’s Trust Canada Youth Council, where she helps bring youth voices into community conversations and decision-making. She also represented young people in a range of community and leadership forums.

Aisha completed governance and leadership training with Fora Rise on Boards and is joining Lakeshore Arts to contribute to community-based arts initiatives. She is committed to using creative expression to help build more inclusive and connected communities

Akshat Jhaveri (he/him), working in the financial services industry for almost a decade. His ability to connect, communicate and understand the needs of clients is his true passion. Outside the finance world, you might catch him shooting hoops on the basketball court, taking a swim, or hitting the road with a smile while driving his car (blasting music). With a mix of financial smarts and a love for life outside the office, Akshat brings a well-rounded energy to everything he does.

Francis Tomkins (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice includes animation, collage, zine making, and workshop facilitation. They have a BFA in Cross-Disciplinary Arts: Publications from OCAD University and have worked within the arts and accessibility sectors at Tangled Art + Disability, StopGap Foundation and Toronto Queer Film Festival. Their work has been featured by Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS), RestFest Film Festival, and Arts Etobicoke. Francis is passionate about how art can be used to create and sustain connected communities.

Renu Indapurkar (she/her) is a Toronto-based portrait artist whose love for art began in childhood, inspired by her grandfather, a painter and art teacher. Growing up around his practice and teaching, art became an integral part of her everyday life and a natural way for her to express and connect with the world.

She works across mixed media, oil, watercolour, oil paint and coffee painting, and specializes in portrait art. For the past five years, Renu has been running her small business RK Artworks, creating commissioned pieces that celebrate people and personal stories. More recently, she launched Live Wedding Painting, where she paints live at weddings, capturing meaningful moments as they happen.

Twenty-five years ago, Charlotte founded Wuthering Bites, a café on the Lakeshore in Mimico that focused on the arts and community. With a diverse background in teaching, research and advocacy, and a passion for writing and visual art, Charlotte is thrilled to now be working with Lakeshore Arts as they launch exciting new initiatives for our South Etobicoke neighbourhood. She is especially thrilled to have a unique opportunity to focus on engagement and programming for seniors.

Annie Katsura Rollins (she/they) is a community arts worker, researcher, and puppetry artist. Finding a sense of much needed belonging in community theatre as a young person, she pursued understanding this feeling of connectedness through the arts with degrees in performance (BFA), theatre performance, direction, and puppetry (MFA) and finally a study in traditional lineages of folk puppetry in China (PhD). She concurrently tested this understanding through over 20 years of professional work in art education, facilitation, and community building.

Since moving to Toronto in 2017, Annie has worked in the community arts sector and co-founded and co-curates with Concrete Cabaret, Toronto’s only experimental puppet slam. Annie is a professor in the University of Connecticut graduate certificate program in puppetry arts. She believes that having the arts in our everyday lives is no longer a luxury but a necessity.

Sin Tung (Steffi) Ng (she/her) explores the complexities of Asian immigration experiences through curation, writing and photography. Interweaving these three artistic practices, Ng seeks to build site-specific exhibitions, public programs and installations that amplify marginalized voices and make space for joyful encounters across diverse cultures. Her works have been featured at the DesignTO 2025, Xpace Cultural Centre, Unit 270 and the Graduate Gallery.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Sin Tung/Steffi is currently based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Her recent interests include AI image-making of demolished architectures, long-distance friendships and Japanese city boy fashion.

Revital Weiss is a queer Jewish arts worker who believes in the transformational power of the arts. Revital works with artists to develop socially-minded arts programming for marginalized communities. She also advocates for opportunities for emerging artists, particularly BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+ folks, and incarcerated/formerly incarcerated people. Revital has co-curated and supported arts projects at Neilson Park Creative Centre, the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, FENTSTER Gallery, and King Heritage and Cultural Centre. Revital holds a Master of Museum Studies. In a past life, Revital was an urban planner.

Q Summit Poetry Intensive 2026/27

Black Artists Residency 2026/27

Carmen Ocampo

Aisha Sidiqi

Akshat Jhaveri

Karen Kew

Francis Tomkins

Renu Indapurkar

Charlotte Sheasby-Coleman

Kadeem Parchment

Annie Katsura Rollins

Steffi Ng

Revital Weiss

Sherry Pom Foreman