PARENTHOOD AFTER LOSS: ELLIE ANGLIN’S FIRST MEMOIR

On Mar. 14, 2026, local art space and small-scale risograph print shop, Dirty Work Studio, hosted a book launch event for Kitchener artist and writer, Ellie Anglin, for her first book, Reproduction: Death, Birth & the Turkey Baster, published by Publication Studio Guelph.  

The book is a graphic memoir and practical guide that traces Anglin’s pursuit of parenthood in the shadow of profound loss.   

Anglin describes her attempts to conceive a child with her wife, while navigating the fertility industry, which is interrupted by overwhelming grief after losing her parents. The couple’s struggles push them away from institutional practice and toward home insemination, affectionately known as the Turkey Baster Method.  

While the subject matter is heavy, Anglin emphasizes the underlying warmth of the work.  

“Although death and birth are very painful and dark subjects… there’s a lot of joy and humour in it as well,” Anglin said. “All of these things are only so important to us because they’re all about love.”  

Anglin is a multi-media visual artist and writer based in Kitchener. She takes inspiration from feminist and queer art traditions, and her works blend different motifs and elements such as collage, memoir and self-publishing practices that explore identity, magic, pop culture and the collective imagination.  

The publication of her book marks a major milestone for Anglin, who has long been a staple of the local do-it-yourself (DIY) scene.  

“I have been making zines for probably over 20 years now, and I’ve self-published 35 zines,” she said. “So, to have my first official book publication is a big honour.”  

Shalaka Jadhav, Kitchener-based curator, writer, cultural strategist, co-founder of Dirty Work Studio and a long-time collaborator of Anglin’s, noted that independent spaces are crucial for first-time authors who often face significant barriers in the Canadian publishing industry.  

“It can be really intimidating,” Jadhav said. “So, it’s really important to have the space where you can invite family and the general public and allow for people to mix.”  

The book launch was hosted at Dirty Work Studio, which is located at 100 Park St.  

“I’m so, so excited to have a studio like this in downtown Kitchener,” Anglin said. “Such an awesome arts community here, and then this studio is just like the cherry on top with so much celebration of DIY queer and women’s art.”  

The event transformed the studio into an immersive gallery, featuring Anglin’s surrealistic collage work and looping video remixes of the book’s illustrations.  

Jadhav explained that the goal of the night was to help the work burst out of Anglin’s book.  

“We want to be a space where artists can realize all kinds of projects and to sort of experiment,” Jadhav said. “Having a DIY space where things can be a little bit more experimental and loose means that Ellie can try new things and expand her practice.”  

The highlight of the evening was a live performance involving costumes and props, a project Anglin developed over the final weeks of her three-year journey to bring the book to life.  

Anglin said that the visual components from the event were a natural extension of the book’s creation.  

“I kind of took the collage fragments but then reassembled them into different collages to create new meanings,” she said.  

The reach of the project extends far beyond Kitchener due to Publication Studio’s unique open source model. As Jadhav explained, any of the studio’s sister locations worldwide, from Guelph to Brazil, can download, print and bind Anglin’s work locally.  

Ultimately, the launch served as a testament to the resilience of the local creative scene.  

“This is a total labour of love,” Jadhav said, noting that the studio is a self-funded effort by its members. “The more people show up to our events, the more we see it as a show of support that this space should exist.”  

Police arrest third person in connection to shooting in downtown Kitchener
Waterloo regional police have charged a third man in connection to a shooting late last month in downtown Kitchener. A warrant was issued for the man and he surrendered to police on Tuesday.

#crime #arrest #downtownKitchener
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/police-arrest-third-person-shooting-downtown-kitchener-9.7105045?cmp=rss

QUEEN STREET COMMONS SET TO RE-OPEN

The Working Centre’s Queen Street Commons Café in downtown Kitchener is set to reopen this spring after a six-year hiatus. The cafe closed its doors in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic and has remained shuttered as the non-profit organization focused on changing priorities for the communities it serves.  

In 2024, The Working Centre began planning for the reopening, including upgrades and a layout change. Cassandra Polyzou, community tools and enterprise hub lead at The Working Centre, said that, as with any renovation, there were unexpected challenges that pushed the reopening into 2026. 

“Anyone who is working on renovating a small business knows that we all face challenges. Everyone is trying to do their best. But it has meant that the process has been slow,” she said. 

Queen Street Commons opened in 2006 as a third space for the community, regardless of income. Polyzou said the goal is to be that third space again and bring the community together. 

“The space is going to look different…We’ll be able to do things like film screenings and concerts in the space,” she said. “It’s refreshed, but it certainly still is going to feel like the Queen Street Commons that we’ve all known and loved.” 

There is no set opening date yet, but Polyzou said the cafe has two concerts scheduled in March to welcome people back to the space. 

 The Queen Street Commons is hosting The Boo Radley Project on Mar. 6, 2026 and I, the Mountain on Mar. 7, 2026. The cafe is hoping these big launch events show people the new space and what can be done with it. 

Downtown Kitchener has changed in the six years since Queen Street Commons closed. Conestoga College’s two downtown campuses opened and closed, multiple new condominium and apartment buildings have opened, and many major employers have opted to continue with remote work instead of renewing their office leases.  

There has also been a significant increase in the people experiencing homelessness across Waterloo Region, including the 100 Victoria St. encampment across from The Working Centre’s recently opened Making Home space at 97 Victoria St. Polyzou said the changes are a motivator to bring back the spirit of “radical hospitality” that Queen Street Commons was known for. 

“Queen Street Commons was always a place for everyone. Things have changed, and the need is very much there. We hear it from people all the time who say they miss this kind of space that is really a bridge across communities that brings diverse people to sit at tables beside each other and share food and coffee,” she said. 

When it opens, the cafe will continue to offer affordable and vegetarian menu items, including coffee, baked goods, and soups. Polyzou added that volunteering opportunities will also return to the cafe. 

“We know that people have missed that opportunity. It’s such a gift. Or maybe they’ll just come for a bowl of veggie chilli and a cup of coffee, and that’s great,” she said. 

Love it or hate it, this Kitchener parking garage now has a heritage designation
The Duke Street parking garage in downtown Kitchener with the green coloured spiral exit has received heritage designation. Michelle Drake, the senior heritage planner with the City of Kitchener, explains why this building is so special.

#heritage #designation #parking #Kitchener #downtownKitchener
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/9.7045269?cmp=rss