COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO CONTROVERSIAL COMEDIAN

On Mar. 7, Femme Folks Fest (FFF) opened its seventh annual event with Just a Joke, a comedy shows in response to a controversial comedian scheduled to perform in Kitchener the same night. 

Comedian Ben Bankas was set to perform at Elements Nightclub. His two shows, which were allegedly sold out, were cancelled by the venue the week prior to his visit.  

Bankas’ shows garnered attention from residents and advocates, who were calling for his show to get cancelled. Queer Youth Defense had also planned a counter demonstration outside the event’s venue.  

Lisa O’Connell, artistic director of Pat the Dog Theatre Creation, which hosts FFF, said that when they heard about Bankas’ scheduled shows, they immediately pivoted to add in Just a Joke.  

The show featured KW Comedy All Stars, a group of 14 local comedians with Amy Neufeld as the show’s host. Together, these comics came together for a night to combat hate with art.  

FFF is an annual event that celebrates music, theatre and comedy by women-identified, femme-presenting and non-binary artists. 

Bankas has received mass criticism since a comedy routine he performed in January in which he made jokes about Renee Good, who was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. 

“We found it particularly egregious, the jokes that he was making about Renee Good. This is a queer, young mother who  had just dropped off one of her children at school and was shot in the face,” O’Connell said. 

“There’s nothing funny about that. That’s a tragedy of absolutely the worst,” she said. 

Bankas’ past shows have also included commentary on topics such as residential schools, immigration, diversity, and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as events taking place in Iran.  

Currently on tour, Bankas’ shows in Kitchener are two of many shows that have been cancelled. 

“The fact that [Bankas] was touring and felt safe to come to our community, felt that he had a constituency here, sold out, or at least, alleges that he sold out two shows, and it was on, literally, the eve of International Women’s Day—we had to answer it,” O’Connell said. 

“The issue here of this kind of humour is systemic, and so we wanted to offer a solution,” O’Connell said.  

While outrage comics have been gaining popularity, O’Connell said that Just a Joke was a way for the community to experience comedy in a more inclusive way.  

“We have tons of literature and factual evidence research that anytime that you marginalize any community, anytime you allow any kind of victimization, albeit even in the form of a joke, that it allows individuals to take a look at someone as less than the full scope of their human dignity,” O’Connell said. 

Emme Kennedy, one of the 14 local comedians who performed at Just a Joke, prepared her six-minute set around the controversy surrounding Bankas.  

At the beginning of her set, Kennedy joked that she was quite similar to Bankas. 

“We both could be accused of being comedians. We both are Canadian-Americans and we both are committing the worst sin of society, which is we’re both failed men. This is an example of a joke that I don’t mean, but saying the dark thought out loud kind of helps excise it from people’s minds,” Kennedy said.  

Kennedy is a queer and trans comedian who recently moved to the Waterloo Region from America. For Kennedy, Just a Joke not only provides an opportunity to face controversy head-on, but also creates an inclusive space for women and trans comedians and their audience.  

“A lot of the places that are available to do open mics are not always the most supportive places for women comedians, let alone trans comedians,” Kennedy said.  

For Kennedy, open mics are an opportunity to foster constructive dialogue and challenge harmful stereotypes. 

“I believe in my comedy and kind of bringing a voice and perspective that is not really heard out to an audience and doing it in a way that is accessible through it being funny and playful,” Kennedy said.  

Kennedy said having open mic spaces that are inclusive and supportive are important for representation. 

“There’s a big cultural divide around who deserves what autonomy to their bodies and their hearts and minds and who doesn’t. I don’t think this stuff is going away. I don’t think Ben Bankas is going away. And I think this moment requires us to keep responding with shows like this,” Kennedy said.  

“I just ask anyone who wants to care about humanity to stick up for those who are speaking out right now, because I think that’s important,” Kennedy said.  

Amy Neufeld is a contributor for The Community Edition. 

LONGHOUSE LABS EXTENDS BANGISHIMO’S BUCK SKIN NAKED

On Jan. 19, 2026, Bangishimo’s Buck Skin Naked photography exhibit debuted at Longhouse Labs (LLabs)., featuring portraits spotlighting Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous bodies. The showing for Buck Skin Naked was extended until Apr. 11, 2026. Bangishimo is planning to shift into working on a book later this year, a collection of their photography over the years.  

“We don’t see the beautiful brown, round bodies, the bodies with scars and cellulite and stretch marks and pimples and all those stuff. We always see size zero, beautiful white skin always seen in ads. It’s so hard to see ourselves, especially as Indigenous peoples,” Bangishimo said.  

Bangishimo is the co-director of the Willow River Center and was the most recent artist in residence for LLabs at the University of Waterloo (UW). Their studio assistants were integral to taking all of the photos in the collection.  

LLabs exists to empower, advance, promote and support Indigenous creatives in Waterloo region and beyond. They are located at 263 Phillip Street, East Campus Hall on the UW campus. As an organization they focus on the Fellowship for Indigenous Artists-in-Residents (FAIR) program.  

The UW Fine Arts department invites Indigenous artists to develop their creative work through self-directed artist residencies.  

“Anything to do with the body or sex became very taboo and something you didn’t talk about.  Because those messages get passed through generations, you should be modest and cover yourself up,” Bangishimo said. 

LLabs supports Indigenous creative practices both contemporary and traditional. Bangishimo’s collection of eight pieces ranging from semi-nude to fully nude aim to showcase the decolonized beauty of Afro-Indigenous and Indigenous people.  

“[And we] get this lateral violence from our own community members saying  that’s not who we are. You should cover up. And then people always direct it back to why we get stolen,” Bangishimo said. opened an interesting inner dialogue within Bangishimo over the concept of self-love and acceptance. Originally there were supposed to be 16 photos in the collection, but only eight were selected for the exhibit. Bangishimo plans to either self-publish or find a publisher for a photobook collection of their work, including the whole body of work. 

“The color contrast between each picture and the story that flowed between each picture. And I didn’t even plan that, it just happened that way when we started hanging them up and deciding which picture should go where,” Bangishimo said. 

Bangishimo plans on continuing Buck Skin Naked beyond the published pictures. To celebrate the Indigenous body, they plan on focusing more of their photography towards nudes. Their goal is to help build people up with their self-esteem and promote feeling proud in their own skin. 

UNDERDOG STEPS UP PERFORMANCE TEAMS, COMPETES IN CALGARY

The Underdog Dance Corp. is Waterloo Region’s first beginner-focused adult dance studio. They introduced a more intensive training regimen for their performance team earlier this year, including strength and flexibility training in a second studio in Uptown Waterloo.   

“It’s just the consistency and the hard work to train the body to do it, and you literally practice showing up for yourself fully,” Emily Peat, the director of the Underdog studio, said.   

The studio sent its competitive teams to the Calgary International Salsa Congress from Mar. 26 to Mar. 30, 2026, which featured salsa and bachata dancers from around the world, as well as local professionals and troupes from all over North America. Quinn Vandenheuvel and Emily Dodsworth placed second in the amateur heated bachata division. Peat and Jorge Pablos placed first in the professional bachata heated division. Peat and Phil Roy placed second in the professional salsa showcase division. Bani Singh placed third in the professional-amateur (pro-am) open showcase division with Phil Roy.  

There are 13 students in three teams, who competed. The Bachata Partner amateur team, the Bachata Ladies Styling pro-am team and the Salsa Shines pro-am team. All teams were trained to compete in amateur categories.  

“It all kind of comes down to that in the end. If we teach good fundamentals to people right, then we’ll succeed with our students. And they’ll succeed, whether it’s in our class or out on the dance floor,” Phil Roy, the Experience Manager at Underdog and an instructor, said.  

The team’s six-hour training regimen has included strength training, flexibility training and acro training alongside running through their dance routines. The conditioning, cross-training and technique work help make sure the dancers are prepared for competition.   

“They’re low stakes, relatively—if you win a dance competition, whatever. But you practice discipline. You practice being there for yourself. You practice, ‘how can I react in moments of high stress?’,” Peat said.  

Many of the dancers also competed in “heats”, which require them to improvise for one and a half minutes to a random song within their registered category and style.   

“Because everyone’s relying on everybody else, to make sure that everybody comes away from the competition with a good experience. So, it does take that the group effort to achieve a shared goal,” Victoria Giampaolo, an Underdog student and team captain, said.  

In the week leading up to the Calgary International Salsa Congress, the students are performing in front of their peers periodically in the studio.   

The Calgary congress is one of many competitions that the Underdog Dance Corp. are planning to participate in this year—other cities include Montreal and Toronto.   

“[Competition] really brings the social aspect of dance to the front in a way that a showcase team doesn’t as much. So I really like that. It makes me push myself,” Giampaolo said. 

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REVIEW: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE STUNTMAN ECONOMY

A Brief Overview of the Stuntman Economy that Governed Society Between 2247-2651 AD Followed by a Relic is the full title of a collaborative project by local artists Lauren Prousky and Jacob Irish. 

The collaboration is a 24-page coil-bound booklet, printed in black and white, with text provided by Prousky and accompanying visual elements contributed by Irish. The first production run was limited to 50 copies which were distributed by Prousky and Irish. 

“[Stuntman Economy] is a quietly tragic satire about how the systemic outsourcing of human experiences distorts and destabilizes the self,”  Prousky said in an overview provided by Irish. 

The project is split into two parts: a “Brief Overview of the Stuntman Economy” and a “relic”, with the relic being a series of journal entries providing insight into the life of a Stuntman. Stuntman Economy presents us with a vision for the front half of our current millennium—2247-2651 precisely. 

Prousky drags the gig economy to its logical conclusion: stunt work. “Stunts” meaning breakups, funerals, arguments; all the things that nobody is stoked to deal with, outsourced to a lower class.  

In the future that Prousky & Irish envision for us, we’ve progressed—in a very linear fashion—far away from trouncing Uber Eats drivers into navigating abominable conditions, towards a world where even the most banal discomforts are contracted out.  

Prousky describes the period preceding the “Stuntman Economy” as one of rapid technological innovation (RTI), where advancements in technology aim to ease the lives of those with the means to leverage them.  

Starting to sound familiar?  

When the demands of the wealthy start to outpace technological growth—“that…wasn’t rapid enough”—the wealthy outsource their dirty laundry to the lower class.  

Throughout the publication, the visual elements provided by Irish encourage disparate elements to coalesce, tying the academic feeling “overview” to the informal “relic” in a holistic way. The images are beautiful and haunting. Pixelated renderings inevitably evoke the retro-futuristic optimism associated with the internet before the dot com bubble exploded.  

They also work fantastically with the medium, and really blossom towards the end of the publication where a rendering of a poster is reproduced across a full page and mirrored onto the opposite side of the spread:  

“REMEMBER YOU’RE AT WORK” 

Stuntman Economy is equal parts ambition and restraint. The scope is defined by the format of the publication, but this limitation works mostly in favour of the work.  

At its best, the project is highly evocative, casually hinting at a robust and well thought out universe.  

At its most basic, Stuntman Economy reads like a proof of concept that could translate neatly into a variety of different mediums.  

Ultimately, it is the collaborative efforts of both Irish and Prousky that allow Stuntman Economy to coalesce into something much greater than the sum of its parts.  

While the potential is there for this project to be fleshed out into something like an alternate reality game (ARG) for example, or even just an intriguing work of speculative fiction, it also stands firmly on its own as a unique project undertaken by two noteworthy local creatives.  

More work from Prousky and Irish can be found through their respective Instagram pages: @laurenprousky and @bulgarsalad. 

DIRTY WORK STUDIO BRINGS RISOGRAPH PRINTING TO KW

Waterloo Region now has its first risograph print shop, thanks to the team behind Dirty Work Studio.  

The four studiomates, Sid Drmay, Elise Glaser, Shalaka Jadhav and Natalie Vuong, came together through what they describe as a mutual interest in creating a space where visual artists can gather to develop their printing and publishing skills with peers. 

The initial idea for Dirty Work Studio came about when Jadhav and Drmay attended a studio sale put on by the previous tenants—a pair of artists who have since moved out East. 

“Sid and I, at different points in the afternoon [had come] by. We saw the space, sort of had the same idea and got really excited about the potential,” Jadhav said. 

Around the same time that the studio space became available, Drmay was also in the middle of acquiring a SF5130 risograph printer via a connection in Montreal. 

“Risographs are a print method that uses an ink drum and soy-based ink, that basically uses a stencil method to push ink through the stencil and print onto the page, and you can do a lot really quickly,” Drmay said.  

“It’s really popular with art prints, because you can do so much to add depth to your print,” they said. 

“For example, with inkjet printing, it combines the different colours as it’s putting it on, whereas with [risograph printing], each [ink] drum is the colour. So, you can get really vibrant colours that you wouldn’t get with traditional print methods,” Vuong said. 

Outside of Dirty Work Studio, all four studiomates are heavily involved with local arts organizations and community groups within the region.

Glaser manages the independent magazine collection at Disko Coffee. Drmay runs KW Zinetopia and the Hamilton Zine Machine. As part of her freelance graphic design work, Vuong handles design and social media for Roux Bakehouse. Jadhav is a member of the Creek Collective, KW Zinetopia and is also a writer-in-residence for CAFKA.25.  

“I was coming from Seattle, and within the first month, there was a zine fair that Sid was running which was just right up my alley,” Glaser said. 

“I feel really lucky to have met everyone. There’s a really vibrant arts community here,” she said. 

Beyond its function as a print shop, the studiomates hope to cultivate Dirty Work Studio as a catch-all space to support programming and events.  

“All of us, we come from print, community organizing, makerspaces,” Jadhav said.  

“It started off as a co-working space and a print studio, but the past few weeks [there has been] a lot of programming. Having informal spaces for creative community [to] get together is how interesting work and collaborations can happen,” they said.  

“On average in a month, we’re looking to have at least five or six events. I’ve got a monthly cyber-thriller movie night, [Elise] has her monthly lecture series, there’s a deplatforming series going on right now. At this point we have a few things lined up where we’re providing space for folks doing different things, working with them to make their events successes too,” Drmay said. 

“As much as we love working here and having that workspace, it is also really important to all of us to be able to have folks in here and run fun things, bring people together, because I think we’re all very passionate about having that kind of space here,” they said.  

The studio is not currently categorized as a non-profit and is therefore operating without any public funding, although they are eligible for some grants.  

“This is a labour of love. We currently don’t have any funding to this work. We were very lucky at our launch to get donations,” Jadhav said.  

“For this to be more sustainable, it would be amazing to have more support from the community.” 

Dirty Work Studio is open for risograph printing as of this past February and can be contacted for quotes at [email protected].  

News about upcoming programming can be found on their Instagram  
@dirtyworkstudio. 

This article has been updated to reflect the following facts : It was Drmay, not Jadhav who purchased the printer; the earlier version of this article stated that the studio cannot be categorized as a non-profit—this is incorrect as they could be classified as one after going through the legal process.

COMMUNITY THROUGH KOLLECTIVE

At Kollective Studios, community is among their core tenants alongside creativity, choreography and just a little bit of chaos. Among Kitchener- Waterloo’s newest creative ventures, the Kollective Studios partnership introduced Kollective Kreations, a crafting space that focuses on the art of decoden. Decoden is derived from the Japanese words for decoration (deco) and phone (den). Known for its over-the-top cute designs, decoden is a DIY craft using whipped cream-inspired glue and adorablecharms to decorate items like phone cases, Polaroid frames and accessories.

Their grand opening weekend for their new venture took place over the weekend of Jan. 9 to 11, 2026. Community members came out en masse to try their hand at decoden and to support business duo Kezea Shayne Gamboa and Alex Duong.

Following up the successful launch of their dance studio Kollective Khaos on Aug. 22, 2025, the two are now offering alternative creative outlets to their dancers as well as the wider Waterloo Region audience.

As an immigrant who came to Canada from the Philippines with her family in 2017, Gamboa always found that community was a big part of her life. Being able to foster a creative community in a leadership role has been a lifelong dream of Gamboa’s, starting in high school where she choreographed dances and taught them to her classmates.

“I really want to build a community where it’s filled with different stories, different backgrounds and different types of creativity,” Gamboa said. Gamboa and Duong met in 2023, in one of Gamboa’s K-pop dance classes. They quickly became friends through the environment that Gamboa cultivated in her classes, with post-class group dinners to Korean BBQ.

Duong loved the atmosphere so much that he began encouraging Gamboa to open her own studio and further expand her ethos to more than just her own classes.

“That’s where Kollective Khaos dance comes from. We want everyone to feel like they’re part of it and that they’re not just coming for dance class. It’s a safe space and a place where you can feel empowered to be yourself or discover new parts of yourself,” Duong said. Gamboa’s ambitions were not just limited to the dance studio either; on weekends the dance studio used to sit empty, but now Saturdays and Sundays host bustling decoden workshops, allowing folks to come out and try a different kind of creativity.

“When people ask for my advice on how to get over a choreography creativity block, I always tell people to do something else. Do something else that fires up that creativity that’s not dancing,” Gamboa said. “

It really helped me a lot with my creativity blocks and then, because you’re still using your brain, it’s just not on the one thing that you’re stressing about. It’s like a different type [of creativity] and it’s making your brain happy again and allowing it to breathe,” she said.

At its core, Kollective Studios is all about community and connection. For both Gamboa and Duong, without opportunities to socialize together outside of class, they wouldn’t have some of the meaningful relationships they do now. Every month the studio holds a movie night in their space which they pair with a themed dance routine. In January, they watched Bring It On: All or Nothing and learned a routine with guest instructor Sky Pahl, Canadian Football League and National Lacrosse League cheerleader and dancer.

“[It’s] a great time, because we have like a little slumber party almost, so we get to talk to each other … we get to hang around, we get to laugh at the movie and talk about it. I think that’s a huge thing with building community, and I think we’ve had a good response,” Duong said.

Kollective Studios offers multi-week sessions and drop-in dance classes from Monday to Friday in the evenings. On weekends, Kreations runs from noon to 6 p.m. and offers a multitude of accessories for crafters to customize. The studio is moving on Feb. 8 from their current location at 275 Larch St. in Waterloo to a bigger space at 259 King St. W., Unit 203 in Kitchener.

THE LEGACY OF SHANNON LEE

The melodies of HouseCat returned to Maxwell’s Concerts and Events on Jan. 23, 2026, to recognise the professional legacy of Shannon Lee, a local musician and Laurier alum.  

Lee was a musician, songwriter, sound technician, and alumnus of the Wilfrid Laurier University Integrated Musical Arts program. According to the Laurier website, she was a local talent who brought creativity, insight, and warmth to every space and community. She passed away at the age of 24 on Nov. 7, 2025.  

The event attendees included Lee’s close family, acquaintances, and HouseCat fans.  

Shannon was known for her deep artistry, curiosity and collaborative spirit that elevated group projects and conversations. Outside of music, she also volunteered with Laurier’s Food Distro initiative, supporting students experiencing food insecurity. Housecat bandmate Emily Gilbart noted that Lee’s volunteerism reflects Lee’s broader commitment to activism and standing up for marginalised groups.  

Lee was also the driving force behind Housecat. Gilbart, who met Lee at Laurier, described her as the founder of the group. Beyond her vocal talent, Lee acted as the band’s organiser, organizing rehearsals and meticulously managing their presence on the scene.  

“Shannon’s personality and stage presence were just so fun,” Gilbart said. “I think it was the most fun I’ve probably ever had on stage.”  

Outside of her performance, Lee was known for her meticulous and quirky pre-show rituals. Gilbart recalled how Lee would write the band’s setlists using markers and customised stickers, ranging from Peppa Pig to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for each member.  

“She had amazing ways of writing… super devastating, tragic lyrics, connected with an intense compassion,” Gilbart said.  

For Kieran Lee, Lee’s youngest brother, and second-year Photography student at Toronto Metropolitan University, her musical passion was a lifelong soundtrack. He said that Lee’s journey was a family legacy, sparked by their father’s own history in a band, which initiated her lifelong curiosity. He also recalled her singing out loud at home, from the shower to her bedroom.  

“It’s one of those things that, when I think about it now, it makes my house feel a little empty,” he said. “I feel like I won’t ever get to witness it again.”  

Kieran said that people grieve over the tragic loss of someone for their entire lives—grief is not something that disappears.   

He said that seeing the scale of the Waterloo community’s support provided a sense of comfort for his family.  

Kieran said his experience at the concert was surprising because there were so many people who knew his name, because Lee talked about her younger brother a lot.  

“It felt really nice and a little bit more comforting, in that sense, to hear all these things about my sister and how much she loved her siblings and how much she loved her brothers,” he said.  

“I found it really comforting, and it’s really nice to see how much music really brings people together and how much it really creates connection through people,” Kieran said.  

For him, the song “Porch Orange” was a standout moment where he could almost hear Lee singing along on stage.  

Cameron O’Connell, an acquaintance of Lee and a HouseCat fan, noted that the band’s song “Play Dead” had a significant impact on him.  

“I think that it means a lot to her family, and I wish she could know how much she meant to us,” O’Connell said. “This concert is deeply personal and there is so much love here. Everyone is showing the utmost care.”  

Gilbart reflected on the void Lee leaves behind, stating she does not envisage the band continuing without its driving force.  

“I don’t think that we’ll be a band in the future without her,” Gilbart said.  

“I think another hard aspect was feeling like this could be the last time that I play some of these songs that I love so much.”  

The tribute to Lee featured performances from all her favourite people. These ranged from her bandmates and best friends to her favourite bands and even a suprise performance by Kieran—his first time on stage. 

At the end of the night, volunteers gathered on stage to have their heads shaved by a group of eager amateur barbers. This was a beautiful call back to the release party of The Porch Orange EP in 2024, where the finale saw Gilbert grabbing the shears and shaving Shannon’s head to the soundtrack of HouseCat’s tune, “Shave My Head.” 

Lee’s impact is omnipresent in each of the lives she touched. Ending the night on a chorus of ‘Shave for Shannon’ felt all too fitting, despite the somber atmosphere, the perseverance of music and community are only small fragments of the impact that she had.  

The desire to preserve Lee’s essence is shared by her family. Kieran hopes that her friends and acquaintances will remember her.  

“I hope that everyone who gets introduced to her music can really tell who my sister is, even if they don’t personally know her,” Kieran said.  

This article was cross published with The Cord.