expressing the invisible: the art of speaking out
Expressing the Invisible: The Art of Speaking Out took place on September 25, 2025, at the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). This peer-led event brought together people with lived and living experience, artists, community workers, researchers, and members of the general public for a day of presentations, discussions, and artistic exhibitions.
Designed and led by people directly affected by substance use, homelessness, mental health challenges, criminalization, and sex work, the event aimed to highlight art as a means of expression and recognize the expertise that comes from lived experience. The programming and activities were co-constructed by an organizing committee made up of people with lived and living experience and their allies.
Navigation
A day of presentations, discussions, and an exhibition of artistic works by individuals affected by addiction, homelessness, mental health issues, criminalization, and sex work.
Objectives
- Promote art as a tool for expression, dialogue, and empowerment for marginalized people.
- Highlight the lived realities and the intersectionality of the multiple forms of oppression faced by many communities.
- Create an inclusive space that fosters dialogue among people with lived experience, researchers, community workers, artists, and the general public.
- Highlight peer-led initiatives and artistic approaches used in research and community intervention.
- Help showcase Québec through an innovative, peer-led initiative created by and for people with lived and living experience.
Target audience
The event brought together:
- people with lived or living experience (PWLLE)
- healthcare and community sector stakeholders
- policymakers and institutional stakeholders
- artists and art therapists
- the general public
Program
Explore the event's program, created by and for people with lived and living experience. Discover a range of activities, personal stories, creative works, and opportunities for dialogue that celebrate diverse experiences and put the voices of those with lived experience front and centre.
WELCOME – 8:15–9:00 A.M.
ALL DAY – 9:00 A.M. TO 7:00 P.M.
Continuous Video Screening
Video capsules and short documentaries showcasing artistic initiatives createdby and for people with lived experience, community organizations incorporating art into their approaches, and accessible science communication videos.
Art Exhibition
More than 20 art stations featuring artists with lived and living experience. Some artworks are available for purchase (cash preferred).
Safe Space
Psychosocial support, harm reduction and safer-use supplies.
OPENING – 9:00 A.M. – AUDITORIUM
Opening Words
Barbara Rivard (harm reduction worker, Méta d’Âme, and person with lived and living experience)
Kanienkeha:ka Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen
Debbie Delisle (Cultural Consultant)
An introduction to the words that comes before all else. Cultural teachings and knowledge presented here by past and present artforms.
Discover how AIDQ’s Résonance project is transforming addiction practices by valuing lived and living experience knowledge
Jeannine Foisy (Peer Support Worker, AIDQ)
Julie David-Delisle (Experiential Knowledge Development and Recognition Support Worker – RSSS)
During this presentation, we will cover the following topics:
- What is AIDQ’s Résonance Project?
- What is lived and living experience?
- Why is it important to value it?
- How can it be integrated?
- Challenges and opportunities
- The Activities of the Résonance Project
This presentation is intended for anyone seeking to improve substance use services by recognizing and valuing knowledge gained through lived experience.
Rebirth in the Reflection of the Gaze of Street-Involved Children
Philippe Malchelosse (Executive Director, Point de Rue and Coop les Affranchis)
Chad Badger (Coordinator, Point de Rue and Coop les Affranchis)
Presentation of the journey of a person experiencing homelessness as they find their place in the community. Without naming them, this presentation explores concepts related to the process of social inclusion, particularly through art and culture!
BREAK – 10:30–10:50 A.M.
Slam on Addiction
Flo Martel (Person with lived and living experience)
A slam showing that words can heal and transform. A piece that expresses hope through pain.
Exprimer l’invisible: The Panel Discussion
Mathieu Rioux (person with lived and living experience, artist, writer for L’Injecteur)
Léopold Nault (person with lived and living experience, multidisciplinary artist, Maison d’Haïti support worker)
Karine Bertrand (Full Professor, Addiction Studies and Research Programs, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke; Scientific Director of IUD; Canada Research Chair in Social and Gender Inclusion; Co-Director of the Inclusion Axis, CRISM Québec Node)
Maria Nengeh Mensah (Full Professor, School of Social Work, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM))
Hugues Lévesque (person with lived and living experience, involved with SYDALIS, artist)
Hinde Oueriemmi (Community Development Worker, SYDALIS)
Marilou Vinet (Intervention Coordinator, Cirque Hors Piste)
Bawè (person with lived and living experience, activist, performance (drag) artist)
This panel discussion explores the impact of art on marginalized people, as well as its role in harm reduction and research. Structured as a roundtable discussion, people with lived and living experience will share their life stories, the empowerment strategies they have used to achieve greater balance in their lives, and the impact of art on their journeys. In addition, professionals and allies in the substance use field will discuss their roles and contributions in supporting change and reducing stigma through art.
LUNCH – 12:30–1:45 P.M.
Œuvre collective (Salle R-515)
Création d’une fresque collective qui sera exposée lors du vernissage en fin de journée
*Jusqu’à 15h30, activité ouverte à tous·tes
Presentation of the digital artwork Inconditionnelles and its creative process
Anne-Céline Genevois (Coordinator, Art Entr’Elles Collective, and Co-Artistic Director of Inconditionnelles)
Marie-Lise (Community Artist, Art Entr’Elles Collective, and Director of Inconditionnelles)
Inconditionnelles offers a sound-based exploration that immerses us in the words of women who have experienced incarceration. Seven voices resonate, asserting their desire to be heard. These intimate stories, told from women’s perspectives, take on a variety of audio forms, ranging from poetry and storytelling to fiction and documentary. The work unfolds as a circle of compassionate listening, inviting us to open our ears and our hearts.
L.U.N.E. Project: By and For Sex Workers
Gabrielle Vaudry (Feminist Advocacy and Shelter Support Worker, L.U.N.E. Project)
Chantal Simoneau (Director, L.U.N.E. Project)
Élisabeth Tremblay (Peer Support Worker, Shelter, L.U.N.E. Project)
Jessica-Corinne Martin (Shelter Support Worker, L.U.N.E. Project)
The L.U.N.E. Project is a community space that supports, welcomes, and works alongside women, trans and queer people, sex workers, and people who have experienced sexual exploitation. Grounded in a by and for peer-led approach and a philosophy of empowerment, L.U.N.E. aims to improve participants’ quality of life through listening, collective action, and artistic creation.
At the heart of our approach is the peer-led principle, where people directly affected are active participants in the project and drivers of change.
Since its creation, L.U.N.E. has developed several impactful initiatives, including the N.U.E. project, now in its fourth edition. This artistic project aims to challenge the stigma surrounding the bodies of women and sex workers by valuing their voices and images with respect and sensitivity.
Peer support workers speak to the transformative power of these spaces: reclaiming a sense of self, building solidarity, and regaining agency.
BREAK – 2:45–3:05 P.M.
Health Inside and Out
Annie Rainville (Correctional Project Manager and Person
with lived and living experience, AQPSUD)
Samuel Daigle-Garneau (AQPSUD)
The Association québécoise pour la promotion de la santé des personnes utilisatrices de drogues (AQPSUD) is a provincial organization that, based on harm reduction principles and an empowerment approach, brings together people who use drugs and who are committed to promoting health, preventing sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, and improving their living conditions.
AQPSUD is the community organization responsible for the development and management of L’Injecteur and l’ADDICQ. This initiative was created in response to a request from the federal government to develop two prevention tools addressing the needs of incarcerated people related to STBBI prevention in prison. These tools are intended for people incarcerated in Quebec’s 27 federal and provincial prisons. They are designed to be participatory, meaning that incarcerated people and people with at least one experience of incarceration actively contribute to their creation by submitting drawings, prevention slogans, and recipes that will be used to illustrate the cookbook and card game.
Monstres and Droit de cité – A Look Back at Two Creative Processes with the Ex-Placé DPJ Collective
Marie-Ève Bélanger (Monstres)
Emily Laliberté (Artist and Facilitator, Coordinator of the Droit de cité Project)
Geneviève Caron (Ex-Placé DPJ Collective)
Yami Morin (Ex-Placé DPJ Collective)
Monstres and Droit de cité are two collaborative creative projects developed with the Collectif Ex-Placé DPJ over the past few years. The first is a play featuring powerful testimonies from young people with experience in the child protection system. Blending reality and fiction, the work poetically explores their deeply unsettling stories. The second is a book about youth rights, created by, for, and with them. This unique resource aims to improve access to justice for young people and their families. Bringing together two artists and two co-creators, our presentation will explore the creative processes, the recognition and valuing of young people’s lived and living experience, and strategies for meaningful participation.
Laughing with a Sex Worker
Toni Bâtard (Sex Worker, Comedian, and Filmmaker)
Comedy performance about humorous moments experienced as a trans and neurodivergent sex worker.
Closing Remarks
Isabelle Boisvert Closing Remarks
Isabelle Boisvert (person with lived and living experience, Coordinator of the Exprimer l’invisible project, and Partnerships Lead for by and for initiatives, ICRIS-CRISM Quebec Node)
5 TO 7 RECEPTION AND EXHIBITION OPENING: THE ART OF SPEAKING OUT
Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks by Barbara Rivard (Harm Reduction Worker, Méta d’âme, and Person with Lived and Living Experience)
END – 7:00 P.M.
Photo gallery
This gallery brings together highlights from our event, from the conference preparations and setup on September 24 to the event itself on September 25. Through these images, we hope to capture the energy, meaningful exchanges, and collective effort that brought these two days to life. You will also find photos from the community workshops organized by AQPSUD.
Photo credit: Caroline Perron
AQPSUD Art Workshop
Preparation
September 24
Event Day
September 25
Les partenaires et collaborateurs
We would like to warmly thank our partners, without whom this event would not have been possible. Their support, trust, and commitment played an essential role in making this conference a reality.
