Opportunities to meet new people in a small city are few and far between, but for members of the LGBT community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) it鈥檚 even scarcer.
It was by 鈥渟heer luck鈥� that local music producer and founder of record label Plush Labs, Luca Kuchinka, made connections with other LGBT members in Estevan over the years.
鈥淚n a small city like this, it鈥檚 hard to find people who are similar to you,鈥� Kuchinka said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that small town attitude that makes it hard to branch out as a queer person and find other queer people.鈥�
Kuchinka identifies as an agender and pansexual, which means 小蓝视频 attracted to not only the聽traditional male and female genders, but also transgendered, androgynous and gender fluid people.
鈥淕ender identity has nothing to do with my sexual preference,鈥� Kuchinka said, noting they don鈥檛 identify as male or female and request to be identified as 鈥榯hey,鈥� rather than 鈥榟e鈥� or 鈥榮he.鈥�
Kuchinka said a lack of understanding and education has attributed to some of the negativity aimed at the LGBT community in the area, which may not appear to be very prominent at the moment, largely because of the backlash some expect to receive upon revealing their true sexual orientation.
鈥淚 feel like the actual people who live here are great people and don鈥檛 care either way, but sometimes you meet kids or transients in the oilfield business who don鈥檛 understand and seem to be mad at everything,鈥� they said.
Ali King, curator at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum, said LGBT people in Estevan don鈥檛 have an organized community. She stressed the importance of having a safe and comfortable environment queer people and allies can use to interact with each other.
鈥淰isibility is important,鈥� King said.
School is often considered to be a safe place for youth, and though that is often the case, instances of homophobia and transphobia are common.
Kuchinka recounted an assembly they attended while in high school that hosted Jessica Billard, a transgendered woman, who had paid a visit to the school to raise awareness of transgendered people in the city.
鈥淚 had a first look at how teens and other people were reacting to her, and a lot of it was surprisingly negative,鈥� Kuchinka said, noting a lot of comments from students revolved around Billard鈥檚 physical appearance and confusion surrounding the purpose behind identifying as transgendered.
Anyone considering coming out should have a support system in place, Kuchinka said, adding it鈥檚 in everyone鈥檚 best interest to be who they are and be happy. However, without that support in place, especially during high school, waiting to come out should be considered.
鈥淲ith coming out, whether you like it or not, you鈥檙e going to be closing quite a few doors,鈥� they said. 鈥淪ure you might be opening a few others, but some people, like your friends, might start bullying you or harassing you.鈥�
On March 30, a new door, open to everyone, will emerge at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum and will be in the form of a new monthly meet-up session for聽queer folk and allies called Q鈥檓unity.
In celebration of Transgender Awareness Week, the EAGM鈥檚 Q鈥檓unity kickoff hopes to provide that safe space for anyone interested in learning and sharing.
鈥淭he EAGM has been a declared safe space for over a year now, and we don鈥檛 tolerate bullying,鈥� King said. 鈥淭his is a place for discussion, of course, but it鈥檚 also a place where we want people to come and feel very comfortable.
鈥淎ll staff members here are queer friendly and pretty on board with contemporary queer issues.鈥�
King said she hopes Q鈥檓unity is well received by the 鈥渦ntapped鈥� queer community and that any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Kuchinka will be performing at the event with a beloved digital guitar called the Misa Digital Tribass. The guitar doesn't make any noise on its own, but instead uses an external synthesizer that emits the sounds.
The producer of Plush said their musical identity isn鈥檛 set in stone, but it consists of an up-tempo vibe with a variety of sounds.
Their performance at the EAGM at the end of March will be Kuchinka鈥檚 first one in years they said, but that hasn鈥檛 stopped them from remaining confident in their work.
鈥淚 started making music six or seven years ago, just slapping things together. It was very primitive,鈥� they said. 鈥淣ow I鈥檓 making a lot of music, and I鈥檓 honestly really proud of the work I鈥檝e done.鈥�
Musical inspirations are aplenty for Kuchinka, but Amber Coal, a transfemale musician based out of Portland was one they heavily praised. She has been on the receiving end of intense online harassment and death threats over the past several months due to her involvement in the gaming community as a transgendered individual.
鈥淪he's a pretty big emotional inspiration,鈥� Kuchinka said, noting the way Coal dealt with cyber violence and other forms of abuse over the past year instilled a great amount of confidence in themselves and how Kuchinka approaches any situation they encounters.
