Safer Spaces Policy

OddBird is a vendor-run art and design fair that takes place over three weekends in Amiskwaciwâskahikan/Edmonton, within Treaty 6 Territory and within Region 10 of the Métis Nation of Alberta. 

At all the events we run, OddBird endeavours to provide a welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and safer space to all of our community members, including vendors, vendor helpers, visitors, customers, support staff, and volunteers. 

Below you’ll find information about our policies, procedures, and initiatives that promote access and inclusion, support the safety and well-being of our community members, and provide mindful avenues for reporting and responding to incidents. 

We welcome your thoughts, ideas, and feedback.
Please get in touch at chirp@oddbirdfair.ca!

Definitions

  • The OddBird Safer Spaces policy makes use of a number of terms. Definitions for these terms are provided below, and are derived in part from resources provided by the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton. 

    • Safer space: A place where people can fully and comfortably participate without fear of harassment or discrimination because of their biological sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, cultural background, religious affiliation, age, or physical or mental ability. 

    • Discrimination: The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of sex, gender identity or expression, race or ethnicity, age, physical or mental ability. 

    • Consent: A voluntary, ongoing, conscious, and informed agreement to engage in an activity

    • Emotional violence: Behaviour intended to cause emotional or psychological harm. 

    • Physical violence: Behaviour intended to cause physical harm. 

    • Sexual violence: Any form of non-consensual sexual behaviour (e.g., sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, and sexual violence facilitated through technology)

    • Sexual assault: Unwanted sexual touching without voluntary consent 

    • Sexual harassment: Any unwanted comment, gesture, or action that is sexual in nature.

Policy

  • OddBird strives to create a safer, accessible and welcoming atmosphere for all participants in OddBird spaces. OddBird spaces include: any physical venue where the fair operates, any physical or virtual vendor gatherings, online social media pages including Instagram, BlueSky, etc., and all virtual communications involving the OddBird fair (including email). 

    To ensure the safety of our community, we need your help! All participants at OddBird events – including organizers, vendors, vendor helpers, visitors, customers, support staff, and volunteers – must adhere to our code of conduct while in OddBird spaces, including physical and virtual OddBird spaces, as outlined above. 

    Individuals at OddBird events will keep OddBird a safer space by:

    • Being respectful of all other individuals in OddBird spaces, including: vendors, vendor helpers, customers, support staff, volunteers, and organizers

    • Respecting the identities of all other individuals in OddBird spaces, including their age, ability, ethnicity, gender expression, gender identity, race, religion, and sexual orientation

    • Respecting the physical and emotional boundaries of all others in OddBird spaces

    • Respecting efforts made by OddBird to create inclusive events, including all-gender washrooms and accessible ramps

    • Respecting the work of our vendors, which may contain nudity, adult themes, topics exploring sexuality and gender, content related to trauma and mental health, etc. Respecting the work of our vendors also entails respecting listed prices and the value of the work being shared

    • Refraining from selling outside works without permission from OddBird organizers (our events are juried and we always have a long waitlist of vendors wanting to participate; please don’t skip the line!) 

    • Maintaining a smoke-free fair site

    • Maintaining an impairment-free fair site. Impairment can be caused by, but is not limited to, the use of recreational drugs, alcohol, and prescription substances. 

    If you are in violation of the OddBird Code of Conduct, you may be asked to adjust your behaviour and/or leave the event. For more on our possible responses to violations of our Code of Conduct, see Possible Actions We Might Take. Responses to violations of our Code of Conduct may be documented in writing. 

    We acknowledge that all situations are unique and require appropriate thought to how concerns will be approached, therefore not all situations will be granted the same response. This is to ensure the situation is handled appropriately without bias. 

    If you feel uncomfortable at one of our events or witness someone in breach of the OddBird Code of Conduct, please reach out to an organizer – or have a trusted individual reach out, if you aren’t comfortable doing so yourself – as soon as possible.

  • While our Code of Conduct largely concerns community conduct in physical OddBird spaces, this Code also pertains to engaging respectfully in virtual spaces, and beyond the fair event itself. The following actions will not be tolerated within the OddBird vendor community:

    • Cultural appropriation – vendors making work inspired by a particular culture or group should have ties to that community. We ask that vendors do not misrepresent their connection to any culture or community.

    • Art theft, which may include misrepresenting or appropriating work using artificial intelligence

    • Discrimination

    • Any form of physical, sexual, or emotional violence

  • The following is a list of current initiatives to make OddBird events safer and more inclusive:

    Code of Conduct & Reporting Policies 

    Building Accessibility

    • Our main venue, the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre, is equipped with wheelchair accessible doors. 

    • The venue contains two vendor rooms (the “small room” and the “big room”). One section of the big room is raised, and is accessible via a small number of steps or a ramp along the right (north) side of the stage. 

    • The venue contains two gender-inclusive washrooms, each of which contains one accessible stall.

    Vendor Accessibility 

    • Vendors with mobility and/or sensory concerns are encouraged to specify where in the venue they would like to be located, and all efforts are made to prioritize these requests. Our “small room” is intended to offer a lower stimulation, scent-sensitive environment. 

    • Recognizing that not all vendors have equal access to event spaces, OddBird offers a free 4’ table each season for an emerging and/or equity-seeking vendor who would otherwise face barriers to participation. The recipient of the free table is not disclosed publicly. 

    • Community arts organizations are encouraged to apply for a free one-day vending space at the fair. We endeavour to make at least six free one-day spaces available per season.

    Organizer Education 

    All OddBird organizers have participated in the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton’s Creating Safer Spaces and Responding to Sexual Violence workshop. All organizers were actively involved in the creation of our Code of Conduct and our Reporting Policies. New organizers will be made familiar with these policies and may undertake additional training.

Procedures

  • If you feel uncomfortable at one of our events or wish to report an incident you believe to be in breach of the OddBird Code of Conduct, please contact us – or have a trusted individual contact us, if you aren’t comfortable doing so yourself – as soon as possible. We accept reports of incidents involving OddBird participants outside of OddBird spaces; please note, however, that our ability to respond to these reports may be limited. You are welcome to report an incident even if you do not wish for anything to be done about it.  

    Where to Report an Incident:

    • Via our Online Form

      You may report an incident using our online form. The form details who is able to read the report and provides more information about the process of filing a report.

    • By Email

      To report an incident to the organizing team, please email us at chirp@oddbirdfair.ca. 

      We acknowledge that as individuals, organizers have active relationships with many members of the vendor community, and that power dynamics, gender dynamics, and various hierarchies may be relevant to the discloser and their report. We acknowledge organizers’ relevant histories with any involved parties, and will do our best to limit engagement to organizers who are free from conflicts of interest.

      If you believe that one or more of our organizing team may have a conflict of interest relating to your report, such as a pre-existing relationship with the accused or the discloser, please contact the other members of our organizing team via the email addresses below: 

      Genevieve Ongaro, co-organizer

      Nico Humby, co-organizer

      Stephanie Simpson, co-organizer

      Tracy Niven, co-organizer

      Zeph Mitchell, co-organizer

    • In Person

      You may also report an incident in-person to OddBird organizers. The organizer(s) may ask whether you are able to provide more information about the incident in writing to assist in our ability to respond to the incident. 

    Anonymous Reports

    You are welcome to report an incident anonymously. Please note that in contacting us, we may need to ask for more details to help us appropriately respond to the incident. Reporting an incident anonymously may limit our ability to investigate and respond to the report. 

  • We will endeavour to provide an initial response to all communications about an incident within 48 hours, though we may need more time depending on the nature of the reported incident and the time of year (the OddBird email and social media accounts are monitored less frequently during our off-seasons, which fall between mid-May to September and mid-December to February). 

    Our response procedures are available below. 

    In responding to safety concerns, OddBird endeavours to:

    • Act in a timely fashion 

    • Believe and centre the individual reporting the incident 

    • Respect the privacy and well-being of all involved parties 

    • Treat all parties fairly, providing all involved individuals the opportunity to share their stories

    • Acknowledge that some community members may hold higher levels of social power through the success or popularity of their work. If a complaint is made against a community power with high social power, the OddBird team will approach the complaint with as little bias and attempt to remain as neutral as possible

    • Deal with incidents proportionately to their severity. Severity will be assessed based on criteria such as: the power held by the individual alleged to have committed harm, the impact of the alleged behaviour, whether the alleged behaviour is part of a larger pattern of ongoing harm. We may impose lower tolerance thresholds and/or more substantial consequences for incidents deemed more severe

    • Recognize our own capacities and limitations, engaging and/or referring to other organisations and supports as needed 

    • Acknowledge organizers’ relevant histories with any involved parties, and limit engagement to the organizers who are free from conflicts of interest

    • Take an active role in creating and maintaining safer and inclusive OddBird spaces 

    • Accept feedback, recognize gaps in our knowledge, and strive to improve

  • OddBird organizers have received support from third party subject matter experts in the field of sexual violence response. We are not, however, trained counsellors, mental health providers, or law enforcement. We will do our best to connect you to professional resources should you want them, and have provided a list of professional community crisis resources below.

    We will do our best to review reports of an incident and will provide initial follow up within 48 hours of receipt. Please be aware that OddBird email and social media accounts are monitored more infrequently in our off-seasons (mid-May to September, and mid-December to February) and as such, a response may be slower during these times. 

    Reports will be taken seriously and investigated to the extent that is reasonably practical given our experience and abilities using the following guidelines:

    • Believe people who have experienced and reported harassment, violence, and/or discrimination 

    • Prioritize the rights, needs, and decisions of the reporting individual and ask them if/how they would like to be involved in the process

    • Maintain and respect the privacy of those impacted by the incident to the best of our ability

    • Take a safety-first approach, prioritizing the physical, social, and mental health of all involved individuals, and treating all parties with respect

    • Assess both severity and urgency of the incident

    • Recognize our ability and/or capacity to respond, and defer to third party organizations as needed

    • Keep record of the incident and subsequent communications, meetings, and decisions made

    Prior to taking action, we will:

    • Investigate incidents as necessary and where appropriate (e.g., by talking to involved parties, keeping a written record of conversations) 

    • Consult with the reporting individual and/or individual who experienced harm

    • Offer the individual alleged to have caused harm the chance to respond

    Depending on the results of any investigation and/or consultation, we will determine whether action will be taken by considering: 

    • Whether the reporting person wants to take action

    • Whether OddBird organizers, within their capacity, are able to substantiate a report. A report is deemed to be substantiated if it can be reasonably authenticated by OddBird organizers

    • Whether it is within OddBird organizers' capacities/qualifications to take action

    • Whether there is an imminent threat to the community

    If action is to be taken, we will:

    • Consider power dynamics between the individuals impacted by the incident

    • Identify accommodations and/or consequences that are proportionate to the situation, are informed by context, and that are only as restrictive as needed to achieve their purpose

    • Include the reporting individual throughout the process of applying accommodations or consequences 

    • Endeavour to find resolutions that recognize the needs of individuals impacted by the incident 

    • Consult with and/or refer to outside organizations as needed (e.g., individuals may be connected with support resources such as those listed at the end of this document)

    • Engage local authorities as deemed necessary

    If a report is found to be unsubstantiated, that doesn’t mean that harm did not occur. If a report cannot be substantiated by the organizing team, we will still endeavour to do our best to provide accommodations to the reporting person. 

  • In response to an incident report, we may:

    • Ask an individual to leave the premises

    • Suspend an individual’s participation in events temporarily or indefinitely

    • Define the terms of participation (what days/weekends they may participate in, rooms they may enter, etc.)

    • Ask individuals to participate in particular training (e.g., self-directed Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton online courses)

    • Administer verbal and/or written warnings

    • Offer accommodations to the individual who experienced harm (e.g., a specific location, neighbour, proximity to organizer, weekend/day, etc.)

    • Block or report an account on social media

    • Consult with a third party organization 

    • Refer the individual who experienced harm to a third party organization, should a report exceed our abilities/capacities to respond

  • Should you need additional support during or after an incident, please consider accessing one or more of the resources below: 

    For life-threatening emergency situations, please call 911.

    For individuals in distress:
    (i.e., for individuals experiencing non-emergency physical or mental health crises)

    • Alberta Community & Social Services Helpline: call 211 (press 3 for the 24/7 Crisis Diversion Team) 

    For someone to talk to:

    • Canadian Mental Health Association Distress Line:

      • In the Edmonton region: 780-482-4357 (24/7)

      • In rural Alberta: 1-800-232-7288

    • Hope for Wellness Help Line: 
      (available to all Indigenous people across Canada)

    • Free Walk-in Counselling: dropinyeg.ca

    • Brite Line
      (mental health and wellness line operated by queer people for queer people):

      • Phone: 1-844-702-7483

        Note that if a staff member is not available to answer, the call will be directed to either the Distress Line, 211, or 988, depending on the caller’s needs

    • 988 (24/7 suicide crisis helpline)

      • Phone or Text: 988

    For support relating to sexual assault:

    • Sexual Assault Response Team: A team of Registered Nurses at 11 Edmonton-area emergency rooms providing 24/7 compassionate, confidential, culturally-sensitive care to individuals who have been sexually assaulted in the last 7 days. Learn more at AHS.ca/SART

    • Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE):

      • Support & Information Line: 780-423-4121 (9am-9pm, every day of the year)

      • One Line for Sexual Violence: 1-866-403-8000

      • One Line for Sexual Violence - Online Chat: sace.ca 

      • Office line for inquiries about SACE services: 780-423-4102 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)

    • University of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre: