The concept of signing out a human “book” is not new. It started in Denmark 12 years ago to fight hatred within communities. It has since expanded to 66 countries, and become a global phenomenon.
This year, the Human Library project made its way to Vancouver and is part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.
The project involves 23 “human books” – 23 people from all walks of life.
“You read through the ‘titles,’ and find one that maybe challenges you, that you may be curious about or that you really relate to,” says curator David Deveau, who had the daunting task of working with the “human books” to help them shape their personal narratives.
You then get 20 minutes one-on-one with “the book.”
Deveau says “readers” are welcome, and are in fact encouraged, to ask them whatever questions they may have about their lives.
At the end of 20 minutes, “the book” will have their next “reader.”
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Deveau says even though the project is part of an arts festival, the “books” are not actors. They are actual people with real experiences.
When looking for their “books,” organizers actively pursued “titles” they thought would resonate with Vancouver in 2013.
“This project is about fighting prejudice, misunderstanding and hatred. So we were looking for people who are part of the community and identify as people who face some of those things,” says Deveau.
“So we have a female heavy equipment mechanic. She is one of the few women in the province who works in that field…We have a refugee….We have a hearing girl who grew up with deaf parents…We have a recovering hoarder. We have a lot of things… there are 23 of them.”
Deveau says some people have already tackled and re-discovered the “titles” that they are going through, while others are still in the middle of that process.
“It ends up being very therapeutic both for the ‘books’ and for the ‘readers’ to talk about something so intimate, one-on-one, in such a short period of time.”
For many, it is a way to have an in-depth conversation that would not have happened under normal circumstances.
“You are not really going to have such a conversation with a stranger on a bus,” says Deveau. “So how else do you meet people whose lives diverge very much from our own, and find a shared sense of humanity together?”
This is the first time a Human Library has been set up in Vancouver. But similar projects were held in Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa.
Deveau says Vancouver is quite late to the game, but the demand from the public has been enormous.
“It’s been overwhelmingly positive, to the point that we have so many people coming down to check out our ‘books,’ that we can’t accommodate all of them.”
But if you do want to give it a try, the human “books” can be checked out at a special circulation desk on the third floor of Vancouver Public Library between 12 and 4 pm this Saturday and Sunday.
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