The SFU Gerontology Research Centre honoured QUIRK-E with a 2026 Seniors Leadership Award at the Ellen Gee Memorial Lecture on Thursday, February 5 at SFU Harbour Centre. QUIRK-E received the award at the conclusion of the lecture by Isobel Mackensie, Aging is Not Our Fault: The Generational Challenges of Shifting Demographics, which sparked lively discussion. The former BC Seniors Advocate and Adjunct SFU Professor Mackenzie pointed out that blaming and demonizing the class of seniors with headlines using words like burden, dangerous, greedy, entitled prevents reasoned dialogue about the challenges of shifting demographics. She shared an impressive list of social and human rights advances won over decades by today’s elders. The lecture and awards ceremony had record standing room only attendance. Several other worthy seniors groups and individual advocates also received recognition.
Jennifer Marchbank, professor of Gender Sexuality and Women’s Studies, SFU, made a brief presentation describing QUIRK-E’s contributions in leadership by and for elders. She was then joined by Professor Emeritus Gloria Gutman OC. Both scholars have collaborated with QUIRK-E as writers, researchers and presenters in publications like The Bridge Generation, Basically Queer and LGBTQ Elder abuse posters and videos. (Also see Robson, C., Marchbank, J., Gutman, G., & Prentice, M. (2023). Elder Abuse in the LGBTQ2SA+ Community: The impact of Homophobia and Transphobia). Nine of our twenty-five members of QUIRK-E were available to accept the award in person. QUIRK-E is deeply honoured and we vow to keep leading change for our communities.
Acknowledgement at the award presentation by Jen Marchbank, Professor, Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, SFU:
QUIRK-E’s (the Queer Imaging & Riting Kollective for Elders) nomination is supported by letters from Dignity Seniors’ Society, the Surrey Pride Society, Youth 4 A Change, Vancouver Dyke March and Qmunity. They describe themselves as a 2SLGBTQIA+ “seniors’ group that works to change the world with our stories, while providing a safe place to nurture a vibrant entertaining voice for the senior queer citizens of Vancouver (and beyond). We are a group of 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors who have experienced discrimination in our youth and some of us may be facing old age single, disabled and isolated. But we are nonetheless a discordant and unruly choir, insisting, despite the odds, on showing the height, depth and breadth of our experiences”.
Quirk-e has a long involvement with Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, dating back to 2012 when Dr Claire Robson worked with them as part of her post-doctoral research. They also have a long relationship with the Gerontology Research Centre working on Raising Awareness of LGBT elder abuse, led by your own Dr Gloria Gutman. Dr Robson and I were the co-investigators on this unique intergenerational project bringing the Quirk-es into conversation and co-creation with Youth 4 A Change. https://www.sfu.ca/lgbteol/lgbt-elder-abuse-2.html
Quirk-e members also contributed to my 2019 project Beyond 1969: An oral history on the partial decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada in the form of being interviewees but also panel members at a Maggie Benston Social Justice event as members of a history speed date at SFU Surrey. Quirk-e member Cyndia Cole was the first Women’s Studies TA at SFU and she regularly guest lectures to my class GSWS 102 Feminist Action. Many of the contributions to Robson, C., Blair, K. & Marchbank, J. (2017) Basically queer: An intergenerational introduction to LGBTQIA+ lives are from the work we, the editors, did with the Quirk-e and Youth 4 A Change workshopping their writing, and later performance, from 2014-2017.
A little background – Quirk-e has its roots as a small memoir writing group initiated by Chris Morrissey, OC, the LGBTQ Generations Project at The Centre (now QMUNITY) in 2006.
For twenty years they have been hosted by the vibrant 55+ Centre at Britannia Community Centre. They meet weekly online with a monthly in-person meeting at Britannia. They are one of the original groups participating in Arts and Health Seniors programs of the Vancouver Parks Board. They have a week-long display during Seniors Week at the Roundhouse Community Centre and perform along with seven other seniors’ groups. They are the only group without a paid Lead Artist. In 2025 their member’s story of trans resilience brought the 100-person audience to tears and cheers.
They expanded the scope of their creative work to include both writing and imagery. Today, they continue experimenting with language, printed text, graphics, digital imagery, spoken word, and performance. They have partnered with the Surrey Pride Society and the Museum of Surrey to create, direct and perform an annual show educating and entertaining on the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors. They share their work with the public by accepting many invitations to do readings and performances. In 2025 they did 21 events in the community. Hosts have included VPL, Museum of Surrey, Vancouver Dyke March Festival, Frog Hollow Seniors, 411 Seniors, Pandora Park Pride, QMUNITY Seniors Spring Fling, Van Tech Secondary GSA, SOGI Educators Summit They also spread awareness of their work by tabling at health fairs, festivals and markets where they hand out free zines with their stories along with free handmade bookmarks, decorations and rainbow gifts. Tabling hosts have been Kiwassa Neighbourhood House, Aging with Pride, Surrey Pride Festival, Reach Community Health Fair, Renfrew Seniors Fair, Frog Hollow Harvest Festival, Britannia Winter Market.
They have published eight books and ten zines, which are anthologies of their writings, photographs, and cartoons. All zines are available for free on their website.
Their Kollective is led by an eight-member Coordinating Committee that maintains their organizational framework. They have three small groups–pan memoir, fiction, and zines–in which they share their work and get feedback from each other.
Some in their group of twenty-five members have been Quirk-es since the beginning, and they continue to welcome new elders who identify as Queer. Eight members have passed away. Another four are too ill to continue writing and imaging but receive social support with visits and phone calls. They continue to share their stories on our website.
I hope you agree with me that they have provided stellar, voluntary, leadership.
