Q&A: Julyna celebrates getting women to shape creatively

 ‘down there’ for cancer research

HandoutSuggested Julyna designs include, from top left to right, the lightning bolt, the rising sun, the David Suzuki, the heart ... and then we started to lose track.

 

Movember happens every November — most people in Canada know that just from the awkward facial hair seen on city streets by the end of the first week.

But for the past three years, Julyna has been happening every July, too. The non-profit was founded in 2011, and just as Movember involves men growing crazy mustaches, this campaign wants women to trim creatively, well, down there — using pubic hair designs such as a heart, “the Charlie Chaplain”, the “David Suzuki” and “the Oh”, that last one inspired by actress Sandra Oh to help start conversations about cancer prevention and treatment.

Julyna is hosting an event July 25 at the Extension Room in Toronto, a ballet boutique located near the Distillery District, to celebrate its latest campaign. The organization has raised $150,000 for cervical cancer and HPV research to date and donates all proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Foundation. Of course, there are those who would criticize the cheeky nature of the campaign, too, for being too sexual in its attempts to raise cancer awareness, as some did back when it kicked off in 2011. The Post spoke to founder and St. Mike’s Hospital nurse Vanessa Willson about the inspiration behind Julyna and Thursday night’s event.

Can you tell me about your organization?
We’re a not-for-profit charity and we raise awareness and funds for HPV and cervical cancer research.

You’re the founder. How did you come up with the idea?
We were sitting at a booth at Le Petit Castor in Rosedale and it was November. We were inspired by Movember to create something where women had autonomy and creativity and could express themselves artistically. We started throwing out names and someone was like, “Hey, it doesn’t have to be in November, it can be in July.” So we came up with the name Julyna. I’m a registered nurse, I work four days and have five days off so I put it together, put a sponsorship package together, called a meeting at my house and the rest is kind of history.

Can you tell me about the event tomorrow night?
It starts at 8 p.m., it’s a $100 ticket. There will be an open bar and appetizers. We have two chefs, we have a dancer who will be performing. There’s a silent auction with art pieces donated by local artists around Toronto that are vagina-inspired. We have a DJ and a food truck. We have an artist named Peter Farmer from Montreal who will paint on two 4×6 canvases, and we have a nude model. He will have one canvas in front of her and one behind her and will be running back and forth painting both sides. We will have a live auction for the paintings and other items including a trip to Nicaragua.

Is there anything unique about this year’s event?
Having an emphasis on art. In the past we’ve had events where it hasn’t been open bar so this year will have a boutique feel, smaller crowd, and we want it to be special and have the guests feel important. There are going to be at least 50 people from the media there.

Some say that this campaign is sexualizing cancer — any thoughts on that type of criticism?
We like to think that every time we get somebody talking about HPV or cervical cancer, we are raising awareness. It’s actually something we’re really proud of. We’re proud of the way we’ve done it so we feel it has really increased awareness because it’s gotten people talking about the cause.