Vancouver Opera Festival is hosting a series of free Opera Speaks events to complement the shows it’s staging from April 28 to May 6.

The community-engagement series kicks off with Creating Collaborative Work Alongside Marginalized Communities, April 29 at 10 a.m. at SFU Woodward’s, a workshop led by the artistic team behind Requiem for a Lost Girl (pictured here) that explores collaborative art-making. May 2 at 5 p.m. at the Post at 750, a talk called Creating Opportunities for Women in Opera features a panel of industry experts. And the same evening, at 7 p.m., What Role Do the Arts Play in Addressing Homelessness happens at SFU Woodward’s, headlined by Billy Guinness and Rhoda Rosen of Chicago’s Red Line Service.