Queer Artist Survival Strategies: Salon and Workshop #3

TOPIC THREE: Queer Autonomous Zones for Self Determination – What are the shapes-boundaries of your personal space? How do we negotiate spaces for movement collectively? Participants at this Peer Exchange will begin by using masking tape to define the edges of their personal space. We will then use these edges and physical marks to dig deeper into how we take up and move through sites personally and collectively. We will then distill our conversation into maps, charts, and diagrams that inspire conversations about autonomy, personal and political space, self-determination, and movement. We will publish the results (with consent) via the  Culture Tending Commons. Additionally, E.A.R.T.H. Lab SF and Queerly Complex will compile all the maps, charts, and diagrams along with the activity instructions and share them with other organizers, teaching artists, and facilitators to aid them in their classrooms, organizing, and conflict mediation.

We, as queer / dyke / fag artists, know that our art / work / collections have been, continue to be, and will likely always be censored by domination, oppression, and tyranny. We will think, dream, and work together to develop tactics that ensure our being / art / work survives these attacks. Each Peer Exchange in this series focuses on a different aspect of queer / dyke / fag survival and uses arts-based activities to generate collective wisdom. We will gather our results into an online resource guide with the participants’ consent. This guide will feature a summary of the Peer Exchanges, art activities to aid personal and collective exploration, and suggested material and actions for deeper understanding and analysis. We will autonomously and collectively take action to ensure queer / dyke / fag art / artists are more interconnected, documented, and their work shared, so that it / we survive long into the future.