Queer That Museum Chat: Unofficial Docent Tour and Discussion of Hide/Seek , Saturday, 1/14, 1pm & 1:30pm. RSVP required. Capacity: 60.
Want to process about queer representation, famous gays, racial fetishization, repressed sexuality, and queer artist love triangles? Join Curator Buzz Slutzky from the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History for an unofficial docent tour and discussion of Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture at the Brooklyn Museum. Event will close in a large group discussion about how we, as a queer art movement would like to see our histories represented in institutional spaces. Meet on the fourth floor inside the doors of the exhibit– and don’t let the museum make you pay too much! It’s suggested donation! Space is limited. Please RSVP via http://hideseekquorum.eventbrite.com/. Brooklyn Museum is located at 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238. 2’272F3 trains to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Musgum. Accessibility: Museum entrances are wheelchair accgssible. Complimentary wheelchairs may be borrowed at the Coat Check on the first floor. Wheelchair-accessible rest rooms are located on the first and third floors.
Hide and Go Seek in Prospect Park, Saturday, 1/14, 3-6pm.
Baby, it’s cold outside…so we’re gonna play team hide and go seek. check it: come alone or with your pals. we are playing team hide and go seek (the kind where you get to hide with your friend or new make out buddy). BringYourOwnHotCocoa. Meet at Grand Army Plaza entrance.
Advancing Transgender and Gender Non Conforming Equality and Justice, Saturday, 1/14, 7-9pm. RSVP required. Capcity: 25.
There is no statewide law that states it’s illegal to fire someone from their job, deny them housing or public services just for being transgender or gender non-conforming. Learn about pending New York State legislation to protect transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers and gain skills to help make a difference! All are welcome. Facilitated by Kate McDonough (Lead Organizer, Empire State Pride Agenda). This event is being hosted by The Odd Twin. In terms of accessibility this location has one step. There is also a dog and a cat. RSVP to diana.roffman@gmail.com for address information.
HEY QUEEN! is proud to present…ENOUGH QUEENS FOR QUORUM:
Quorum Forum’s Opening Party! Saturday, 1/14, 10pm-4am.
Winter doldrums got you down? Hey Queen! and our friend’s at Quorum Forum want to help you get ready for a month in other queer’s homes and what better way to do that then a huge party on opening night! Come meet your new chosen family at Quorum Forum during the day and join us to dance and celebrate this whirlwind mobilization project that’s bringing NYC queers together every winter!
QUEEN OF HONOR: !! DAN FISHBACK !!
DJs: BRIAN BELUKHA (JUDY), SIRLINDA, AMBER VALENTINE
GOGO: FAGARY + JOEY KIPP
PHOTOS: AMOS MAC
DECOR: DIEGO MONTOYA
AND YR HOSTS: AVORY AGONY, SARAH JENNY, KITTY LaKITTY
As always, $3 before 11pm, $5 after. If the price of admission prohibits you from attending this event, please email queenquorum@gmail.com. Hey Queen! is located at Public Assembly, 70 N. 6th St., Brooklyn, NY 11211 off the Bedford L train. Accessibility: The venue is wheelchair accessible except for one area which has two steps. There is also a single stall, gender neutral, wheelchair accessible bathroom.
Beyond Visibility: Illuminating and Aligning Queer Femmes in NYC, Sunday, 1/15.
The NYC extravaganza celebrating femme/inine queers includes a Brunch Skillshare Salon at Noon [femme-only(of all genders)] and a Discussion with Breakout groups 2:30-5 [femme-only(of all genders)]. Both at Judson Memorial Church [all-ages, 239 Thompson St, NY, NY]. This location is wheelchair accessible. To further support this event please refer to facebook.com/beyondvisibility for information regarding the evening events.
The Climate Apocalypse, with Booze and Cookies, Sunday, 1/15, 1-3pm.
Let Patrick Robbins (“The Sally Field of Climate Science!” as his partner calls him) teach you the basics of the Earth’s climate system. You will learn about the El Nino system, you will learn about pretty natural phenomena like Ekman spirals, you will learn about the Earth’s energy balance, and then you will learn how all of these beautiful systems are gonna destroy society, because of society. It’s kind of a downer. Which is why there’s booze and cookies afterward. Patrick lives at the Lair of the Two Headed Waitress, 142 Lefferts Avenue, apt. 2. Take the Q to the Prospect Stop and walk down Lefferts Avenue. There is a narrow stairway, which may make it a bit tricky for folks with disabilities. His apartment can reasonably fit 15 people and can unreasonably fit 20, so please RSVP by emailing him at patrickopticon@gmail.com (also ask any questions you may have, and let me know if you’re planning to come to one or both of the workshops). Capacity: 20.
There will be an hour break, and then we will move on to…
Grantwriting 101: The Gentle Art of Begging, Sunday, 1/15, 4-6pm.
Back by popular demand! If you engage at all in the nonprofit world, you’ve probably realized that the name is misleading – all NGOs are for profit in the sense that they gotta get cash from somewhere. Patrick Robbins worked as a grant writer for some years, and he will teach you how to get that cash. Disclaimer – he may be slightly drunk from the previous workshop (see above). Patrick lives at the Lair of the Two Headed Waitress, 142 Lefferts Avenue, apt. 2. Take the Q to the Prospect Stop and walk down Lefferts Avenue. There is a narrow stairway, which may make it a bit tricky for folks with disabilities. His apartment can reasonably fit 15 people and can unreasonably fit 20, so please RSVP by emailing him at patrickopticon@gmail.com (also ask any questions you may have, and let me know if you’re planning to come to one or both of the workshops). Capacity: 20.
Whole/listic Trans Health, Monday, 1/16 (MLK Day), 2-4pm.
Trans folks have specific health needs and we need specific care and nourishment. Jacoby Ballard will present on herbs, nutrition and more in relation to trans health needs through transitions, pre and post op, and supplements/alternatives to hormones. This event is being held at Third Root Community Health Center, 380 Marlborough Road, Brooklyn, NY 11226. Third Root is accessible via the Q train off the Cortelyou Road stop, and buses BM1, 2, 3, 4; B23; and the B103.
Fists Up! A Fisting Workshop & Skillshare, Monday, 1/16 (MLK Day), 7-9pm.
Didn’t get your hands dirty enough at Quorum 2011? Put your Fists Up for round two! Join Lee of Fuckin’ (A) and Kat of Support New York as we go deeper into radical queer sex positivity through the pointedly political practice of fisting. This workshop will guide us among anatomy lessons about all bodies, hand pointers for all orifices, and a collective appreciation for getting off radically and consensually. Oh, did we mention there will be live demos (after a break) to help us along in our new, handy practices? Folks with all ranges of experience and skills are warmly welcome, and contributions to collective learning will be greatly appreciated. This event is being hosted by Trilobite, 310 Van Buren Street, Brooklyn NY 11221. Capacity: 40.
Yoga & Potluck, Tuesday, January 17, 7-10pm. RSVP required.
The practice of yoga is a process of embracing our freedom and cultivating optimal alignment in our lives. We’ll explore poses, breath, and meditation. Bring your questions, awkwardness, fierceness, fears, kinesthetic delight, insight, and rockstar/revolutionary/holy-fucking-need-to-recharge selves. No experience necessary and folks of all physical abilities are encouraged to attend. Some mats and props will be provided. If you have a yoga mat, please bring it! Omnivorous potluck to follow. RSVP to bushwickbirdsnest@gmail.com. YOU MUST RSVP FOR THIS EVENT. The exact address will be emailed to you. Space is limited to 10 for yoga. Potluck has no attendance cap. Please indicate whether you will attend yoga, potluck, or both and include your name and the names of anyone who will join you. The apartment is on the ground floor, but there are a few steps. There is outdoor patio space for mobility scooters, wheelchairs, bikes, etc.
Radical Parenting, Wednesday, January 18, 8-9:30pm. RSVP required.
What does it mean to be a radical parent? In this open discussion group, we’ll consider such questions as: What messages do we get and contribute about queer parenting in our community? What does it mean to add a young life to your queer activist lifestyle? What responsibilities do we have to the next generation and the environment? If we don’t raise the next generation of socially-conscious/feminist/radical humans who will? What are the benefits of adopting, birthing, fostering, or getting involved with children without parenting? How can we as queers make good parenting decisions? People of all backgrounds are invited, including parents, those who are thinking about parenting, and those who interact with children or want to. Rowan & Tyler live at the Rainbow Chard Houseboat, at 635 Sterling Place, Apt. 2R, near Franklin Ave. Unfortunately, the apartment is up one large and one small set of stairs, but we’ll provide any physical support we can for getting up the stairs if anyone needs it. Space is limited to 15 people. Please RSVP to tscolvard@gmail.com. Capacity:15.
It’s F*cking Complicated: It’s Complicated F*cking- Non-monogamy For Couples, Thursday, January 19, 6:30-9pm. RSVP required.
Join us for an evening of [hot] discussion, [hot] questioning, [super hot] brainstorming, and [whoa baby] strategizing around sustainable non-monogamy for committed couples. Bring your stories, your questions, an open mind, and food or drink to share. While designed for committed couples, all are welcome. Got a question about this workshop? Feel free to ask. Facilitated by a cis male and cis female who practice non-monogamy together (he’s straight, she’s not) with experience navigating turbulence and fear, building trust and community, enjoying [hot] safer sex, and creating emotional intimacy together (and with others) despite the challenges non-monogamy poses. The home where this event is taking place serves as a meeting space for multiple solidarity economy initiatives and moonshine-addled escapades, but is primarily a residence-in-transition. Will it become a queer house? A collective? A single-family home? No idea. While it’s under the direction of the current occupant, it’s your playground. Please RSVP to cheyennawebernyc@gmail.com for address information. Capacity: 26.
MIX NYC Presents: The Personal is Revolutionary, Friday, January 20, 8-10pm. RSVP required.
The Personal is Revolutionary is a collection of short films by different artists and collectives exploring the complexities of oppression and revolution. Every day, we observe more of the old ways pass and new ways come into being. Featured queer film makers capture change in progress, some dealing with the personal impact of vast power imbalances and some dealing with the possibilities for liberation. Deeply intimate yet vast in scope, these films deal with issues of our wealth, our relationships, our bodies, our work and even DADT on television. www.mixnyc.org. RSVP to rsvp@mixnyc.org for location information.
Not Over: Me, You, Us & AIDS Supported by Visual AIDS and Queerocracy, Three Parts, Three Saturdays, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 1-3pm.
Created by Quito Ziegler, L.J. Roberts, and Ted Kerr
Three consecutive events exploring the ongoing impact of HIV/AIDS in queer life.
For more information, including accessibility of the events, please email notover@gmail.com
WEEK 1:
INTERGENERATIONAL STORY TELLING HOUR
organized in part with Dan Fishback
Saturday, January 21 1-3pm
Kellen Gallery, New School
Main floor, 66 Fifth Avenue at 13th Street
Queers who died of AIDS in the 80′s and 90′s will be remembered with stories and performances by their surviving friends and admiring descendants. Current artists from our community will also share performances that reflect on this lost history and its impact on their lives now. Featuring Eric Rhein, Sur Rodney Sur and Hana Malia. Audience is invited to welcome and introduce lost loved ones, ghosts and friends we lost.
WEEK 2:
UNTITLED (film screening)
Saturday, January 28, 1-3pm
Kellen Gallery, New School
Main floor, 66 Fifth Avenue at 13th Street
UNTITLED is a non-linear 60 minute film by Jim Hodges, Encke King, and Carlos Marques da Cruz, placing HIV / AIDS within the context of national and international moments. UNTITLED is a people’s history of the last 30 years with AIDS at its center. After the screening we will debrief the impact of AIDS on our collective history and together, discuss how we understand ongoing AIDS impacting our lives today and into the future.
WEEK 3:
LIVING WITH HIV
Saturday, February 4, 1-3pm
Orientation (Bark) Room, New School
Ground Floor, 2 W. 13th St
The epidemic of HIV and AIDS touches all parts of our lives from our intimate relationships with ourselves and others, to the way we access healthcare, participate in the economy and politics, have sex, consume culture, and generally move through the world. This town hall style meeting brings together a diverse group of people to share their contemporary experiences of how HIV has affected them and how it shapes their daily lives, the work that they do, and the way they form identity and community.
Queering Your Health v2.0!: A Workshop and Open Discussion on Sexual Health Care for Queers, Saturday, January 21, 4:30-6:30pm. RSVP required.
Nervous about going in for a pap or testing? Should you get that discharge checked out? Need ideas on how to get what you need from your sexual healthcare provider? Cooooooome to this workshop! Learn techniques for genital/chest self-examinations, safer sex, have an open discussion on queer- and sex- positive health care. This event is being hosted by The Booty Parlour: a Bed Stuy-based queer house inhabited by four lovely ladies who live and love art, music, activism, sex positivity, health, bikes, anti-violence, feminism, and social work. Our home is on the ground floor, though you must go down a few steps to enter. We love bikes but don’t have room for them inside, so please lock to street signs rather than neighbors’ fences. We can accommodate up to 25-30 people, though fewer is more comfortable. Please RSVP to lolapellegrino@gmail.com for address and directions.
Workshop: Joke Writing for the Formerly Marginalized and Other Leaders, Saturday, January 21, 7:30-8:30pm. RSVP required. Participants will discuss why comedy matters in our daily lives and how we can use it to help others understand us better. We will discuss how to deal with sensitive and personal topics in an ethical way and how to engage and uplift audiences. We will break down the structure of a joke to see how it works and write our own original jokes. This event is being hosted by The Odd Twin. In terms of accessibility this location has one step. There is also a dog and a cat. RSVP to diana.roffman@gmail.com for address information. Capcity: 25.
RF Day of Dates, Saturday, January 21, 7-10pm. RSVP required.
Winter beach picnics, romantic graveyards, roller-skating, strange candy stores, and gay landmarks- take that special friend of yours out on the town for a romantic friendship date! Romantic Friendship Radio hosts Sashay and C-wag have prepared surprising and adventurous dates for the first 10 pairs to sign up. The day before we email you the instructions and details for your date. Let your wander-lust take over! Take pictures and collect mementos to be shared in the evening when we all convene for a home cooked dinner and date sharing. Over coffee and dessert, duos will tell stories about their dates and friendship.This event is brought to you by Romantic Friendship, a weekly queer radio show. To listen, visit rfradio.org. First 10 pairs to email us at romanticfriendshipradio@gmail.com get date instructions and dinner! Capacity: 50.
Brown & Gentrifying – Navigating Race and Privilege, Sunday, January 22, 12-2pm RSVP required.
A discussion about the various ways Queer People of Color are affected by and/or participate in the process of gentrification. It will be a conversation with QPOC both as members of communities being gentrified but also as gentrifiers themselves. This event is open to everyone so long as the intent of the space is respected. We will focus on identifying different forms of privilege (class, racial, gender, economic. etc.) and how we as QPOC may leverage those privileges when engaging with gentrifying communities. We will propose the following questions: 1. How do we encourage queer visibility in a community struggling to preserve space? 2. How is our privilege visible and how can it be used to threaten/ empower the community we live in? 3. How do we engage in regionally-sensitive participation while addressing homophobia and misogyny? Please RSVP to ivettale@gmail.com for location information.
Queer As In Fuck You: Challenging Hetero-Patriarchy and the State, Sunday, January 22, 4-6pm.
This discussion is about Queer Anarchism and Illegalism. You will be introduced to the basics of Anarchism, Illegalism, and Insurrection, and why it is essential for queers to not only form a serious critique against Capitalist Hetero-Patriarchy, but a serious and calculated opposition towards it (by serious and sometimes “illegal” means). There will also be discussion on Bash Back and other examples of serious opposition. This event is being hosted by The Flamingo Palace, “We are punk geeks, queers, activists, radical educators, artists & musicians dedicated to the collective cultivation of a warm, supportive, sustaining ragamuffin family home. We can squeeze a cozy 35 people inside, we have a cat and two rats. Not wheelchair accessible ‘cuz of narrow doors & a step. 1087a Prospect Place, near the 3 and C trains, on Prospect Place between Kingston and Albany-the home with pink curtains.”
Maplechasers A Program of Canada’s Sweetest Filmmakers.
Curated by www.coralshort.com, Sunday, January 22, 7-9pm.
Coral Short brings the finest of her country’s video work to Brooklyn for your viewing pleasure. Short has tapped the maple trees across her land to bring a wide selection of innovative cougars and bears. These talented northern queers will share with you about their secret histories and risky fantasies. Delicious popcorn will be provided. This event is being held at 35 tennis court #5A, Brooklyn, ny 11226. When facing the courtyard make a left and once in the building make a left. To your right after the stairs is the elevator. Across from the mailboxes. Don’t be fooled the elevator looks just like an apartment door. The best way by train to our place is to take the Q to the church ave stop.
Queer Biz Networking (Get Your Queer Biz Buzz On), Monday, January 23, 7-9pm.
Hey entrepreneurs/freelancers/small biz owners, want to expand your network? Let’s talk about what it’s like to be doing it on our own. We’ll start with an informal discussion on netting business, being out to more conservative clients, logistics to setting up shop and share marketing tips. Then we’ll turn on the networking time. Bring your business cards and be ready to mix & mingle! – Hosted by Liz Gold, owner of Rhino Girl Media. This event is being hosted by Le Salon, 179 Kingston Ave., Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 11213. Off the Kingston 3 or C. Not wheelchair accessible. Substance free. Take off shoes. Capacity: 20.
“Transability”: Chosen Disabilities, Transgender Experiences & the Importance of Language, Monday, January 23, 6:30-8pm.
“Transability” refers to non-disabled people who desire to become disabled. Is this term appropriate or problematic, and how? What are the commonalities & differences between disabled, transabled, and transgender communities? How can they work together to build a living language that’s accessible & inclusive? Suggested readings at www.TheQueerCommons.org. This event is being held at the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, 27 Smith Street, Suite 200, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Radical Resistance or Unwitting (Re)Enforcement of Stigma? A discussion of language, (dis)ability, the DSM and trans activism, Tuesday, January 24, 7-9pm.
Join us for a discussion of the ongoing debates regarding gender identity and the DSM. Rather than continue these debates, we will critically consider language and points of argument repeatedly used in efforts to distance experiences/expressions of gender from other experiences currently described in the DSM. How might we still advocate for change, without employing rhetoric that others and (re)enforces mental health stigma – stigma that is itself so bound within the sociopolitical enforcement of cultural norms? This event is being held at Bluestockings bookstore, fair trade cafe and activist center, 172 Allen St., NY, NY 10002.
Genderfellator, Tuesday, January 24, 10pm-12am.
Genderfellator is a campy plot-driven pornographic sci-fi romp following a young transman from the present who falls asleep for 80 years and wakes up in the middle of a major conflict over illegal genders. It follows up the ‘dialog’ started by the 2007 film The Gendercator, which depicted trans people as evangelicals working together to force butch women to transition to men. It is a critical exploration of conflicts and dynamics around trans people in queer women’s communities with musical interludes, action, and plenty of hot sex. Director Tobi Hill-Myer will be in town for a Q&A. This event is being held at 35 tennis court #5A, Brooklyn, ny 11226. When facing the courtyard make a left and once in the building make a left. To your right after the stairs is the elevator. Across from the mailboxes. Don’t be fooled the elevator looks just like an apartment door. The best way by train to our place is to take the Q to church ave stop.
The Lost Art of Writing Love Letters, Wednesday, January 25, 3-5pm.
Join literary erotica writer Suki Bishop for a love letter writing workshop. We’ll read published love letters and consider what makes a “successful” love letter, then write our own. Bring materials that inspire you: beautiful paper, the right pen, photos of your loved one, and a stamped, addressed envelope. This event is being hosted by The Flamingo Palace, “We are punk geeks, queers, activists, radical educators, artists & musicians dedicated to the collective cultivation of a warm, supportive, sustaining ragamuffin family home. We can squeeze a cozy 35 people inside, we have a cat and two rats. Not wheelchair accessible ‘cuz of narrow doors & a step. 1087a Prospect Place, near the 3 and C trains, on Prospect Place between Kingston and Albany-the home with pink curtains.”
DIY Sex Toy Making Workshop, Wednesday, January 25, 7-10pm. RSVP required.
We love floggers and whips and other fun toys, but we also think they should be available to everyone, not just those who can afford to buy the shiniest toys in the dungeon. Join Nogga and Roo as they show the toys they have made, and teach you how to make your own. If people have random scraps to bring with them like, bike inner tubes, dowls, various ropes, bike spokes, random bits of fabric or leather “trash” essentially folks are encouraged to bring things, the facilitators will def pick up materials but donations are very welcome. This event is being hosted by Silver Lining. RSVP to nogga.schwartz@gmail.com for location information.
AORTA: Anti-Racism for Organizers, Thursday January 26, 6-8pm. RSVP required.
You are a community organizer. You have a lot of experience organizing. You are new to organizing. You organize with a non-profit, a collective, a co-op, a school, your friends, your house. You have a lot of dreams, hopes, ideas and energy… how they hell do you do your bad-ass organizing with a better, thicker and stronger lens of anti-racism?! Join us for this popular education style workshop, which will act as a space for participants to share/learn tactics, concepts, strategies, skills and language that push us further in our work towards radical racial justice. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to bring a friend, a question, and a curious and open attitude. This event is being hosted by the Unicorn Hideaway. Please RSVP to quofo.jenn@gmail.com for location information (specify if you are entering through the wheelchair accessible entrance). Capacity: 20.
Queer Ritual and Occult Practices Workshop, Friday, January 27, 4pm. RSVP required
Alex D’Agostino and Victor F.DeM. Torres are Baltimore based Occult Experimental Performers who have each created their own Magickal Symbolic Systems. The purpose of this workshop is to create a dialogue and conduct a ritual of constructing sacred space with the intention for brain re-wiring through transcendental-object/archetypal-interaction techniques. This event is being hosted by House of Savi: a lovely 3-story walk up on a very communal block replete with many jolly children. Savi is a magical and relaxing, long-haired, elderly dog who mostly walks herself. House of Savi supports superstitions, trips to the beach, cleanliness and dog-welcoming spaces. To attend an event at House of Savi, send an RSVP to houseofsavi@gmail.com with your name, which event(s) you are attending, and a friendly message. Guests and friends welcome. This space is not wheelchair accessible. Dogs welcome. R to 25th St. Capacity: 40.
SEX/ED: Play & Learn, Friday, January 27, 11pm-3am. No entry after 12:30am. Ages 18+.
Wanna consensually kiss, fuck, touch, submit, role play, punch, spank, wrestle, tie-up, fist, dominate or watch fabulous Queers play? Sexy demos & skillshares throughout the night. Substance Free. Safer Sex supplies available, and we encourage you to bring even more with you, along with toys you’d like to use or share. Hard and wet yet? Oh, this party is free. Wet now? If this is your first sex or BDSM play party, you must arrive by 11:10pm to take part in a short intro session. Even if this is not your first play party, we still strongly encourage you to arrive by 11:10 so that we can alllll get to know each other. Read through the Groundrules + Guidelines at sexedparty.wordpress.com before arriving to the party… or you won’t know the rules, or the secret password to get in.
This event is being hosted by sCUMquat, 1501 Broadway apt. 2. sCUMquat, located in Bushwick off the Halsey J, packs 8 fabulous intentional queers, two kitties, and an abundance of feelings into one house. We are a group of radical glitterfuks/genderfuks who are dedicated to maintaining a safe/r space (oppression, in all forms, sucks!). Unfortunately, this space is not wheelchair accessible. Capacity: 50.
Queer Educators Love You, Parts 1 & 2. Part 1: Saturday, January 28, 1-3pm/Part 2: Saturday, February 4, 5-8pm. RSVP required for part 1.
Pedagogy and Utopia: A Two-Part Workshop for Queer Educators: This workshop will bring together queer educators of all kinds to share what works, build community, and trade ideas about the future. Educators of all kinds are welcome at both events—classroom teachers, art educators, dance and yoga instructors, music teachers, etc.
The first installment, PEDAGOGY, will be a skill-share of best practices focusing on two questions: How do you queer your teaching practice? How do you challenge ‘normal’ to empower your students? We invite (but don’t require!) participants to bring an answer to
these questions in the form of a small 5-10 minute activity or teaching strategy that you will teach to other educators—this could be a community building activity, a discussion protocol, a sample mini-lesson, etc. If you have something to share, let us know in your RSVP. If not, please come anyway! This day’s event is being hosted by the Unicorn Hideaway. Please RSVP to quofo.jenn@gmail.com for location information (specify if you are entering through the wheelchair accessible entrance). Capacity: 20.
For the second installment, UTOPIA, we will be screening the documentary Fully Awake: Black Mountain College, as a starting point for an informal discussion on queer educational utopias. Having shared the work we are doing now, we will think about where we want to go next. Please bring food for a potluck dinner. This day’s event is being hosted by the Dog House, 362 E. 26th St. btw ave. D and Clarendon. There are multiple cats and dogs and it’s not wheelchair accessible.
How to Make Herbal Concentrates, Saturday, January 28, 4-6pm.
Herbal medicine is the medicine of the people. It is cheap, easy, effective and safe. You will learn how to make tinctures, syrups and salves. Bring a few small (<2oz) jars to make your own tincture to take home. Taught by Stephen Rye Switzer, herbalist and massage therapist at Third Root Community Health Center. Cost: Free! Materials fee $10-15. This event is being held at Third Root Community Health Center, 380 Marlborough Road, Brooklyn, NY 11226. Third Root is accessible via the Q train off the Cortelyou Road stop, and buses BM1, 2, 3, 4; B23; and the B103. RSVP to reserve a spot! Email – RSVP@thirdroot.org – 718.940.9343.
OWS Safer Spaces Support Training, Saturday, January 28, 4:30-6:30pm. RSVP required.
This training is for individuals who wish to participate as members of the Support Team at any OWS-related spaces. The training will focus on methods of responding to conflict, survivor support, mental health needs, non-violent communication tactics, promoting anti-oppression, accountability for harm, and other concepts. Participants are invited to take shifts at various occupation locations following completion of the training. Everyone is welcome to attend. This event is being hosted by The Booty Parlour: a Bed Stuy-based queer house inhabited by four lovely ladies who live and love art, music, activism, sex positivity, health, bikes, anti-violence, feminism, and social work. Our home is on the ground floor, though you must go down a few steps to enter. We love bikes but don’t have room for them inside, so please lock to street signs rather than neighbors’ fences. We can accommodate up to 25-30 people, though fewer is more comfortable. Please RSVP to zircazirca@gmail.com for address and directions.
Self-Defense for Queers and Transpeople from The Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE), Sunday, January 29, 11am-1pm. RSVP required.
Learn physical and verbal techniques to defend yourself and your community, presented by The Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE)! Participants will practice boundary setting, ways to escape different grabs & holds, primary and secondary targets, and role-plays about dealing with attackers who are strangers, acquaintances or intimates. Discussions will incorporate safety for queer and transpeople, the systematic causes of violence, and the diverse ways we already practice self-defense. Come with your self, your friends and your questions! Students of all ages, genders, sizes, backgrounds and abilities are welcome, but the space is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible. This event is being held at the Center for Anti-Violence Education, 327 7th street, 2nd floor, Brooklyn, NY 11215. RSVPs should be to Maggie Chesnut at maggie@caeny.org or 718-788-1775.
A little about CAE:
Founded in 1974, CAE teaches practical strategies to prevent intimate partner violence, hate/bias crimes, abuse, and harassment. We focus on women, LGBT individuals, teens, children, and other communities especially affected by violence. Our unique violence prevention and empowerment programs build participants’ skills, knowledge, and awareness—enabling them to heal from, prevent, and counter violence. From the beginning, CAE has had deep roots in the LGBT community. In the 1980s, CAE was the first organization to provide self-defense programs for transpeople. Also at that time, in partnership with the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP), CAE was the first organization to provide violence prevention and self-defense training for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Each year, CAE works with over 60 non-profit organizations who seek our unique anti-violence programming. Free childcare, sliding scale fees, and free programs for survivors and LGBTQ communities reflect our bedrock commitment to accessibility. Since inception, CAE has had extraordinary impact, reaching over 50,000 people of diverse incomes, ages, racial and ethnic backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, and physical abilities.
Radical Environmentalism, Commodified Prejudice, and Extending Language: A Dr. Seuss Reading, Sunday, January 29, 11am-1pm.
The author Theodor Seuss Geisel created many books full of talented rhymes and skilled illustrations, but for many of us it was the messages behind the story that stuck with us. This will be a reading of three of Dr. Seuss’s works, with a few words of commentary and radical queer context: “The Lorax”, “The Sneeches”, and “On Beyond Zebra”. This event is being hosted by Trilobite, 310 Van Buren Street, Brooklyn NY 11221.
Get Walked By Your Pet, Sunday, January 29, 3-4pm.
Hey Norwal, yeah, you….let’s walk in the park together. Dress yourself as an animal and take your pet (or borrow your friend’s pet) and explore Prospect Park with us. This is where your pet gets to walk you for a change (or maybe that is not unusual). Prospect Park, Lincoln Rd Entrance at Ocean Ave and Lincoln Rd.
Street Law Training, Sunday, January 29, 5-6:30pm.
The NLG-NYC Street Law team, a group of law students from various New York City law schools, will be leading a workshop to give you a chance to talk about your rights when the police stop or search you. They will take apart a police encounter-from a conversation, to detention, to arrest-and will talk about how to protect your rights. The workshop will include practical advice for getting through a police encounter safely and calmly, constitutional rights and why they are important, answers to tough questions like, “if they are going to search you anyway, why bother saying you don’t consent?” and role-play exercises of typical encounters with the police.This event is being hosted by Le Salon, 179 Kingston Ave., Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 11213. Off the Kingston 3 or C. Not wheelchair accessible. Substance free. Take off shoes. Capacity: 20.
Radical Mental Health, Sunday, January 29, 8-10pm. RSVP required. Sometimes, taking care of one another isn’t as easy as the phrase might suggest. Sometimes, this means breaking down assumptions about who someone is, what they are capable of doing, and what their needs are. During this workshop, participants will focus on both self care and caring for each other in the framework of radical mental health. Discussion could include anything from stigma to romanticization, visibility, the dsm, medication, hospitalization, disability insurance, and the difficulties of work, lovers, family, and how being queer and/or radical effects our needs and desires . We will also compile a list of resources during this workshop — so bring along any recommendations for literature, doctors, organizations, herbs, or anything else you can think of to bring with your wonderful self! This event will be substance free and open to allies. We have a cat and two rats. Not wheelchair accessible ‘cuz of narrow doors & a step. RSVP to k2ginger@gmail.com for location information.
Learn to Knit While Sipping Tea and Eating Baked Goods, Monday, January 30, 6-9pm. RSVP required.
Come learn to knit in my cozy abode! I’ve been teaching folks to knit for a long time and break it down into several easy steps for you that will have you stitching along in no time at all. At this workshop you will learn to cast on, knit, possibly purl, and cast off. It’s enough knowledge to enable you to make a banging scarf for the hilly times ahead. Please bring knitting needs size 8 gauge or higher but not higher than a 13 and some yarn. RSVP to laceyjaneroberts@yahoo.com. Capacity: 4!
Get yrself Medicaid! Monday, January 30, 7-9pm. RSVP required.
Are you uninsured or underinsured? Broke as a joke and don’t know how you’ll be able to afford health insurance? Well, check out this informative and interactive workshop! Four fabulous facilitators will take you through the ins and outs of accessing public health assistance in the greater New York area. This event is being hosted by the Unicorn Hideaway. Please RSVP to quofo.jenn@gmail.com for location information (specify if you are entering through the wheelchair accessible entrance). Capacity: 20.
Erotic Breathwork and Massage, Monday, January 30, 7:30-9:30pm. RSVP required.
Based on the techniques of the Body Electric school, this hands-on, clothes-off workshop will teach you new ways to give and experience erotic energy. Participants will learn erotic massage techniques and breathwork, and then either give or receive a massage to their partner. This is an erotic workshop, not an orgy (not that there is anything wrong with that); there is no sexual contact other than one-on-one massage. There are also a few parameters:
- You must bring a partner. Single attendees won’t be let in.
- The massage techniques we will learn focus on the penis. So, it is preferable for the receiver of massage to have a penis. However, non-penis-pairs can still participate, using their own genital massage techniques and the breathwork and energy of the group.
- This is a non-ejaculatory practice. You will have the experience through breath and energy.
- Participants only – no spectators. You’ll be given a chance to bail after the introduction, but this is not a spectator workshop. Participants should intend to get naked, get hot, and get into it.
- We reserve the right to ask folks to leave at any time, for any reason, in order to maintain safe space for participants.
- Please bring a sheet to lay down on. We will supply massage lotion and other supplies. For much more detailed information, please consult http://playajoy.org/?p=1751 which describes this workshop as it was given at Burning Man. (Note: some parameters are different; this description governs.) Thanks! We are really looking forward to having people of various bodies, genders, and sexualities creating erotic space together. Doing so is a gift, and all are welcome!
Please RSVP to jmetron8@aol.com for location information. The host has 2 cats.
Fear and Loathing: Unpacking the Financial System, Tuesday, January 31, 7-10pm.
Wall Street bleeds our wallets and our communities dry, it hollows out our political system, it forecloses on everyone — and this year, it’s getting another big bonus. Even as the Occupy movement is emerging, it can feel impossible to escape their credit cards, their debt, and their presence everywhere. How can we bring QuORUM’s principles of community, queerness, respect, diversity, social justice, and consensus to our personal and political economy? Come share resources and strategies of resistance, mutual aid, non-participation, anti-oppression, and more. No financial or economic knowledge or familiarity required, all are warmly welcome. This event is being hosted by The Family Band’s Dungeon/Wine Cellar, 788 Park Pl #3, Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY. The Family Band is home to two ukuleles, two guitars, a banjo, and a fat cat named Bear. It also houses Kelly, Kelley Peters, Callie Peters, Chelsea, and the Korean Rose. Opening the fridge is not for the faint of heart. Not wheelchair accessible. Capacity: 30.
Sunday School for Empowered Queers, Wednesday, February 1, 7-7:30pm.
Learn the pro-queer Bible in this participatory performance art piece, in which you will be sternly punished for anti-queer readings of the Bible, and generously rewarded for pro-queer ones! Listen, obey, and learn how to counter your irritating religious friends and relatives with queer Biblical text. This event is being held in the basement of the Delancey, 168 Delancey Street, NY, NY 10002. Not wheelchair accessible.
Sissy/ Bounce: The Basics, Wednesday, February 1, 8:30pm. RSVP required.
In this class we will teach some basic bounce moves & explore the queer body in empowering movement, as well as discuss the impact artist’s such as Big Freedia and Vockah Redu have had on audiences outside of New Orleans.Participants are encouraged to bring their sassy attitude along with clothing they can move in– booty shorts and spandex are recommended. This class is being taught by Lixznn Disaster and Zachary Wager Scholl. This event is being held in the basement of the Delancey, 168 Delancey Street, NY, NY 10002. Not wheelchair accessible. Please RSVP to lizxnn.disaster@gmail.com. Capacity: 25. Followed by Sissy/Bounce dancing and drinking open to everybody. RSVP not required.
Queers in the Sex Industry: Past and Present, Thursday, February 2, 7-9pm. RSVP required.
Whatever your opinions, you have probably thought about sex work and queerness before. This workshop, open to everyone, will include history of the relationship between the queer and sex worker rights movements, address current issues of queer rights/sex worker treatment in the US, and how to affirm and support queer folks and allies in the sex industry. RSVP via e-mail until day of at: sarah.elspeth.patterson@gmail.com. Then call on day of event: 718.635.1791.
Activist Burnout, Self-care, and Survival in a Radical Community, Friday, February 3, 7-9pm. RSVP required. The cause of our involvement and dis-involvement in organizing is rooted from our individual turbulence, although its easy to attack ourselves for the inability to transform through activism. How do we critique our communities and tackle challenges without creating additional harm? How could we feel safe enough to fall apart, while believing we’ll have the space to rise above again? This event’s host, Gloria’s Palace, is a palace in Bedstuy, Brooklyn that’s housed throngs of queers and queens since 2007. She was born from the ashes of The Den of Sin, exactly a year ago, when the ghost of Gloria (the duchess of razzle dazzle’s deceased iguana) began her saturn return. Gloria’s is home to frogs, fish, femmes, drawings/ feelings, sex educators, sex themed home scents, pop-punk, salsa, merengue, and deep talks on deeply destroying the patriarchy behind the rev. To attend an event at Gloria’s, send an RSVP with your name, a friendly message, and which event(s) you’re attending to annad1039@gmail.com. Guests and friends are welcome! Capacity: 30.
