WHAT HAPPENED IN GLASGOW...
Danny and Uta visited Glasgow during Take Me Somewhere festival in May 2019.
Take Me Somewhere is an annual festival of international contemporary performance in Glasgow, that supports local artists to present work alongside exciting experimental makers from across the world. They often have a strong queer thread throughout their programming, with both main stage performances and cutting edge club night experiences. Cade & MacAskill are supported by Take Me Somewhere through the 'Artist Constellation', and their work has also been presented as part of previous festivals.
At Take Me Somewhere we attended:
Walking:Holding Film by Rosana Cade at the CCA, followed by a Q and A with Professor Dee Heddon.
Beige B*tch by Nima Séne (PICTURED ON THE LEFT)
In the interest of Health and Safety can patrons kindly supervise their children at all times by 21 Common
Brownton Abbey featuring: The UHURUVERSE, XANA, LASANA SHABAZZ, B2B, SARRA WILD, YES MEL (SISTA SELECTA)
Listening Party by Ásrún Magnúsdóttir
Ink in the Dark by Luke Pell
On Wednesday 22nd May we hosted a discussion as part of the Take Me Somewhere festival called:
Find out more about this on the Queer Bubbles page on this site.
IMAGE: Nima Séne in Beige B*tch, by Daniel Hughes
TAKE ME SOMEWHERE FESTIVAL.....
OUTSIDE OF TAKE ME SOMEWHERE FESTIVAL.....
CATEGORY IS BOOKS...
Danny arrived on the evening of Sunday 19th May and as there was nothing on at the festival on Monday we took him to visit one our favourite Queer places in Glasgow: Category is Books.
Category Is Books is an independent LGBTQIA+ bookshop in the Southside of Glasgow. It has a fantastic range of books, zines, badges, posters, cards, and also serves as a friendly meeting place for the LGBTQIA+ community, and event space in the evenings.
On Mondays and Tuesdays Barber Gabriel runs a drop in pay-what-you-can barber service for local queers. Luckily for us he was there, and Ivor got himself a nice wee chop!
QUEER THEORY
We attended Queer Theory on Wednesday 22nd May at Nice ‘n’ Sleazys.
Queer Theory is cabaret show at Nice n Sleazy in Glasgow proudly showcasing LGBT+ talent since April 2016! A heady mix of music, performance art, spoken word, comedy, drag and variety with a focus on the subversive and experimental!
This was a great opportunity to see a wide variety of queer performers from the underground and club scene in the city. It was interesting to reflect on the difference between the audience that had gathered at this event, compared with those who were attending Take Me Somewhere festival. This felt more mixed in terms of people who present as queer or gender non-conforming, and also less of a white majority.
It is an event designed by, with, and for the local queer community. The ticket price is much lower than Take Me Somewhere, and they have built a committed following with regular monthly events for the past 3 years. More than just an opportunity to watch performance work, it serves as a meeting place for a community and an important opportunity to be surrounded by others like you.
There is a real mix in terms of styles of performance, creating an opportunity for audiences to experience something that might feel new or provocative to them. It seems to be a great context for emerging queer artists to be honing their skills and trying out new material.
PERFORMANCE ART:
CC Time
Samantha Alexa
Angel & Nene
LIVE MUSIC:
Luki
DRAG:
Pacific
POETRY:
Callie Gardner
COMEDY:
Ewan McPherson
Hosted by: Fran.K
We arranged meetings with artists we thought Danny and Uta would be interested in chatting to...
DANNY
F.K.
UTA
NIMA
EMERGING QUESTIONS...
What do these different spaces (a queer bookshop, a monthly cabaret night, an annual performance festival) offer the local queer community? How is an ecology of support for queer artists built and sustained in a city?
Who is the local queer community? How many different communities are there under the umbrella term queer?
Is an audience a community?
What do we open up or close down by calling an event or a space 'queer'?
Are we trying to infiltrate the mainstream or maintain a subculture?
How do we stay connected to the local queer scene when there is a focus on international connections?
Where are the opportunities for intergenerational queer exchange?
To what extent are other social inequalities surrounding race and disability upheld or dismantled in the queer spaces we inhabit?
Can we begin to interrogate terms such as 'safety', 'inclusion' and 'accessibility'?
F.K. ALEXANDER
NIMA SÉNE
MAMORU IRIGUCHI
