A Critical Eulogy: The Loss and Legacy of Dyke Bars Panel Discussion
1-2pm
Why are dyke bars being rapidly shuttered across the country and what is lost for feminine spectrum queer experiences with their absence? How do factors such as gentrification, income disparity, and assimilation contribute to this phenomenon? How can we create sustainable female-affirming spaces that support expansive understandings of gender and desire?
In dialogue with Macon Reed’s installation Eulogy for the Dyke ...
A Critical Eulogy: The Loss and Legacy of Dyke Bars Panel Discussion
1-2pm
Why are dyke bars being rapidly shuttered across the country and what is lost for feminine spectrum queer experiences with their absence? How do factors such as gentrification, income disparity, and assimilation contribute to this phenomenon? How can we create sustainable female-affirming spaces that support expansive understandings of gender and desire?
In dialogue with Macon Reed’s installation Eulogy for the Dyke Bar, prominent queer and trans artists, activists, bar owners, and theorists will gather at PULSE to discuss the decline of female-focused queer spaces in contemporary queer culture and question the tenuous futurity of dyke bars.
The discussion will be moderated by Rahne Alexander who is a multidisciplinary artist from Baltimore, MD. Her film and video art has been screened in galleries and festivals across the country, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, MIX (NYC), Freewaves (LA), Homoscope (Austin) and Cinekink (NYC). Rahne was featured in the 2010 rockumentary Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance in Music Performance, and she performs frequently with her bands Guided By Wire and The Degenerettes.
Panelists:
Wanda Acosta is a photographer, DJ, and icon of lesbian nightlife in downtown New York. She is the creator of Sundays at Cafe Tabac and owner of WonderBar, Starlight, and Clubhouse.
Lisa Cannistraci is the owner of Henrietta Hudson, one of the last remaining dyke bars in NYC and the longest consecutively running lesbian bar in the country.
Jen Jack Gieseking is an Assistant Professor of Public Humanities in American Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. S/he is currently working on their second book, Queer New York: Geographies of Lesbians, Dykes, and Queer Women, 1983-2008.
Aay Preston-Myint is an artist, printmaker, and educator based in Chicago. He is also an organizer for Chances Dances, a party whose goal is to provide safer spaces for gender expression while providing a platform for queer artists and performers in Chicago.
Asia-Vinae Palmer is a multidisciplinary genderqueer artist who works in poetry, visual art, and performance. She is a member of Last Call: New Orleans’s Dyke Bar History Project and a performer in Last Call’s multimedia performance Alleged Lesbian Activities.
Macon Reed is a multidisciplinary artist whose work seeks to expand the feminine spectrum and challenge the degradation of the feminine in queer communities. She holds an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
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This event is part of programming for Macon Reed's installation "Eulogy for the Dyke Bar" at PULSE Art Fair. VID (Very Important Dyke) passes are available for sale through our fundraising pre-party on February 28 at Henrietta Hudson, and will grant VIP access to PULSE New York 2016, which includes the Private Preview Brunch and the Young Collectors Cocktails events, admission during all public hours, the Dyke Bar's Happy Hour Performances and a panel discussion as part of the fair's PERSPECTIVES program. VID passes can be purchased through Eventbrite until March 3rd, and are a HEAVILY-discounted alternative to PULSE's normally-priced tickets. If ticket price proves prohibitive, please contact Macon Reed or Allie Rickard-- A limited number of passes are available to grant access to individually programmed events.
http://tinyurl.com/EulogyforthedykebarPREPARTY
A note on the word "Dyke" used in this project: Eulogy For The Dyke Bar uses the term "dyke" in its most expansive sense and recognizes that gender and identities are complex and fluid. If you have identified with the term or an experience of feminine spectrum queerness in the past or present (or perhaps future), and/or feel an affiliation or ally-ship with dyke culture, you are welcome and valued here.