Sometimes being in a room full of queers can create a moment that feels like we already live in a queer future, a parallel universe that no longer relies on binary systems. But when we walk out of the bubble into the streets we are for sure categorised according to binary systems.
Senith, has been a queer drag performer, organiser of workshops and events, as well as a queer activist, for more than a decade. She co-founded Eyes Wild Drag, the Italian pioneer group in queer performance art and is now Art Director of the biannual GendErotica Festival of which Queer Infection is a section of since 2011. Due to the lack of money this year the Queer Infection Lab took place at the Hacker Porn Film Festival in Rome in order to keep the spirit of GendErotica alive.
The first part of Senith’s performance deals with social cannibalism and fetishism while the second part is about identities that never really fit.
The performance is followed by a discussion with Senith, Meloe Gennai, Marilyn Umurungi and the audience.
This year Senith also directed the Queer Infection Lab in Rome. Inviting her to tell us more about it we who organised the event all agreed that there is a certain force in the term Queer Infection understanding it as spreading the idea of overcoming binary systems. But the term Queer Infection contains very unpleasent connotations too that we would also like to discuss.
Poet & artivist Meloe Gennai will translate the discussion. Meloe just recently performed il y a des gens qui sont humains (there are people who are human) at the Philosophy-Slam at Rote Fabrik where we had the chance to get to know Meloe from Geneva. In the performance Meloe pointed out that it is still necessary to fight and states that Black Trans Lives Matter.
As one of the organisers of Queer Futures Now writer, artist & activist Marilyn Umurungi will open and moderate the discussion. Taking in account the negative connotations of „queer infection“ Marilyn is also pointing out that in Switzerland the narrative that the former colonising countries are more progressive than the former colonised is often (sometimes unwillingly) kept alive in queer bubbles too.
Please note the event will be multilingual (english, german, italian)
