The TOOLKITS SERIES Festivals and Queer* communities
Festivals can be spaces for the expression and celebration of identity, culture, and community.
In this toolkit we want to focus on festivals that are explicitly or implicitly dedicated to Queer communities taking into account their increasing significance as well as growing exposure to violence worldwide. We want to look at festivals as platforms for Queer visibility, festivals at the intersection of art and activism, and at festivals used as tool for an ongoing questioning of definitions of cultural norms and identities.
Arguing with Judith Butler, Queer festivals can be seen as performative acts in which identities are both expressed and constructed. (Judith Butler (1990): "Identity is performatively constituted by the very 'expressions' that are said to be its results.”).
We do believe that festivals are “ephemeral sites of utopian performativity” (Muñoz (1999)) that have the power to shape and promote Queer identities, serve as safe spaces, and challenge norms of binary mainstream societies.
We want to explore how festivals can be important tools to boost the visibility of Queer communities but we will also look at their dialectic nature, as Sarah Ahmed argues "visibility is a trap, not only because to be made visible is to be placed under surveillance, but also because the display can become an identification with what is shown.” (Sarah Ahmed, 2006). While offering spaces where being seen is both a political act and a source of empowerment, festivals can also bear risk of exposure of vulnerable groups in hostile/conservative environments.
This toolkit is designed to explore different roles that festivals can have within Queer communities.
It will give a short overview on the history of Pride and LGBTIQ* activism, and includes a glossary of terms that might be useful for practitioners who want to explore opportunities to open up or stronger include Queer* communities in their festivals. It will provide insights into Queer history and Queer theory. The toolkit is compiled with the help of a group of Alumni and their input, questions, and experiences.
The toolkit provides the reader with a set of issues and relevant examples that can guide future Festivals. The first part compiles relevant information about Climate Change and Environmental sustainability and their respective links and sources for additional information. The second part gathers best practices and examples related to the topic of this toolkit which can serve as inspirational guides for festival-makers worldwide.