Queer B-Cademy: Publicly Irresistible

Program Friday

ASKHAN SHABANI: Exhibition

Friday, 12. April + Saturday, 13. April / 19:00

Queer refugees often face sequential traumatization due to societal and familial persecution. They are faced with unique challenges within the asylum system, as their reasons for seeking protection are often not accepted. Our project aims to shed light on the stories, hopes, fears, and lives of queer individuals who are fighting for their right to exist. Through interviews with queer individuals in the German asylum system, we aim to invite viewers and participants into their world, sharing their everyday struggles with navigating a violent and oppressive system. Our collaboration with these individuals will showcase their journeys, moments of joy, visions for the future, and demands for systemic changes that can create a fair and just asylum system that provides true protection. We hope to change the narrative around queer individuals' trauma and raise awareness among the public, especially policymakers and conservatives in European countries, to spark a people's campaign for freedom and equal rights. Ashkan Shabani is a talented photographer, videographer, journalist, and LGBTQ+ activist from Iran who currently resides in Hamburg, Germany. He has worked for various national and international news agencies as a photo editor, assistant photo editor, staff photographer, and freelance photographer. Over the years, he has mostly covered stories related to LGBTQ+ issues in the MENA region and his work has been published in prestigious publications such as Time Magazine, New York Times, Zite, The Atlantic, Corriere Della Sera Sette, FT Weekend, GEO, Daily Mirror, Handelsblatt, Sunday People, DW, and ZDF. He has also won multiple international awards for his work.

RODRIGUEZ ARTE: ACT OF PRESENCE

Dance / Friday 12. April / 20:00

Embarking on the adventure of self-discovery as a queer person is sailing against the current, it is undoubtedly an act of love. An act of love where through healing, contemplation and self-determination we seek to love that part of us that is damaged, that part that has been molded based on a system that attempts to assign us our position in a certain society. This act of love can take us to dark places where with the help of internal and personal work, it will allow us to see ourselves from within in order to heal and love that part that hurts us; accepting the pain that it generates in us but leaving the suffering behind in order to continue building new realities more in line with our true being; an expressive, unique, personal and divergent being. Rodriguez Arte (they/she) is a multifaceted artist, former member and graduate student of the Ballet Folklorico de Antioquia - Colombia, trained in classical dance at the Miami City Ballet School and former Soloist dancer with the Hamburg Ballet and Member of the artist collective the House of Brownies. Rodríguez Arte comes out of the need of finding spaces, platforms, communities but over all a way of healing the constant uncertainty and present of what it means to be and exist as a Queer - Trans Nonbinary - Latin American Artist. "I allow myself to open up to you - I hope you can listen."

SOPHIA SPITZENBERG: SORRY, I DON’T SPEAK CIS ANYMORE

Stand-Up / Friday, 12.April / 21:00

“We, trans people, often have the feeling that our stories don't belong to us. Complete strangers ask us questions like: "Did you always know that? How does it feel to be born in the wrong body? Have you already had the operation?" Sophia Spitzenberg, also known as Hamburg's funniest person with a transition background, addresses precisely these questions in her stand-up comedy performance "SORRY I DON'T SPEAK CIS ANYMORE" by embodying on stage the person we would all like to be more often. The one who always has a clever answer, who is turning the table by dissecting such questions instead of simply answering them. As queer people, our stories should be inspiring, which is another word for tragic. Sophia Spitzenberg doesn't want to be inspiring, she prefers to be funny.

SIBB: TRUTH

Concert / Friday, 12. April / 22:00

Sibb invites you to a 30-minute live music session in which he presents a subset of his work titled ‘Truth’. 'Truth' is a collection of stories presented through music. The pieces explore contrasting topics of hyper sexualization and romanticism and aim to spark conversation about the balance and appreciation of different forms of love. These works were developed both through interpreting self-reflections and through interviewing peers and, with their consent, composing musical interpretations of their lived experiences. Sibb is a singer and songwriter of pop, dance and soul music from Trinidad and Tobago and based in Germany. Known for his melodious voice and charismatic stage presence, he writes music with the aim of making listeners reflect on their relationship with life and the connections with the people around them.

CIELO: DJ SET

Friday, 12. April / 22:30

Cielo.Mp3 is a Latinx DJ and started DJing at local ballroom events. As an active member in the community, this became a safe space to explore music and the art of mixing. Cielo later ventured into the night scene, DJing at cozy queer bars to large parties with big name artists. Cielo's set lists are influenced by hyper-pop, reggaeton and ballroom beats, but the overall fluidity between genres and styles, with a prevalent undertone of humor, is what makes Cielo stand out as a DJ.

NAS: DJ SET

Friday, 12. April / 00:30

NAS TEA is a performer, DJ, sound and video artist based in Berlin and Hamburg. Drawing from worlds of healing, dreams and destruction NAS TEA aims to connect with the audience and environment as a performer, creating a space for expression. Floating between different alter egos as an artist NAS TEA shows her bold and fun side as a DJ, playing high adrenaline music, from soft sound to popcore and breaks. Anything that make your juices flow.

Saturday Program

MAISON DA SILVA: THE WAITING ROOM

Workshop / Saturday, 13. April / 14:00 - 18:00

Please fill out this form and bring it with you to the workshop.

Maison De Silva has always been involved with arts of all kinds, practicing and questioning it; he works with fashion, art direction, photography and abstract art. For the young artist, it is not only a great passion - it is also a resource for dealing with his own mental health. Nevertheless, there are phases in which he comes into conflict with himself and his creativity, and these leave him feeling unable to move forward. With his workshop, he is fulfilling his own wish to create space for creative people who feel the same way and are alone. In the Waiting Room, you don't have to wait until the doctor comes, but can talk about your problems with creativity and self-image, deal with blockages and meet each other in thought processes. Maison focuses on respect and trust and invites you to be creative together. All you need to bring is yourself!

ZANIAH: E-MOTE

Dance / Saturday 13. April / 19:30

With the solo e-mote she explores the defiance of expectations: When we go against the flow and when we let go, what does freedom look and sound like in our bodies? An exploration of extreme emotional worlds, inspired by the unrivaled, hyper-feminine energy of Vogue Femme "dramatics" and "softn'n'cunt", as well as various contemporary forms of expression and queer stories of moments of freedom. Sahra Abbassi, also known as ZANIAH, is a freelance, multidisciplinary performance artist from Hamburg. She graduated from the Contemporary Dance School Hamburg in 2023 and has been an active part of the international ballroom community since 2017 - today as a member of the House of Revlon and mother of the Kiki House of Marciano. In Hamburg, she is primarily involved in the QT*BIPOC art, club and ballroom culture, for example with the Vogue Night project MeowMondayz.

EIDGLAS: SO ROMANTIC!

Performance / Saturday, 13. April / 20:30

So Romantic is a voice performance that addresses the contradictory exoticization that a queer body experiences in public. Does society expose us or do we stand out? Little is said about gender hostility because we see colored flags on every square meter. However, hostility silently resists every step we take. Hostility can also make us public people, whether by approval or rejection people end up knowing who you are. As important it might be that the flags are spread out, we know that like so many other things, our colors have been picked up and dulled by neoliberalism, the internet, the devil, whatever. Eidglas Xavier is a Brazilian artist based in Hamburg, who works transdisciplinary. In their work they do research on performativity, the relationship between artist and audience, decolonization, gender politics, trans femininities, survival, resistance, resilience and empowerment. They completed their studies in “Performing Arts” at the University of Londrina (UEL). In Brazil they worked for four years on numerous projects on the artistic platform Como Clube. During this they were involved in transdisciplinary and experimental studies in the field of visual arts and dealt with questions of dance, performance and philosophy. Since 2019 she has been part of Hamburg’s independent scene and collaborates with different artists, as well as being a social worker.

QUEER JAM SESSION MIT FAYIM, PACHAKUTI, SHANICE RUBY BENNETT UND RENÉE GROTHKOPF

Saturday, 13. April / 21:30

After the success of the last edition, this irresistible gem of community building is back - the Queer Jam Session. Queer B-Cademy all-stars FAYIM and Pachakuti have brought along the brilliant bassist Shanice Ruby Bennett and invite you to sing, rap, scat, yodel or simply join in. You know it: it's a vibe!

FURDUNCIN: DJ SET

Saturday, 13. April / 00:00

G.Lo and O.JuiCe bring to KMH this small noisy, rowdy and disorderly movement, that in portuguese is meant by the word FURDUNCIN. It describes a hot, sexy, liberating, diverse and respectful dance floor, with a pulsating, powerful and empowering sound. In a special set for the Queer B-Cademy, the DJs from Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte will present the pure juice of the Brazilian subcultural club music, produced by contemporary exponents from the Queer- and BIPOC scene, represented by collectives such as Mamba Negra and Batekoo. Expect in this FURDUNCIN a musical journey through brazilian funk, gueto club, vogue beats, house baile, bubble beats, bricolagen and overloadings in a delicious mess, celebrating all bodies, movements, colors and expressions of love.

KIADI: DJ SET

Saturday, 13. April / 02:00

Kiadi was born in Hamburg and made her first steps as a DJ last year. Her sound combines influences from hip-hop, house, jungle, baile funk, funk and more. Kiadi describes her sound as everything that is danceable.