Micheal Swank’s Post

A Thousand Channels – a queer (*) mapping 🌎 platform 🎁 “The diverse social and political activities of queer people are mostly fleeting, temporary and not a natural part of the public image of a city. With A 1000 channels, we are developing a platform that offers queer actors, groups and projects a way to report on these spaces and events and make them visible.” (*) = “Pride flag variant based on Daniel Quasar's 2018 design combining elements of the Philadelphia flag and the trans pride flag, and brown and black” (that is what you get when you +c and +v the emoji from the article) https://lnkd.in/eHd6JB6p

"Divine Defiance" is a provocative art project that juxtaposes the acceptance of traditional religious symbols with the vilification of queer expression. Drawing inspiration from Rome's infamous "Hot Priest Calendar", which annually features real priests in an appeal to aesthetics and profit, "Divine Defiance" seeks to spotlight the irony and hypocrisy in societal norms and religious acceptance. "Divine Defiance" showcases 12 queer men, each portraying a priestly figure not in solemnity but in celebration of their queer identity. These portrayals, complete with priest attire but accessorised with heels and other symbols of queer expression, serve as a mirror to society's double standards. While the mainstream "Hot Priest Calendar" is celebrated and accepted, this project anticipates criticism, potentially being labelled as 'satanic' for its frank embrace of queer existence. A Reflection on Societal Double Standards This project is a thoughtful exploration of how queer visibility is often subjected to harsher scrutiny compared to heteronormative expressions within the same thematic contexts. "Divine Defiance'' underscores the peculiar acceptance of sexualized religious figures when framed within traditional norms, contrasting sharply with the condemnation of queer identities openly expressing themselves within a similar aesthetic framework. Empowering Queer Voices Through Art "Divine Defiance" is more than an art project; it is a movement of empowerment and resistance. By engaging queer artists, photographers, and videographers across Europe, The Queer Indigo fosters a collaborative spirit, uniting the community in a shared mission of visibility and self-expression. This project empowers participants and viewers alike, challenging them to question established narratives and embrace a more inclusive understanding of beauty and sanctity. A Global Call for Inclusivity Through this daring exhibition, The Queer Indigo sends a powerful message of defiance against the backdrop of global discrimination. It highlights the urgent need for inclusivity and understanding, reminding the world that queerness exists and persists, irrespective of acceptance by traditional institutions. Content will be released daily between March 24 - March 31 at https://lnkd.in/ew8CMswd

Check out my recent collection of illustrations celebrating Queer & Trans love and self acceptance!

I enjoyed this article from NMAAHC which discusses the intersectionality of Black Queer People's involvement in the Harlem Renaissance! Happy Pride Month! https://lnkd.in/ejsjMfby

How can history become a fundamental tool for a more inclusive way of lingering on the complexities of our past, and help us understand our present and future? Delve into the 3 chapters of the queer tour curated by Dani Martiri from Queering Rome for #debias - on Europeana https://shorturl.at/3QEC0

"My heroes were stolen from me. This is for young adults who deserve to understand who these people were and get to explore worlds that they didn't know existed." Flamboyants, a gorgeous new book from NYT bestselling author George M. Johnson, is a vital roadmap for Black queer youth. Read their interview in People: https://lnkd.in/dSWU69fV And get your copy of Flamboyants here: https://lnkd.in/gZFpNca6

Excellence is not the measure of what is to be remembered as part of Black queer & trans contributions to 2SLGBTQIA+ history. Our fight against archival erasure and to share intersectional histories of Black 2SLGBTQIA+ activism and movement work is the measure of what is remembered as part of Black 2SLGBTQIA+ history. As Syrus Marcus Ware reminds us: “we need to consider what we want to remember and how we want to remember it, building an archive of our movements going forward to ensure that intergenerational memory can inform our activism, community building, and organizing.” Let’s not excel, to be remembered. Rather, work on creating spaces for sharing Black 2SLGBTQIA+ history and foster intergenerational memory that informs our work, organizing, and lives. This Black History Month we’ve focused on defining Black excellence in our own terms by mobilizing Black feminist principles for Black 2SLGBTQIA+ liberation — Black feminist principles which inform how we create Black queer and trans joy in our lives, navigate oppression, and imagine and build queer and trans futures. Today for Black History Month, we invite you to: ✅ Read Syrus Marcus Ware’s article “All Power to All People? Black LGBTTI2QQ Activism, Remembrance, and Archiving in Toronto'': https://lnkd.in/eBkhXQuM ✅ Book your workshops on queer Canadian history so that you and the youth you work with can learn about the tools for survival queer and trans folks have developed through time: https://lnkd.in/eHdb2Mpt #BHM2024 #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackFeminism #QueerRights #TransRights #2SLGBTQIAYouth #2ELSGBTQIA #Jeunes #QTBIPOC

Exploring the unique complexities of Black LGBTQIA+ identities. 🧔🏿♂️🏳️🌈 We’re closing out #BlackHistoryMonth and #LGBTHistoryMonth with a term that directly acknowledges how these two identities can intersect: BlaQueer. 💜 BlaQ/BlaQueer is a term for people of Black/African descent and/or from the African diaspora who recognize their LGBTQIA+ identity being saliently identity attached to their Blackness and vice versa. It’s a word rooted in intersectional thought, recognising both the unique challenges and joys that BlaQueer folk experience while moving through the world. 🌍 BlaQueer identities often don’t conform to traditional gender roles within wider society or heteronormative Black communities, and so creating spaces where BlaQueer people can explore the nuances of their identities together is extremely important. If you’d like to learn more about this topic, we’d recommend checking out the work of Dr. Anansi Wilson, JD PhD, an associate professor of law who has written much on the subject, especially through the lens of how BlaQueer identities are unfairly criminalised. 📖 📚 Continue your learning journey with our Queer Allyship Lexicon: https://lnkd.in/eHEE9Hmp #BlackPride #Intersectionality #WordOfTheWeek

Thank you so much for this shoutout. For context, there are no such things as new words, but I was the first to theorize and popularize BlaQueer back in 2007, as rejection of the Black first, queer first notion. In my view they are always, already co-forming each other, from the womb to the tomb, and there is no separation, even before identity is articulated. I first wrote about this on the tumblr blog blaqueerpoz and then the long running website blaqueerflow and finally my book Godless Circumcisions: A re-membering & recollecting of Blackness, Queerness & Flows of Survivance.

If you're part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community or an ally and are interested in queer art, this post is for you! 😊🌈✨ Me and my partner have created a Substack for the queer art community, named Pride Palette 🏳️🌈🎨 If you're not familiar with Substack, it contains many different newsletters of various topics you can sign up to receive. For Pride Palette, we have a free tier, as well as a few paid options, starting at only $7/month. We'd love for you to sign up and help support two queer artists highlighting and uplifting the lives and works of other queer artists! 💖🌈✨ So far, we've released two articles: one fully free, and one for paid users (free users can see a preview). Each month, we'll cover one contemporary/modern queer artist (for paid subscribers), and one historical queer artist for all subscribers! As this Substack grows, so will our content! 1st contemporary artist: Demian DinéYazhi’ is a Diné non-binary and trans multidisciplinary artist, whose work centers around the entangled relationships between land, Native cultures, and colonial, capitalist economic and political systems. 1st historical artist: David Wojnarowicz was a fiery & highly influential queer multimedia artist, writer, and political activist known for his deeply personal and provocative style. So, if you are a queer artist or just generally interested in learning more about often overlooked queer art and artists, Pride Palette will have something for you! Feel free to check it out (and subscribe) here: https://lnkd.in/gAbqgCxX We hope you'll subscribe and enjoy learning more about queer art all in one space 🌈✨ Disclaimer: Pride Palette is a safe space for marginalized communities, therefore there it is no place for harmful or hateful rhetoric. It is the responsibility of all parties in discussion in this space to engage respectfully. Also, no AI-generated content will be shared or promoted as part of the Pride Palette newsletter. Artists and creatives deserve better than dedicating hours of their time only to have their work stolen. #supporthumanartists #pridepalette #substack #queerart #queer #lgbtqia2s #lgbtqia #lgbt #art #newsletter