THURSDAY |

QPOC ONLY SPACE

15:00 – 1:00

CO-HEALING / WORKSHOP / DINNER / SPOKEN WORD / PERFORMANCES / PARTY

Thursday July 7^th – QPOC day

Fighting the white supremacist heteropatriarchy can leave us feeling exhausted and demoralized, this added to the different struggles we all face in our daily lives can lead to stress and ultimately burn outs. The goal of these events are to foster a sustainable form of activism, focused on care and community and most important capable of staying in for the long run.

The different activities and workshops you can attend will take place from 3: 00 pm to 1:00am, and are comprised as such:

Q u e e r H e a l i n g S a l o n
3:00pm-5:00pm

Dearest, beloved and amazing kittens from Amsterdam and beyond, we hope this description finds you in the best of glittery ways. Daily life and the physical toil of existence weigh heavily upon our bodies, minds, and souls. Work, school, family, daily struggles; some of us are activists, some of us are organizers, some of us wish we could get rid of this humanoid form and live freely as a grapefruit tree up in a field, somewhere sunny free of capitalist concerns. Alas, here we are in the struggle, yet we have each other.

This event is by and for POC so please keep this in mind as well. This will be a do-it-together-space. Let’s get some snacks, put them on a table, sit for a while on chairs or stand around and make human contact by using words and sounds, or not.

Many activities are happening this day, and we are increasingly excited! Bring your talents and or skills, or not.

Exciting possible activities:

-Cut, braid, do each other’s hair//shaving
-Make up
-Do each other’s nails. Resident nail technician ‘Llama’ will do nails, if there is interest in this
-Massage
-Throw a bunch of pillows on the ground and pretend we are pillows as well (the writer of this description is a self-proclaimed lazy person and enjoys laying around and doing nothing)
-A corner for clothes swapping!! Bring some old clothes put them on a table and rejoice at the act of forgoing material things!!

Please let us know if you want to attend, if you want to do something, if you want to offer something, if any of this appeals to you, and if you think that this is in some way vapid, unnecessary, ridiculous, or selfish, we kindly ask you not to come, or comment and let us do our healing together and in peace.

W o r k s h o p (s)
5:00pm-7:00pm

-Centering our own experiences and allowing our needs to inform our struggle-

Description: So many of our spaces can be consumed by talking about what oppressive forces are and are not doing. We want this workshop to be a space to build community, to talk about our own experiences and needs and to gain tools for a resilient attitude of defiance.

V o k u
7:00pm-9:00pm

Can’t stomach institutional oppression? Tired of living in the insatiable service of imperialism? Come and join us for a subversive vegan meal at a suggested donation of 3 euros. Because you can’t smash the white supremacist heteropatriarchy on an empty stomach!

S p o k e n W o r d & O p e n M i c
9:00pm-10:00pm

Spoken word artists, Folami, Mezghan and Susu will share with us their stories and poetry. There will also be an open mic for those folks who wish to share theirs as well.

P e r f o r m a n c e s
9:00pm-10:00pm

Kurt Dickriot
Performance by Clara aka Kurt Dickriot (Kurt Dickriot was born out of the frustration behind how some guys don’t have to do anything to look cool, they just need to stand there and that’s it. Kurt Dickriot’s drag king persona was created as a response/ mirror of that.

Surprise Act

C l o s i n g E v e n t
10:00pm-01:00am

During this time, we hope to move our bodies to the sounds and rhythms on the dance floor (or not), talk freely with each other (or not), maybe fall in love with a gesture someone made from across the room (or not), sip on a cold beverage and reminisce about the shape of consonants and daydream of things to come (or not). You know, whatever….

Dj K-Dushi
The sun kisses your skin, the warmth fills your heart, and the music heals your soul.
DJ K-dushi brings all of the elements of one happy Island to you. ‘Dushi’ in Papiamento* is a word that brings a positive connotation to any noun it touches, ‘Kadushi’ in Papiamento means cactus, and the name is a pun bringing these elements together from back home.
With a positive vibe, and good energies, our own Aruban-Dutch queer poc empress, invites you to let go of the stiffness of this concrete jungle and feel the beat in your hips and move to the sound of a Caribbean invitation.

*(Papiamento is the unofficial language in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao; former Dutch colonies)

Dj Christal Empire
DJ Christal Empire is a DJ with a unique style, completely her own. At the age of fifteen she started with old-school hip hop, r’n’b classics and house, nowaydays she can effortlessly mix any kind of eclectic style. Besides her stunning and energetic appearance, her power lies in her ability to tune into the audience and by doing so always guaranteeing a perfect atmosphere where party goers can go wild. Her personal catchphrase isn’t for nothing: Party hard or stay home! More info: Facebook Christal Empire

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What do we mean by Queer People of Color?

To a large extent when it comes to both queer and people of color, we expect people to self-identify. If this feels right to you, we are not out to police identity. There are many ways that people define queer. Queer can be an expression of sexuality and an expression of gender. We hope that queer includes a political orientation that affirms the complexity of life, gender, desire, love and identity. By people of color, we acknowledge that this phrase is loaded with both meaning and ambiguity. This is not about “color.” Its about the way particular cultures, ethnicities and complex identities have been erased by the invention of race. There is much more to say, nuance and explain. Knowing that, we move forward “Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar” There is no way, we make the way by walking.

Why a night for Queer People of Color?

To build community among the diverse array of People of Color who are queer To encourage creativity among each other, to explore identity in ways that prioritize our histories, stories, struggles and ways to be. To go to a space where “where are you from?” is not really “How exactly do you not belong?” To foster a space where we seek identities in relationship to our own values and desires and not in response to the dominant culture. To create a sense of awareness about our work and contribution to the struggle. To heal and support each other in healing from the experience of exclusion, discrimination and the various challenges we face in our different and complicated lives.

How does a (Q)POC night relate to white people?

We acknowledge that people of traditional European descent (white people) are a part of the broader, queer, anarchist and other communities that we are a part of. This is not a night that is about exclusion. This is a night that is about Queer People of Color and our priorities. Demographically, we are outnumbered and we ask for solidarity in our attempt to allow the space to be focused on our struggles, lives and priorities.

***There will be no alternative program for non-poc queers. White queers may have many reasons they need to heal but not because they are white. A separate event would also amount to segregation. White allies can only be allies by respecting the necessity of a space without white bodies. ***