Rub Me Up The Wrong Way

From the artist: This is a neurodivergently true story about neurotransgressive performance (which I call proper performance). It contains some magic green liquid and a bit of an accidental erection.

"TransMission: Sissy TV" is an exploration of the idea of trans archives. And auto-archive of the artist's body, work, costumes, props, hopes, dreams and memories accumulated over nearly three decades of creating queer work.

A short text and image piece by artist Kira O'Reilly, accompanied by a photo of O'Reilly's "Menopause Gym."

In a cyclical feat of endurance and precision, Blood Show is a raw, euphoric choreography between 3 figures and 75 litres of fake blood. A call to action to put what’s inside on the outside and defend against a violent gaze, Blood Show questions rebirth and how we all carry our ghosts with us.

Research Highlights: Documenting and understanding experiences of backlash currently being received against LGBTQIA+ cultural programming and/or creatives in the UK’s cultural sector from 2020-2025.

What is performance? 31 performative programs to confuse the question.

Both in English and Spanish.

Por que falamos em arte nordestina ou arte nortista, mas raramente ouvimos a expressão arte sudestina para nos referirmos às produções do Rio de Janeiro ou de São Paulo, por exemplo? Essa pergunta, aparentemente simples, revela muito sobre o modo como o Sudeste foi historicamente alçado, e se impôs à condição de centro normativo da cultura brasileira. A produção artística dessa região costuma ser tomada como “a arte brasileira”, dispensando adjetivos regionais, enquanto as produções do Norte e do Nordeste foram historicamente enquadradas nas margens, exceções ou exotismos dentro desse panorama…

“Iniciando em 29 de novembro de 2022 e indo até 08 de dezembro do mesmo ano, o Festival que teve curadoria geral de Eduardo Bruno e curadoria adjunta de Aires Furtado, Marie Auip e Walídrio Castro, contou com uma programaçao realizado após uma ressaca de alegria e desgaste em decorrência do período eleitoral que acabava de se encerrar no Brasil. Esse livro, é parte desse processo, não é um resumo, muito menos outras partes que compuseram o Festival em sua 4ª edição e ainda continuam se desdobrando. Esperamos que esse livro conecte ao seu desejo de esperançar e construir outros modos de aglomereção e comunidades. Que o corpo se movimente e que o desejo ganhe novas vazões, bom proveito.”

This publication is in Portuguese (Brasil).

A 5ª edição do Festival Imaginários Urbanos foi uma realizaçao da Plataforma Imaginários com apoio institucional do Instituto Juvenude Inovaçao, Rede Juv, Instituto Mirante de Cultura e Arte, Pinacoteca do Ceará, Estação das Artes, Instituto Dragão do Mar, Theatro José de Alencar, CineTeatro São Luiz, Hub Cultural Porto Dragão, Centro Cultural Dragão do Mar, além do parceria com Espaço Chão, Bela Maré e Observatório de Favelas.

This publication is in Portuguese (Brasil).

O Festival Imaginários Urbanos é uma realizaçao da Plataforma Imaginários, com apoio da Secretaria da Cultura do Estado do Ceará e do Ministério da Cultura, utilizando recursos da Lei Paulo Gustavo (Lei Complementar n. 195/2022).

This publication is in Portuguese (Brasil).

I Love You Too is a project from a visual artist focused on the writing of letters, shifting the focus from how a community uses a library to how it creates one – a library, in this case, of love. The stories in this book were told during the COVID-19 pandemic by more than 100 people from across Manchester. Through in-person and online interviews with 11 writers, their testimonies were transformed into this collection of love letters. To ensure all those involved felt safe and supported while sharing their deeply personal stories, well-being managers were on hand at every stage of the process. By way of thanks, each participant was gifted a portrait created at the time of their interview. Thank you to the people of Manchester for sharing these beautiful and personal stories with us.

South African artist Kemang Wa Lehulere spent MIF19 in residence in Manchester’s network of libraries – and two years on, published I Love You Too, a beautiful book inspired by the time he spent in the city.

At the start of 2021, Wa Lehulere invited more than 100 people from across Manchester to share with us their love stories: to people, to places, even to possessions. Through a series of online and in-person meetings, a group of 11 Manchester writers put their words on to the page. The result is I Love You Too, a personal, powerful and inspiring 232-page hardback book of love letters rooted in our city – and the first in an international series.

What do cinematic “universes,” cloud archiving, and voice cloning have in common? They’re in the business of foreverizing – the process of revitalizing things that have degraded, failed, or disappeared so that they can remain active in the present. To foreverize something is to reanimate it, to enclose and protect it from time and the elements, and to eradicate the feeling of nostalgia that accompanies loss. Foreverizing is a bulwark against instability, but it isn’t an infallible enterprise. That which is promised to last forever often does not, and that which is disposed of can sometimes last, disturbingly, forever.

In this groundbreaking book, American philosopher Grafton Tanner develops his theory of foreverism: an anti-nostalgic discourse that promises growth without change and life without loss. Engaging with pressing issues from the ecological impact of data storage to the rise of reboot culture, Tanner tracks the implications of a society averse to nostalgia and reveals the new weapons we have for eliminating it.