| Opening Weekend
National Queer Arts Festival Opens with a Bang!
(SAN FRANCISCO)—Friday, June 1 the National Queer Arts Festival 2001 kicks off with its Opening Night Gala event. Celebrated authors Alice Walker, Dorothy Allison, and Jewelle Gomez will grace the stage at the newly renovated Womenıs Building, 3543 18th St, for a stellar evening of readings from published and soon-to-be published works, followed by close conversation between the authors and the audience. This event is a benefit for the Queer Cultural Centerıs Lesbian Writerıs Fund; wine and hors dıoeuvres will be served. Admission is $25-$50 sliding scale.
On Friday, June 2 at 7 pm NQAF presents contemporary British master of puppet animation Barry Purves at the Womenıs Building in an event aimed at changing preconceptions about animation being a children's medium with his program Plays of Passion/Passion Plays. He will screen and discuss five of his short animated films: Next, Screen Play, Rigoletto, Achilles, and Gilbert and Sullivan. Of particularly interest is Achilles, an erotic retelling of the relationship between Achilles and his male lover Patroclus that pushes animation into new—and definitively queer—territory. Admission is $15.
Also on June 2, (directly after the hot homo puppet action), stick around to celebrate the release of Sister Spitıs latest CD, Greatest Spits, (Mr. Lady Records) at 9 pm. The event, also at the Womenıs Building, boasts performances by a dozen artists from Sister Spitıs Ramblinı Road Show: a national all-girl performance group that has been touring the U.S. and Canada for the past five years. The new CD is a collection of over six years of Sister Spit spoken word history. Sister Spitters reading this evening include Sini Anderson, Marci Blackman, Beth Lisick, Eileen Myles, and Michelle Tea. Admission is $7-$10 sliding scale.
On June 3 at 4 pm, at SomArts, 934 Brannan St, join the opening reception for the first U.S. showing of the photo exhibition Lesbian ConneXion/s. The reception also celebrates the launch
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of QccTV a Web program of streaming interviews, readings, and live performances (designed by Webmaster Rudy Lemcke) featuring Bill T. Jones, Meredith Monk, Dorothy Allison, and other artists who have presented their work in the Festival over the last few years. Donations at the door are encouraged.
The evening of June 3, also at SomArts and at 7 pm, NQAF presents Intercourse: A Sex and Gender Spoken Word Recipe for Revolution. Intersex, Transgender, Transsexual, and Genderqueer People Speak Their Truths—a dynamic evening of spoken word performance that builds bridges within all facets of the queer and genderqueer communities. Intercourse features writers and activists Thea Hillman, Kristi Bruce, Cooper Lee Bombardier, Kassy Kayiatos, Marcus Rene Van, Max Valerio, James Green, and Red Jordan Arobateau. Admission is $5-$50 sliding scale.
The National Queer Arts Festival is a series of cultural events, exhibitions, performances and interpretive programs organized by The Queer Cultural Center and Harvey Milk Institute. For further information on any Festival event, please contact the National Queer Arts Festival at 415.552.7709 or visit the Web site at www.queerculturalcenter.org.
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