Diversity Rules Magazine

8 | Diversity Rules Magazine | June 2023 Queer Art 7th Annual Summer Festival Announced Queer|Art, NYC's hub for connec ng and empower- ing genera ons of LGBTQ+ ar sts, is pleased to an- nounce the 2023 edi on of Queer|Art|Pride—the 7th annual summer fes val celebra ng work by the organiza on's vibrant community of more than 200 LGBTQ+ ar sts. This year, the organiza on partners with Body Hack, a collec vely run party and mutual aid project that serves both as a community space and decentralized fundraising pla orm for trans and nonbinary BIPOC groups. Kicking off New York City's Pride weekend from 3–11 PM on Friday, June 23rd, Queer|Art and Body Hack will transform Nowadays' 16,000-square-foot space located in Ridgewood along the Brooklyn/Queens border into an extravaganza of both indoor/outdoor fes vi es. This two-part public event will feature a day me queer vendor fair (3-8PM) and an evening happy hour and dance party (8PM-6AM). The event will fundraise for three BIPOC trans-led organiza ons figh ng to protect trans people in the states most impacted by an -trans violence and new legisla on: InTRANSi ve (Li le Rock, AK), The McKenzie Project (Miami, FL) and TKO Society (Selma, AL). In the a ernoon, the sprawling backyard will feature a queer vendor fair featuring work by local ar sans and small queer and trans owned brands, where guests can browse clothing, zines, original artworks, on-site ta oo services, jewelry, tarot/astrology read- ings, and more from 3-8 PM. Indoor programming will include queer speed da ng, where par cipants rotate through three minute dates and find some special matches! Black queer feminist scholar Alexis De Veaux will launch her new book, JesusDevil: The Parables, an an -fic on work forthcoming within adrienne maree brown's Emergent Strategy Series this summer. The book launch will entail a live read- ing, a short discussion, and a special book signing. Queer|Art also spotlights a collabora on with Clit Club—the queer nightclub and performance venue founded in 1990 and Julie Tolen no and Jaguar Mary that for twelve years championed sex-posi vity and lesbian, gay, and trans belonging, blending nightlife with sex, art, and ac vism in a manner far ahead of its me. In addi on, inaugural Illumina ons Grant Winner Keioui Keijaun Thomas will deliver a live per- formance, and sensa onal DJ sets will be led by Cri - cal Hit, Ba yjack, Zolita, and more. To close out the night, the event will transi on into Body Hack's hallmark happy hour and a late night party guaranteed to burn un l daybreak. Organized through a mindset of abundance over scarcity, Body Hack seeks to model a world where trans commu- ni es can thrive interdependently. Hosted monthly at Nowadays, Body Hack creates dedicated spaces for trans people to gather, celebrate, and support one another. Each party doubles as a fundraiser for a trans-related ini a ve, raising over $300k since its forma on in 2018. About Body Hack Body Hack is a collec vely run party and mutual aid project that serves simultaneously as a community space and decentralized fundraising pla orm for trans and nonbinary BIPOC ini a ves. Originally a happy hour for trans and nonbinary people set in a ny Brooklyn dive bar, Body Hack has grown into a t transna onal project seeking to model a world where trans communi es can thrive interdependently

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