best revenge's big queer spectacle

Sunday, 3 June 2012
15:00 until 19:00 San francisco, CA

"BEST REVENGE: A BEAUTIFUL FUCK YOU"

To kick off the month of June and the National Queer Arts Festival in grand, rebellious, queer, spectacular style

On Sunday, June 3rd, BEST REVENGE will emerge from the street corners, alleyways, living rooms, fire escapes, and back rooms of the Mission District. Over thirty artists from the San Francisco Bay Area, the east and west coast and everywhere in between, Mexico, London, Canada, and Istanbul will converge in/on four distinct venues to present their work on radical queer resistance and self determination.

Beginning at the (de)Appropriation Wall on Valencia Street between 23rd and 24th, BEST REVENGE will take its audience through the streets, en masse, through the Mission District, to experience visual art, performance, installation, and ritual. Queer collective houses will be turned into galleries; fire escapes will act as stages for a line-up of music, brilliant drag, and performance; the OPEN stretches of the Valencia and 24th Street Corridors (courtesy of Sunday Streets) will act as stages for spontaneous, surprise performance and public intervention/interruption; and, at the end of the evening, audience and artists will converge in the back gallery of Alley Cat books for an illustrious display of glittery rebellion and visual art installations.

SUNDAY June 3rd: 3pm-7pm
STARTING at the (de)Appropriation Wall: Valencia St between 23rd and 24th
ENDING at Alley Cat Books: 3036 24th St
For location updates and more information leading up to and on the day of, visit bestrevenge2012.wordpress.com and twitter.com/bestrevenge2012

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The milestones spread across the landscape of the LGBTQ rights movement are undoubtedly worthy of acknowledgement. There is merit to the embrace of the agitation and evolution stirred by the Compton Cafeteria and Stonewall riots, ActUP, and Queer Nation, just as the repeal of DADT and the shifts in policy and public opinion of DOMA are noteworthy marks of progress.

However, recording queer liberation by our ability to confirm and be accepted by the dominant society ignores the fact that many of us are too queer, too perverted, too much, too poor, too brown, or too loud to “pass.”

What must we surrender if we’re expected to measure our achievements by how well we fit into a straight, capitalist, racist, classist society?

How do we build a future based on self-determination and mutual aid?

How do we create rituals to validate and celebrate our individual and collective accomplishments?

How are we already engaged in these processes?

Let's explore, discuss, and witness.

Curated by Caitlin Sweet and Lex Non Scripta ♥, BEST REVENGE features these magic makers (and more):

Malic Amalya, Micah Bazant, Sarah (sass) Biscarra-Dilley, Craig Calderwood, Rocket Caleshu, carmen, Finley Coyl, Dia Dear, Leah DeVun, Ariel Durrant, Larisa Escobedo, Fat Transfer, Jaye Lee Fishel, Johnny Forever, Claire Forsyth, Jason Fritz, Elitrea Frye, Naomi Rincon Gallardo, Max Garnet, Joolie Geldner, Ariel Goldberg, Nicki Green, Rik Haber, Nina Höchtl, LOVEWARZ!, Marilyn McNeal, Gabby Miller, Lex Non Scripta, Adee Roberson, Coral Short, Julz Simpson, Caitlin Sweet, Safak Sule, Dorothy Wang, Max Yuristy

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The curators of BEST REVENGE believe that part of creating and sustaining community is recognizing and attempting to address the persistent economic inequalities in the art/world, ie., we want to offer each of our artists a stipend for all their time, energy, hard work, and fabulousness. Donations at all levels are appreciated at www.indiegogo.com/bestrevenge, as is any assistance in publicizing the campaign.

BEST REVENGE is part of the 15th Annual National Queer Arts Festival and is sponsored in part by the Queer Cultural Center

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