Join Vital Matters for A Queer Climate Cabaret on Thursday, October 17th
Why a Queer Climate Cabaret? The increasing threat and devastation of climate change and the rising homophobic and transphobic violence in various states have common historical roots in colonial, gendered, racialized violence. Our ability to thrive as a species depends upon our ability to engage with all expressions of gender and sexuality, in ourselves and in the more-than-human world. From a queer ecology perspective, queer, transgender, and nonbinary points of view are essential to understanding how ecology and the natural world (including humans!) actually work. They imagine ways of being and doing that will be vital as we navigate the ever greater challenges presented by the climate crisis.
This event celebrates the generative connections between climate, queerness and performance, and has creative fun with unlikely cross pollinations. Performers will reimagine drag as an interspecies affair, invite you to a KiKi with kin you didn’t even know you had, stage a special kind of Karaoke inspired by the 400,000 million year history of the horseshoe crab, engage you in a specially commissioned act that brings a queer lens to the Maryland Climate Plan, and much more! Pretty Rik E. and Chris Jay of Pretty Boi Drag emcee this event, whose lineup includes dance, theatre, performance art, drag, poetry/spoken word, burlesque, and more. Featuring: Jacob Budenz, Unique Robinson, Michele Minnick,, Jacob Marrero, Nigel Semaj, Susan McCully, Bao Nguyen, Laurie Rollins Anderson, Lady Bladie, Hairy Poodini, Leonina Arismendi, Nicola Norman, and special guest Eli Nixon.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for an art mart featuring queer artists, craftspeople and small business owners in Baltimore. Talk to folks from local climate and environmental justice organizations to find out how you can get involved.
Stressed about the election? You can also sign up to help get out the vote for key candidates in Maryland, and to reach out to folks in swing states, where the presidential election really counts. Use your vote to help ensure that queer youth, and all youth have a future!
Show Starts at 7 p.m.
Related events: Artists from the Cabaret are facilitating workshops and a book talk! Check them out here:
Vital Matters is an interdisciplinary laboratory for change, founded in 2021. We produce local events with global resonance, such as Climate Change Theatre Action and Global Water Dances, and create opportunities for investigating, celebrating, and building community around environmental justice, climate change, and related topics with artists, activists and others. Find out how you can get involved: www.vitalmatters.net
At Vital Matters, we value equity and accessibility in all things. This includes paying artists, for which we depend on a certain rate of ticket sales. It also includes asking you to evaluate honestly the price you are currently able to pay for a ticket. If you are able, please consider paying a higher price, which will enable others who currently need it to pay a lower price. If you’d like to make a donation to Vital Matters to help support the work we do and the people who make it possible, you can do so on our website: www.vitalmatters.net/donate
The Queer Climate Cabaret is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council. (www.msac.org). Poster artwork by Jacob Marrero.