Second Banana Club Set To Host Queer Artists

Staff Writer | Monday August 19, 2019 14:03

 

The second club session will delve into the topic “Redefining Representations of Queer Identity through Art” this Saturday.

The Banana club is open to anyone but with priority given to marginalised voices. Registration to attend the club meeting is free but places are limited, and must be secured in advance by emailing tenyatseng@gmail.com.  Details of venue will be shared via email upon registration. The event is a safe space for those in attendance to share their experiences.

Speaking on the choice of theme, the event organiser, Tanlume Enyatseng said there is definitely a lack of visibility and the right representation in terms of how the LGBTQI+ community is often presented in popular media.

“Our stories are never allowed the platform to be expressed by us, which has been the inspiration behind us hosting this edition of the Banana club. Through this engagement we wish to tackles issues around isolation and erasure and promote the need for queer artists to be seen as people as well”, he said.

Enyatseng said the session is split into two halves; one   dedicated to sharing personal experience, with each participant free to contribute as much or as little as they want and the second half dedicated to questions and answers. With the help of the community, Bananaemoji.com wants to establish where art institutions are failing LGBTQ+ people and propose ways that might remedy this. The session will be documented as part of a research process.

He said when they share their stories they foster visibility and wipe out myths. Enyatseng added that the visibility that comes from different people sharing experiences, queering and disrupting views of the world, is a celebration of plurality.

“Using stories, intentionally and unintentionally, to counter erasure, to write and rewrite queer realities lends a hand to shifting social consciousness. And, when done properly it offers people a better understanding of other people’s experiences and what occupying the world means for them.

Creatives like Donald Molosi, Kat Kol Kes, Sade Shoalane and Raymond Geoffrey religiously give their creativity and love to the labour of giving rise to queer visibility,” he concluded.