QUEERING THE COAST
Join us on May 27th at 1pm at Branscombe House for Queering The Coast.
What might it mean to bring queer perspectives to the places where land and water meet? Join Other Sights for a new Foreshore conversation between two coastal scholars.
Natasha Fox is a postdoctoral scholar with the Cascadia Copes Hub at Oregon State University who applies queer theory and participatory community-engaged research methodologies to her work with LGBTQ2S+ communities living in earthquake and tsunami prone coastlines of Japan and Oregon.
Coll Thrush is a historian at the University of British Columbia working on a critical history of shipwrecks in the so-called “Graveyard of the Pacific,” including the potential for applying queer theory to maritime disaster and colonial failure.
Come listen in and contribute to the discussion as these two scholars think with each other and with the coast.
FORESHORE IMMERSIVE
The “foreshore” describes the land along the edge of the water that is both submerged and revealed by the tide. Very simply, it is the wet part of the beach, a place of unclear jurisdiction, and thus of contestation, friction, and constant movement. Those who dwell in this zone must continually adapt to a changing environment. The foreshore conjures histories specific to this region: narratives of trade and exchange, habitation and nourishment, resistance and violent erasure, and evokes the emergence of possible futures. The foreshore has served as a fertile operative metaphor for Other Sights’ thinking for some years, developing into several programming strains. These include the Foreshore series of research presentations (2016-18), to public programs associated with our commissioning activities.
Foreshore Immersive considers the potential of this zone in the context of response and adaptation to the pandemic, colonisation, climate crises, collective care and trauma.
Contemporary public art in British Columbia and beyond requires the creative vision and leadership of artists, writers and thinkers attending to the conditions of working in unceded territories, and to develop and strengthen partnerships between many individuals and organizations grappling with the uncertainties and challenges of the present moment. Foreshore Immersive, assesses the new conditions of public spaces at this phase in the pandemic, the ongoing urgencies of the climate crisis and the resurgence of Indigenous-led forms of scholarship and leadership. Artists, writers and others whose work exists philosophically, metaphorically and physically within the foreshore recognize the abundant potential of this interstitial space. In gathering at the foreshore, guest convenors will use the platform to network, share research, collaborate towards new workshops and partnerships and host discussions that will draw our communities of interest into relation on Musqueam, Kwantlen, and Tswwassen territory. www.theforeshore.org/
Event partner:
BLUE CABIN FLOATING ARTIST RESIDENCY is a mobile artist residency located in Vancouver British Columbia on Canada’s Pacific Coast. Currently located on a floating platform at Imperial Landing in Steveston Village, the residency gives the artist a unique perspective on the city from the water. The deckhouse is an off the grid home with modern appliances and comforts and a 360-degree view of the harbour, while the historic cabin acts as a studio for the artist’s activities. Located on the foreshore in close proximity to shopping and amenities, the Blue Cabin provides a home base in this waterfront community within the City of Richmond. The six to eight week time frame allows the artist time for solo production as well as opportunities for engagement within the community. www.thebluecabin.ca