SAFER SPACES RECAP

Nina Mashurova wrote a piece ("Making Safer Spaces") about our conversation at Silent Barn Public Meeting X: Safer Spaces for The Media's 23rd issue. I really enjoy her conclusion at the end, which I've included above, courtesy of The Media.

You can also stream the entire audio recording of this discussion on Silent Barn's YouTube channel.

Relatedly important: we coined the term "brahvant garde" (meaning "bro avant garde") which I foresee being helpful in the forever future.

Thanks to Rachel Levy for snapping the photo above!

[on tumblr]

10 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN THE YEAR OF BAD LUCK

The Media just published a year-end issue featuring over 20 contributors from 2013. I published a photo essay of never before seen (that's right! NEVER! BEFORE! SEEN!) photos that depict some of my favorite moments from this year in music, arts and culture.

THE ARTICLE
THE ISSUE

Happy 2014. To infinity, and beyond.

BRASS IN POCKET: available now from Booklyn

BRASS IN POCKET, the feminist collaborative exhibition zine, is out now! We debuted the zine this weekend at Comic Arts Brooklyn + it is now available online on buy.booklyn.org

Including artwork by:

CAROLINE PAQUITA, CATHERINE STACK, CRISTINE BRACHE, CYNTHIA SCHEMMER, DAFY HAGAI, ERIN BOWERS, GEOFFREY DUNCANSON, HANNAH SCHULMAN, JASON ROY, JEN MAY, JESSICA MEANY, KATE WADKINS, LAUREN DENITZIO, LIZ LINDEN, LYNNETTE MIRANDA, MINA BOROMAND, MITSUKO BROOKS, RACHEL WOLF, REBECCA CLARKE, REGINA JESTROW, SONIA CORINA, SONYA DERMAN, SUSAN FANG, AND TAMARA WAITE-SANTIBANEZ. [view on tumblr]

SILENT BARN PUBLIC MEETING X: Safer Spaces

I'll be moderating this panel at Silent Barn tomorrow night at 7pm. I've written some questions to guide the discussion but you're welcome to reply here or contact me if there's anything in particular you'd like to ensure we cover. The second half of the panel will be a Q&A.

More info & RSVP: http://on.fb.me/GWRa0C

≡≡≡≡≡≡ SILENT BARN ≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡

Public Meeting X

What is a safer space? How can we create inclusive spaces that promote a culture of respect and accountability? How do safer space policies work; how are they negotiated; how are they implemented? What are the benefits of implementing a safer space policy? What are the possible disadvantages or fallouts? Can any space truly be considered "safer"?

PANELISTS:
░ Sky (Bluestockings) ░
░ Spencer (ABC No Rio) ░
░ Suzy (Shady Hawkins) ░
░ Leah (Support NY) ░
░ Megan (Lazurite) ░

MODERATOR:
░ Kate Wadkins (International Girl Gang Underground) ░

stay after for the show! music TBA

Zine table courtesy of DiTKO! Zine Library!

≡ FREE ≡
≡ ALL AGES ≡

≡ DOORS at 7 ≡
≡ PANEL at 8 ≡
≡ MUSIC at 10 ≡

Silent Barn
603 Bushwick Ave
J M Z to Myrtle/Bway
L to Jefferson
No BYOB, no drinking in the yard
No mean players

BRASS IN POCKET: my submission to the zine / deadline extended

SNEAK PEEK: here's my submission to the BRASS IN POCKET companion zine. I illustrated a quote by one of our artists, Lynnette Miranda!

WANNA SUBMIT? The deadline has been extended through October 20: http://bit.ly/19J1Vwc

FEMINIST ZINE-MAKING PARTY @ BOOKLYN: SUNDAY 10/13

Aimee made this excellent GIF of the flyer I designed.

brassinpocket-booklyn:

If you are in New York, please join us this Sunday, October 13th from 1-5pm at Booklyn for coffee & donuts & a feminist zine-making party! Booklyn has tons of paper, feel free to bring your own materials as well: old magazines, markers, ink, etc. We will be creating pieces for the BRASS IN POCKET zine: 

Curators Aimee Lusty and Kate Wadkins seek submissions for a feminist art zine to be released at the close of BRASS IN POCKET, a group show opening Friday, September 13, 2013 at Booklyn Artists Alliance. For the full call for submissions, please click here.

BRASS IN POCKET runs through October 27 at Booklyn Artists Alliance art gallery. 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions and RSVP to katewadkins[at]gmail.com if you can make it to our gathering at Booklyn this Sunday.

BRASS IN POCKET: Installation views

Over 400 people joined us for the opening of BRASS IN POCKET at Greenpoint Gallery Night last week, what a wonderful turnout! We're posting updates over at brassinpocket-booklyn.tumblr.com, where we'll be rolling out photos of each artist's work as well as updates on the zine. Thanks to Hyperallergic for including us in their guide to Greenpoint Gallery Night as well as their recap!

"Feminism is taking over Booklyn, and we couldn’t approve more..."

BRASS IN POCKET OPENS TONIGHT @ BOOKLYN

BRASS IN POCKET

curated by Aimee Lusty + Kate Wadkins

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2013

OPENING TONIGHT, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 6-10PM

coinciding with Greenpoint Gallery Night.

Susan Fang

Liz Linden

Lynnette Miranda

Caroline Paquita

Catherine Stack

Tamara Waite-Santibanez

The Booklyn Art Gallery is pleased to present BRASS IN POCKET, a group exhibition featuring work by Susan Fang, Liz Linden, Lynnette Miranda, Caroline Paquita, Catherine Stack, and Tamara Waite-Santibanez, and Book Swap… a collaborative project by Liz Linden and Jen Kennedy.

We approached this show with the desire to represent contemporary feminist artists working in different media with the commonality of transcending subject matter and traditional techniques in print, collage, drawing and sculpture. Instead, BRASS IN POCKET is a group of New York-based women artists who are doing just that, but whose work may not necessarily be described as “feminist art.”

What we discovered through this process is that it is less of a “feminist” concern to narrowly define this work as “feminist art.” It is more important to bring the work, the pushing of boundaries and mediums, to light. Throughout our studio visits feminist themes emerged. While often not the forefront of the artist’s subject matter, each artist still faces a sexist power structure within the art world, and within her everyday life... [read more]

Curated by Aimee Lusty & Kate Wadkins. For more information please contact aimee@booklyn.org

Gallery Hours: Thursday-Tuesday, 12pm-5pm.

FOR FULL PRESS RELEASE + EVENT PAGE, CLICK HERE

OR RSVP ON FACEBOOK IF YOU LIKE

+ HYPERALLERGIC'S GREENPOINT GALLERY NIGHT GUIDE + MAP

In addition to the exhibition, Aimee and I are soliciting contributions to a feminist art zine, to be published at the closing of BRASS IN POCKET. Deadline for submissions is October 13th, for more info visit us at brassinpocket-booklyn.tumblr.com.

♡ 10 YEARS OF SALINAS RECORDS ♡

Salinas Records, run by my friend Marco Reosti, has been responsible for some of my favorite music and some of the most meaningful collaborations I've been a part of over the years. 

I made album art for P.S. Eliot a couple times, I wrote a little bit about Little Lungs, and I got to play with tons of bands on the Salinas roster. For that I thank you, Marco!

Today we're celebrating Salinas Records' 10 year anniversary at Silent Barn in Bushwick.

"PUNK IS IMPORTANT"

Salinas Records 10th Anniversary Party

Saturday, August 17, 2013

8pm at The Silent Barn

603 Bushwick Ave., Brooklyn

All Ages, $8

(This show is NOT BYOB, and please, no drinking in the yard.)

Celebrating 10 years of Salinas Records, with*:

Swearin'

Delay

Radiator Hospital

The Ambulars

All Dogs

The Measure [sa]

PS Eliot

The State Lottery

Little Lungs

The Gibbons

North Lincoln

Ginger Alford (One Reason, Good Luck)

In 2003, Marco Reosti put out a 7" for his own band, Mumbler, under the label "Salinas," named for the hometown of his favorite author. For most of the next decade, Salinas Records was housed in a basement storage unit rented for $25 a month on Detroit's 2nd Avenue. In 10 years, Marco has put out almost 50 records, many of which contribute to the modern pop punk canon. Neither hyper-punk, nor particularly slick pop, Salinas is a reliable middle ground of earnest, gritty expression with faithfully melodic underpinnings. -bc

www.salinasrecords.com

*bands are playing abbreviated sets!

For all info & RSVP, click here

Tao Lin mixtape for The Media: Very Okay

SOME OF MY FAVORITE SONGS from fvckthemedia on 8tracks Radio.

[via lizpelly on tumblr]:

a mixtape by Tao Lin for fvckthemedia.com 

1 algorythx and gurantaxtaxq by blackblack
2 teenage unity song by the miracle of ‘86
3 together again by falling for a square
4 the commuter by falling for a square
5 blue of distance by very okay
6 where you go by very okay
7 tampa bay by johnny hobo and the freight trains
8 where is my coffee? (where is it?) by johnny hobo and the freight trains
9 diana by p.s. eliot 

Thanks to Tao Lin for putting not one but two Very Okay songs on this mixtape for The Media, whom I love. I miss being in this band, and playing music with these people!

Here's some things that us Very Okay bandmates are up to now:
(me) // Angie // Cynthia // Jared

WE ARE THE WEIRDOS, MISTER

My vest for The Craft at SummerScreen. [view on tumblr]

E.S.P. FEMINIST ART SHOW --> ON VIEW THROUGH WEDS. 7/10

Some installation shots from the E.S.P. show have surfaced on Facebook. The show is up through Wednesday, July 10th. All additional info can be found here.

E.S.P. INAUGURAL ART SHOW @ BROOKLYN FIREPROOF TOMORROW

This is a killer poster by Leah Wishnia for E.S.P., a group show I'll be in, opening TOMORROW, JULY 6TH. All details are listed below. I'm showing this piece I made in honor of my Grandma.

»»» E.S.P OPENING NIGHT BENEFIT SHOW «««

FACEBOOK RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/171655132995164/
extrasensoryfeminist@gmail.com
ON TUMBLR

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

JULY 6TH SATURDAY - Door at 8pm // Show at 9pm

@ BROOKLYN FIREPROOF
119 Ingraham St, New York, NY 11237 (Morgan Avenue stop L train)

$5 - $10 sliding scale cover (all proceeds will benefit Planned Parenthood and Womanspace)

(ages 21+)

with STAND-UP/STORY-TELLING/IMPROV/MUSICAL COMEDY PERFORMANCES BY:

Jessica Delfino (www.jessicadelfino.com)
Sasheer Zamata (sasheer.com)
SVCK MY D!CK II (suckmydickii.improvteams.com)
Aparna Nancherla (www.aparnacomedy.com)
Anna Drezen (annadrezen.com)
Bethany Hall
Emilie Parker Strange
Judith George 
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE BY:

Tiny Teeth (tinyteethtunes.tumblr.com & http://tinyteethnj.bandcamp.com/)

and DANCE PARTY!! (with DJ DANNY BONADUCE, KAPERKOLATER, and DJ SOUR PUSS)

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

FEATURING ART WORK BY:

Adriane Dalton
Alison Dubois
Amelia Box
Annmarie Burzachiello
Ara Aranguri
Cassandra Liuzzo
Christina Vines
Doris Yuan
Dragana Drobnjak
Elisabeth Arzt
Emily Lubanko
Jacqui Alexander
Jennifer Cabral
Jordan Alexander
Kara Frame
Kate Wadkins
Lisa A. Snyder
Manda Brezicky
Marissa Woodrow
Randi Wolfman
Sarah Farmer
Sophia Rosenthal
Stefanie Clerkin
Tara Perry
Tom McGill

**Art will be up for sale and displayed at Brooklyn Fire Proof from July 6th - 10th (ages 21+ after 8pm)

Percentage of art sales will be donated to Planned Parenthood / Womanspace!
FOLLOW E.S.P ON FACEBOOK » http://www.facebook.com/espfeministshow

Allison & Katie Crutchfield Illustration in Women Who Rock Coloring Book

Allison and Katie Crutchfield, illustrated by me for the Women Who Rock Coloring Book #2, which benefits Girls Rock! Rhode Island. Published February 2013. More details here!

FEMINIST SUMMER ROLL CALL

I drew this cute thing for For the Birds' feminist summer roll call, read Kathleen's post about it here!

HOW PUNK FEMINISM SAVED MY LIFE, ETC.

For the Birds is headed to Ladyfest Philly this weekend to present our workshop Winging It: Nurturing Authentic Communication in Feminist Organizing for the second time (the first time was at last year's C.L.I.T. Fest). I wrote about some of my own experiences in feminist organizing, as well as the workshop for The Media.

The Media was established by Liz Pelly and Faye Orlove in the wake of The Boston Phoenix. Read Liz Pelly's super-satisfying inaugural article about their choice to create The Media here, and an interview with its creators at the Voice. The piece I wrote is in Issue 5, a Ladyfest Philly preview issue. It's a great one, and Katie Alice Greer's piece on community spaces is one of my favorite  things I've read in recent memory.

For more Ladyfest info, check out their website.
For information on For the Birds' Ladyfest workshop, go here or here.

WRITING FURIOUSLY

I wrote a new thing for Daily News about Rayya Elias' book HARLEY LOCO: A Memoir of Hard Living, Hair, and Post-Punk, from the Middle East to the Lower East Side:

Rayya Elias reminds us why we love New York in 'Harley Loco'

At The Frisky, I'm telling you about Amy Poehler's life tips that you must repeat like mantras to yourself for an all-time high of positive vibes:

Courage, Risks, Yes, Go, Now: 15 Totally Necessary Life Tips From Amy Poehler (In GIFS!)

I also wrote something for The Media, which you can check out here, but I'll be telling you more about that in another post.

PORTRAITS OF FERN

I'm in this great portrait show, it's dedicated to one of the Bushwick art scene's favorite dogs, Fern.

Portraits of Fern: 
a special exhibition for Bushwick Open Studios featuring painting, sculpture, installation, and drawing by Bushwick artists and invited guests

June 1-2, 2013 

Opening Reception*: Sat, Jun 1, 11am-2pm
*coinciding with BOS Annual Maps-N-Mimosas Event

Exhibition hours:
Sat, Jun 1, 11am-7pm Sun,
Jun 2, 11am-7pm

Norte Maar, 83 Wyckoff Avenue, #1B, Brooklyn
Directions: L Train to Brooklyn. Dekalb Stop.

Hours: Weekends 1-6pm and by appointment: 646-361-8512

Full show description + artist list
View image gallery + checklist

I'll be there for Maps-N-Mimosas on Saturday, plus I'll be gallery sitting at Norte Maar on Sunday from 12-3! So do come visit and check out some work about a real cool dog.

GREETINGS, BADASSES

Hello! If you've arrived here from Kathleen Hanna + Sini Anderson's killer interview with Badass Digest, thanks for visiting!

Discussing IGGU at a recent presentation in Sheffield, UK

The zine that Ms. Hanna mentioned is International Girl Gang Underground, a collection of stories, artwork, and critical work about DIY feminist cultural production and punk rock today, twenty years after the riot grrrl movement, and in the wake of its legacy. "Today" meaning 2011, when the zine was published.

International Girl Gang Underground (or IGGU) can be found and purchased here:
USA, via Stranger Danger Distro
UK, via Vampire Sushi Distro (not on website but available soon!)
Japan, via Lilmag

Or, you can get it from me in person from me, while meeting up for coffee/delicious treats, or tabling with feminist collective and distro, For the Birds! We're currently in the process of renewing our domain, girlgangunderground.org, but for now you can find us on Tumblr at girlgangunderground.tumblr.com + girlganggigvolume.tumblr.com. We post on Facebook most frequently, and we're on Twitter too.

I've worked with Hanna since 2010 in various capacities, mostly on the Le Tigre tour documentary film, and with Sini Anderson, too, on The Punk Singer.* So humbled to be mentioned by these fantastic feminist artists, and so thrilled with their work on this new film, which just debuted at SXSW.

Feel free to contact me with any questions! I've been doing some talks on zines lately, like the one pictured above at Showroom Cinema in Sheffield--so I'm always seeking collaborators and like-minded peeps in other places.

*(Hanna also exhibited in BIG MOUTH: contemporary feminist voices in art + illustration, a show I co-curated with Lauren Denitzio, in 2011).

LAST MINUTE FEMINIST HIGH TEA: SATURDAY 3/23

OUT & ABOUT

Here's a map of where my travels took me just this weekend.

EVENTS IN THE UK: starting this weekend!

I've arrived in the UK! I've just finished up my first week here and I've honestly been having the best time, jumping from the country to the city and back.

More importantly! I'm going to be in Durham and Sheffield, respectively, this upcoming weekend doing talks about zines.

Friday night (March 15) Julia Downes has curated "Troublemakers #1," an event featuring bands Onsind and Andrew Lips, an exhibition of Melanie Maddison's "Shape & Situate" project, and a pop-up zine library, plus distros. I'm doing a panel discussion with Julia and Melanie, titled "Producing DIY Feminist Cultural Activisms: The role of zines, art & music."

Then on Saturday (March 16) I'm headed down to Sheffield Zine Fest, where I'll be tabling with International Girl Gang Underground zine, as well as For the Birds Collective's So You Want to Start a Feminist Collective zine. I'm really excited to meet members of the UK zine community. Full event listings for these two events after the jump.

SAVE THE DATE, also, for the weekend of March 22-23 in London. Myself and OOMK (One of My Kind) zine (which just recently launched!) are planning a poster workshop for that weekend.

I'll be in England and out of the USA through April 1, but available remotely (meaning: reach me by Internet!) until then. If you're in the UK and you know of something great I should see/hear//taste/experience/whathaveyou, feel free to get in touch!

Here's a shot of the attempt to fit all of my zine materials in my luggage. Needless to say, I had to change luggage.

EVENTS:

"STATE OF THE LADY" AT IDIOM

Big things happening this week! I just published my first piece with Idiom about the word "lady" and its many cultural meanings, with nods to some of my favorite cultural critics & producers.

In her glorious versatility — or vagueness, depending on the way you look at it — the lady is alive and well in the cultural zeitgeist. From mainstream to feminist media, from rap lyrics to self-help books to women artists, the term lady has found a way to transcend generational meanings, and is constantly provoking new ones depending on context. And in tandem with post-postmodern feminist theory, every use of lady does depend on context.

Read more at Idiom and sign up to get it delivered straight to your inbox!

Additionally, I'm leaving for the UK on Monday, where I'll be for a month. More on that to come.

MARCH 2013 GUIDE TO NEW YORK

March in New York is full of incredible events, which is not unrelated to March being Women's History Month. As I'm headed to the UK for the month, I'll be ingesting culture elsewhere. I wanted to share all the goodness I'll be missing so that you can attend for me!

image via Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence College Annual Women's History Month Conference ::: March 1 & 2

This year, SLC honors fallen women's historians Amy Swerdlow and Gerda Lerner, both former directors of the Women's History graduate program, in their annual conference, themed "Activism and Scholarship." Lerner is a cofounder of the program, the first of its kind, established in 1972. Full itinerary here.

Related: some of the work I've done with Sarah Lawrence, and a review I did of the 12th annual plenary panel.

image via Barnard

Barnard College Scholar & Feminist Conference: Utopia ::: March 1 & 2

Ah, the competing scholarly feminist conference! This one also sounds fantastic, with a focus on utopias that suits my interest in safer spaces: "Creating a space outside of what society makes available can be an act of survival in a culture that selectively grants and withholds the designation of full humanity." With panels ranging from prison abolition to food justice, "Utopia" promises to be innovative. Full itinerary here.

image via wolfbat

Wolfbat's Ark at House of Vans ::: March 9

Ultimate printmaker Dennis McNett (of Wolfbat Studio) has been posting some amazing imagery from past Wolfbat live events to his Instagram feed. One of New York's punk printmaking darlings, this event will probably include giant wolf heads and possibly, fire. So far, it is simply described as "An interactive performance of the Wolfbat tribe slaying the demons and storm surge sent by Hurricane Sandy."

RSVP on Facebook--but you must also RSVP by emailing rsvptovans@gmail.com for admission to this event.

Printed Matter Sandy Benefit with Live Auction ::: March 9

Pretty self-explanatory, but in case you were unawares: one of the best places to see and purchase book arts in New York is Printed Matter, Inc. Unfortunately, they were saddled with over $200,000 worth of damages during Hurricane Sandy. This is a live auction to benefit Printed Matter. Tickets available here.

image via Hyperallergic

The World's First Tumblr Art Symposium! ::: March 9

Tumblr and Hyperallergic have teamed up to bring you the world's first Tumblr art symposium, and it's hosted in our beloved borough of Brooklyn! The symposium will be part discussion and part exhibition, and registration is filling up quick. More info here.

image via A.I.R.

A.I.R. Gallery's 40th Birthday Party ::: March 19

The first "artist-run gallery for women" has just turned 40! Rescheduled due to Hurricane Sandy devastation, the party will coincide with the gallery's 40th anniversary exhibition. Stellar participants include Martha Wilson, Carolee Schneeman, and Ana Mendieta, plus attendees receive a commemorative poster by the Guerrilla Girls. More details and registration here.

Are you seeing a theme here? Yes, Hurricane Sandy relief is still needed. There are still people without heat, hot water, and homes. There are repairs to be made, mold to be removed, art projects to be restored.

I subscribe to the Hurricane Relief Resources list on Facebook which has pretty regular updates about ways to help. While there are less hubs, Occupy Sandy is still up and running.

Stay involved. Be a good neighbor. And enjoy your March.

"ON ZINES" AT POCKET UTOPIA TODAY

I'm out the door on my way to present "On Zines" at Pocket Utopia.

Join us at 191 Henry Street at 4pm today!

Read Sharon Butler's poster about it here.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

In honor of Galentine's Day, and also, Valentine's Day, here's a Valentine for my singletons. While I don't really have any Valentine's Day rituals, I do like to take time on February 14th to read this veritable single manifesto by Nikki Darling, a super talented music writer from LA. I've discovered it pairs well with a listening of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies," as well.

And if that's not enough, cue up the Valentine's Day mix I made for you last year, dear reader.

Thank you!

The Way the Lights Went Out: A Hurricane Sandy Zine Benefit happened last night at Bluestockings, and we have so much to be grateful for!

A million thank yous to our hosts at Bluestockings Bookstore, Café, & Activist Center, our readers Dre Grigoropol, Jamie Varriale Vélez, Jenna Freedman & James Aviaz, and to all of you for joining us last night and buying zines! Our amazing zine donors made this evening possible. Of course, much gratitude to my co-organizer Kate Angell (and Kate's sisters, Kerri and Kylie!) as well.

Together, we raised just about $400 to donate to the Ali Forney Center!

(For more details about the event, including a complete list of zine donors, our Facebook invite has the most up-to-date info).