If you are interested in applying for a 2023 AIRspace residency please contact jesse@safehousearts.org
AIRSPACE
QUEER & TRANS ARTISTS OF COLOR LEADERSHIP RESIDENCY
Movement Research with Snowflake Calvert
What does the body’s movement look and feel like to release the fascia in former Zionist Jewish bodies? This anti-Zionist movement research workshop and panel explored how Zionism and American Settler Colonialism communicates through the body. The workshop and pre-recorded panel discussion was with a small select group of Jewish academics and artists in November 2021. Snowflake guided the workshop’s self exploration of the body’s own movement. The panel discussed what came up for participants through this process, articulating answers to the workshop questions, and how this can be used as a tool for anti-colonialism in the daily lives of colonial settlers on Turtle Island (North America).
HISTORY
AIRspace was founded in1987 at the Jon Sims Center for the Arts, which was dedicated to supporting queer and trans artists of color and people living with HIV/AIDS. In 2007, after the close of the Sims Center, the program was transferred to SAFEhouse and operated as a no-frills residency for queer artists. In 2015, the program was put on hiatus for 2 years, while SAFEhouse secured a new facility in the Tenderloin’s newly created Transgender Cultural District. In 2017, SAFEhouse re-launched AIRspace as a hybrid fellowship/residency, actively seeking to invest in queer artists of color in areas of equity and arts leadership. SAFEhouse has recognized that, while our programs have been open to all, the primary demographic of participants has been white or white-presenting artists and a few artists of color reported a sense of isolation. It is not enough to say these programs are open to everyone and wonder why there are few folks of color participating in the organization. To that end, SAFEhouse redesigned AIRspace in 2017 to place Queer and Trans artists of color in leadership positions. In addition to rehearsal and performance space, AIRspace residencies include mentorship, greater financial compensation, and opportunities to work with the SAFEhouse leadership team to drive the organization’s equity initiatives.
If you are interested in applying for a 2023 AIRspace residency please contact jesse@safehousearts.org