The Sexualities Working Group

Conveners:

• Josué Azor
• Dasha Chapman
• Mario LaMothe
• Mamyrah Prosper

As queer artivist Josué Azor states, “my work is militant because I live in a place where my existence is extraordinary. Living as we are and as we please is a militant act.” The Sexualities Working Group mobilizes toward the rights to live creatively for Haitian LGBTQ/M-community, Vodouyizan, and all those who do not conform to sexual/gendered norms. We are U.S. and Haiti-based scholar-practitioners who desire to create stronger relationships between institutional resources, scholarly-activist efforts, and Haitians with whom we work and are inspired. Building on our Fall 2020 working sessions, we convene over the next three years to catalyze new networks and knowledge between scholars, activists, artists, and queer Haitians living in resistance to multiple assaults on their existence. Through a series of performance festivals, working sessions, and an online resource platform, we collectivize shared commitments to bolstering the work of queer Haitian crusaders.

Events held by this Working Group in 2020

The Rights to Live Creatively: Artistic Expression, Visibility, Solidarity (Dec. 14, 2020)

In light of right-wing authoritarianism in Haiti today that exposes the clientelist nature of the justice system and increases violence against all who seek to live creatively, this Working Session convenes to hear from Haitian freedom fighters and artists on the ground in a series of webinar discussions and focused virtual gatherings. This second panel features cultural workers Maksaens Denis, independent artist, and Hetera Estamphil, director of KOURAJ, who will share with us the ways in which their works challenge gendered and sexual norms and offer us another vision of and for Haiti. The conversation will be moderated by Josué Azor, and feature performances by Yonel Charles and Jenny Cadet. The goals are to think together with attendees to design an action plan that supports and amplifies their efforts toward creative living in Haiti.

The Rights to Live Creatively: Artistic Expression, Visibility, Solidarity (Oct. 8, 2020)

In light of right-wing authoritarianism in Haiti today that exposes the clientelist nature of the justice system and increases violence against all who seek to live creatively, this Working Group convenes to hear from Haitian freedom fighters and artists on the ground in a series of webinar discussions and focused virtual gatherings. The first panel features cultural workers Josué Azor, Jenny Cadet, and Maksaens Denis who will share with us the ways in which their works challenge gendered and sexual norms and offer us another vision of and for Haiti. During the gathering that follows the webinar, they will think together with attendees to design an action plan that supports and amplifies their efforts toward creative living in Haiti.