Round Table “Archiving Queer & Disabled Practices“
14.09. 18:30-20:00
initiated by X COLLECTIVE X
With: Clotilde de Rocco, Sahara Azzeg, Kami Mathiasin, Meloe Gennai
Part of ProtoZone16: Hallucinogenesis
This round table will begin with a presentation of the project “u n ~ t e a c h a b l e”, an initiative led by X COLLECTIVE X. “u n ~ t e a c h a b l e” is dedicated to valuing creative processes and marginalized artistic practices within the context of archiving and artistic education.
The following discussion with Clotilde de Rocco, Sahara Azzeg, Kami Mathiasin, Meloe Gennai and the audience addresses the issue of archive accessibility by examining its limitations and possible alternatives.
It also initiates a conversation on reinventing practices of knowledge transmission and cultural archives through the inclusion of often marginalized perspectives.
Language(s): French, Italian, English (with German translation)
Clotilde De Rocco is a Black queer disabled woman. She is half American, half Italian, and is based in Florence, Italy. She works as a model, is 24 years old, studies medicine and loves makeup and fashion, which are her ways of expressing herself. As a disabled person, she hopes for a world where everyone can participate and feel included. She deeply loves her family and strives every day to love herself.
The artist Sahara Azzeg has gained attention in recent years for his interventions at queer art festivals with politically charged performances, reading his political manifesto (“Pas d’écologie validiste” , “c’est nous les PD”). They’ve also notably participated in exhibitions like Embrace (Fesses-tival, Geneva) and Sweet Crip (Bienne). Azzeg works as much in performance as in painting. While their shows are assertive by declaring their political manifesto (with each performance having its own manifesto), they are also designed to be as accessible as possible for disabled people, with the use of a self-made subtitle scrolling machine, no flashing lights, or accessible venues. He also incorporates objects in his clothing (costumes made especially for each occasion) that reference his life as a disabled artist.
Kami Mathiasin (1994) is a non-binary and pan-Africanist artist from Guadeloupe, based in Geneva and Paris. She is also a decolonial feminist and anti speciesist. As a mental health professional, they are a specialist in psychopathologies related to interculturality and transculturality. She dreams of a world where healing is accessible to all. Poetry and spirituality are part of her path to liberation. She believes that art is a prime tool for raising awareness about issues of race, gender, class, and sexualities.
Meloe Gennai is a published writer, curator, dramaturge and trans&disabled elder. With X collective X, they have curated two books of poetry written by Trans and Queer afro-diasporic artists. Their latest fully accessible play, “SNOB*”, is based on selective mutism and autistic body language. Their first book was awarded the Robert Goffin Poetry Biennal Prize. Meloe lives in liminal spaces; and between Geneva and Zürich.
Supported by Pro Helvetia.
