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Imagining Queer Europe – out now!

May 30, 2021

A special issue of the journal ‘Third Text’ co-edited by CRUSEV’s Fiona Anderson, Glyn Davis and Nat Raha is now available. The issue, ‘Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now’, is based on materials that were first aired at the CRUSEV conference of the same title that took place in Edinburgh in March 2019. The beautiful … Continue reading “Imagining Queer Europe – out now!”

Cine y sexopolitica

Alberto Berzosa’s book ‘Cine y sexopolitica’ is out now from Brumaria. The beautifully illustrated book is based on the research that CRUSEV’s Berzosa carried out during the run of the project: it is simultaneously essay, archive, and exhibition catalogue. The book explores a culture of vital political, sexual and audiovisual experimentation that was active in … Continue reading “Cine y sexopolitica”

To See A Moose – now in English!

Agnieszka Koscianska’s book ‘To See A Moose: The History of Polish Sex Education’ – which contains material that she produced as one of the researchers working on Cruising the Seventies – is now available from Berghahn. Previously published in Polish, it has been translated into English by Philip Palmer. In ‘To See A Moose’, Koscianska … Continue reading “To See A Moose – now in English!”

Queers in State Socialism: Cruising 1970s Poland

August 27, 2020

The essay collection Queers in State Socialism: Cruising 1970s Poland edited by CRUSEV’s Polish PI Tomasz Basiuk and team researcher Jedrzej Burszta is now available to pre-order from Routledge, and will be published in October 2020. The contributions to the book engage with queer lives and activism in 1970s Poland, illustrating discourses about queerness and … Continue reading “Queers in State Socialism: Cruising 1970s Poland”

Pelze Multimedia (1981-1996). Ein Dokumentarfilm

December 3, 2019

Together with the feminist film collective TINT, CRUSEV Berlin team member Janin Afken co-produced a documentary film on the history of a subcultural lesbian feminist bar in Berlin, established in the spirit of the 1970s in a former fashion store specialising in fur. The film is titled Pelze Multimedia (1981-1996). Ein Dokumentarfilm. It portrays the … Continue reading “Pelze Multimedia (1981-1996). Ein Dokumentarfilm”

Special Journal Issue: Rózowy Jezyk

The Interalia Journal of Queer Studies published a special issue that emerged from an event organised by the CRUSEV Poland team. Rózowy Jezyk (Pink Tongue) was a workshop held in June 2018 in Warsaw. Interalia’s special issue includes contributions from some of those who contributed to the workshop, including team members J?drek Burszta, Tomasz Basiuk, Karolina Morawska, Karol Radziszewski, … Continue reading “Special Journal Issue: Rózowy Jezyk”

Karol Radziszewski in ArtMargins and Vogue Poland.

CRUSEV’s Tomasz Basiuk wrote a review of Karol Radziszewski‘s 2019 exhibition ‘Queer Archives Institute’ at Berlin’s Schwules Museum for ArtMargins. Radziszewski’s CRUSEV-supported exhibition Potega sekretów (The Power of Secrets) at Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw was also featured in Vogue Poland! 

Karol Radziszewski: Potega sekretów/the Power of Secrets

November 1, 2019

Centrum Sztuki Wspólczesnej Zamek Ujazdowski Warsaw, Poland November 15, 2019 to March 29, 2020 What is queer memory and can it be built in a common effort? The Power of Secrets at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art is an experimental solo exhibition – the first such broad presentation of CRUSEV’s Warsaw Team member … Continue reading “Karol Radziszewski: Potega sekretów/the Power of Secrets”

Fiona Anderson: Cruising the Dead River Book Launch

October 30, 2019

New York in the late 1970s was a city on fire: ruined, dangerous, almost bankrupt, but the setting for an explosion of experimental music, art, poetry, film, and queer world-making. Existing on its fringes, Manhattan’s waterfront was a forgotten zone of abandoned warehouses and ruined piers. Though many saw only blight, the derelict neighbourhood was … Continue reading “Fiona Anderson: Cruising the Dead River Book Launch”

Sexual Culture in Germany in the 1970s: A Golden Age for Queers?

The collection Sexual Culture in Germany in the 1970s: A Golden Age for Queers? edited by CRUSEV Berlin team members Janin Afken and Benedikt Wolf is now available to pre-order from Palgrave Macmillan, and will be published in January 2020. This book is the first attempt to present a comprehensive picture of LGBT culture in … Continue reading “Sexual Culture in Germany in the 1970s: A Golden Age for Queers?”

Sex Politics of Marginal Cinema, 1970s and ’80s, curated by Alberto Berzosa

October 6, 2019

CRUSEV team member Alberto Berzosa curated the exhibition Sex Politics of Marginal Cinema, 1970s and ’80s at IVAM. Institut Valencià d’Art Modern from June 27 to October 6, 2019. In the 1970s and early 1980s there was an area of personal, political and cinematographic creation and experimentation that centred its discourse on dissident sexualities. Berzosa calls … Continue reading “Sex Politics of Marginal Cinema, 1970s and ’80s, curated by Alberto Berzosa”

Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay: I Don’t Know Where Paradise Is

September 15, 2019

CRUSEV hosted a reception on September 23, 2019 for UK team member Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay‘s final PhD exhibition, the result of three years of research into the private libraries of gay scholars in Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Montreal. Around thirty-five of CRUSEV’s friends and extended family attended the reception, which took place in the University … Continue reading “Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay: I Don’t Know Where Paradise Is”

Queer Colours of Archives

September 5, 2019

Presented as part of the Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now conference, this panel included the two presentations, followed by a discussion moderated by Delwar Hussain. Grinjo Joseph (Tezpur University) presented, ‘European Queer 70s and Becomings: Spatiality, Queerness and Bombay Dost’; and Paris-based artist and poet Tarek Lakhrissi presented, ‘Planets and stars and time travel: a … Continue reading “Queer Colours of Archives”

The place of the transfagbidyke is in the revolution – A keynote discussion between Grietje Baars and Nat Raha

Day 3 of Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now began with a discussion between Grietje Baars (City Law School, University of London) and Nat Raha (Edinburgh College of Art) about contemporary activism, poetry, and what queers can learn from the activist cultures of not only from the 1970s, but also the 1980s. Laura Guy moderated.

F*ck the Future: a proposal for collective action

September 4, 2019

Day 3 of CRUSEV’s Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now conference concluded with a collective action of discussion and imagining led by CRUSEV UK team members Fiona Anderson and Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay. Conference members were invited to engage in conversation about the core themes that the conference sought to address, which were printed on large … Continue reading “F*ck the Future: a proposal for collective action”

ANTITAINMENT ’70 – performance by Graham Bell Tornado

The Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now conference ended with Graham Bell Tornado‘s spectacular live performance, ANTITAINMENT ’70 at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre. The musical cabaret performance combined singing, video projections and sociopolitical commentary focused on comparisons between British performers with their Spanish contemporaries, addressing the different levels of freedom experienced by queers in 1970s UK … Continue reading “ANTITAINMENT ’70 – performance by Graham Bell Tornado”

Queer Temporalities, Sexual Boundaries

September 3, 2019

Presented as part of the Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now conference, this panel included three presentations. The panel began with a short Q&A moderated by Fiona Anderson in which artist Liz Rosenfeld discussed her her performance lecture, Resisting Interpretation. This was followed by ‘Reflections on Hubert Fichte’s Essay on Puberty (1974)’, presented by William Martin (Al … Continue reading “Queer Temporalities, Sexual Boundaries”

Queer Feelings, Emotional Resistances

September 2, 2019

Presented as part of the Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now conference, this panel included the two presentations, followed by a discussion moderated by Roberto Filippello. Maria Bühner (Leipzig University) presented, ‘“I thought I was the only one that felt that way”: The 1970s as a turning point for the ways to feel about homosexuality … Continue reading “Queer Feelings, Emotional Resistances”

Do you have place? – a keynote discussion between Sunil Gupta and Flora Dunster

September 1, 2019

The second keynote discussion at Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now featured celebrated London-based artist Sunil Gupta speaking with University of Sussex scholar Flora Dunster about over four decades of producing images. Gupta presented a slideshow of images of photographs and print ephemera from exhibitions and publications of his projects from the 1970s through to … Continue reading “Do you have place? – a keynote discussion between Sunil Gupta and Flora Dunster”

Deviations and Conversions Seventies Style – a keynote discussion between Mandy Merck and Laura Guy

Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now opened with a conversation between Royal Holloway professor Mandy Merck and University of Newcastle fellow Laura Guy. Merck charted a history of feminist, lesbian, and queer media cultures in the United Kingdom since the 1970s, accompanied by a slide show of archival images assembled by Merck and Guy. The … Continue reading “Deviations and Conversions Seventies Style – a keynote discussion between Mandy Merck and Laura Guy”

Resisting Interpretation – a performance lecture by artist and filmmaker Liz Rosenfeld

Berlin-based artist Liz Rosenfeld narrated an hour-long performance lecture as the opening event on Day 2 of the Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now conference on March 15, 2019. The audience was led into a darkened theatre space at Traverse Theatre, where they heard Rosenfeld’s voice over speakers, but could not see her. Rosenfeld recounted … Continue reading “Resisting Interpretation – a performance lecture by artist and filmmaker Liz Rosenfeld”

(Dissident) Dance Actions : a screening and presentation by artist Conny Karlsson Lundgren

As part of the opening day of CRUSEV’s Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now conference, Stockholm-based artist Conny Karlsson Lundgren presented his multi-media installation ‘(Dissident) Dance Actions’. The piece is the result of research Karlsson Lundgren undertook in the archives of Denmark’s Bøsseaktivisterna (The Gay Activists), and takes form in textiles, film, and a video … Continue reading “(Dissident) Dance Actions : a screening and presentation by artist Conny Karlsson Lundgren”

Welcome to Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now

August 5, 2019

CRUSEV’s final conference, Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now began with a welcome event at the Edinburgh College of Art’s Wee Red Bar. Participants travelled from across the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Spain, Canada, the United States, Palestine, and India to attend the conference. Everyone assembled at the bar to … Continue reading “Welcome to Imagining Queer Europe Then and Now”

You, Dear Doctor, Are My Only Rescue!

April 17, 2019

You, Dear Doctor, Are My Only Rescue!, an epistolary performance co-produced by CRUSEV’s Polish and UK teams, was presented on April 17 at Scala Cinema in Brno, Czech Republic. Programmed by Katerina Lisková of Masaryk University, the performance involved the transcribing, reading, and recirculating letters written to Socialist era Polish sexologists in the original Polish and in … Continue reading “You, Dear Doctor, Are My Only Rescue!”

2 x Polish Seminars and 6 x Public Events

January 23, 2019

The turn of the 1970s in culture, science and politics On January 12, 2019 the Polish CRUSEV team hosted the first seminar this year (and twelfth overall). The guest speaker was Maciej Gdula, professor of sociology at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Warsaw. In his lecture, Gdula proposed a critical reformulation of … Continue reading “2 x Polish Seminars and 6 x Public Events”

There is no keynote: a polyphonic retreat

October 13, 2018

CRUSEV UK team member Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay presented a performative keynote address at the Imagine Queer: Exploring the Radical Potential of Queerness Now conference at Newcastle University on October 13, 2018. The conference, organised by CRUSEV comrade Aleksandra Gajowy, considered interdisciplinary approaches to the transgressive potential of queerness today. Nemerofsky’s presentation questioned the appropriateness of … Continue reading “There is no keynote: a polyphonic retreat”

Regards

June 21, 2018

Wednesday 27 June 2018
18.00 – 19.30 hrs
RoSa vzw, Brussels, Belgium

Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay presents his navigational score for the library of the RoSa Kenniscentrum voor Gender en Feminisme, which leads participants through the collection following feelings, memories and personal curiosities.

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Foucault in Warsaw

June 13, 2018

On 25 May 2018 the Polish CRUSEV team hosted its final public seminar before the university’s summer break. The invited speaker was Professor Remigiusz Ryzinski, author of Foucault w Warszawie (Foucault in Warsaw), recently nominated for the prestigious Polish “Nike” literary award in the category of reportage. Ryzinski talked about his archival research and the oral … Continue reading “Foucault in Warsaw”

Adolpho Arrietta’s Queer 1970s: Les Intrigues de Sylvia Couski (1974) and Tam-Tam (1976)

February 7, 2018

Much queer cultural production in 1970s Spain, whether in comics, literature, music, or film, developed under the rubric of the “underground.” In this essay commission by LUX for Cruising Ground, Juan Suárez discusses how this label is as problematic as it is in many ways expressive and appropriate through the work of Arrietta.

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“Resistencias del Sur. Usos del Pasado, Periferias y Espacios de liberación sexual”/ “Resistance from the Queer South: Uses of the Past, Peripheries, and the Spaces of Sexual Liberation”

November 24, 2017

Friday 28 – Saturday 29 April 2018
Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencià
Solicitud de Comunicaciones/Call for Papers

The Spanish 1970s have been subject to considerable revisionary research in the last few years, in part because of the numerous characteristics that decade shares with our own. The purpose of this conference is not to return upon well-trodden ground, but to cast some light upon those aspects of the period that have been neglected by existing accounts, and to rethink the culture and politics of sexual dissidence in 1970s Spain in relation to three frames of reference: (s)exiles, parties and other forms of resistance, and queer counter-memories / militant anarchives.

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Cruising the Past

Sunday 13 August 2017
LUX, London

This day workshop explores cruising as a method for tracing the queer past and surviving in the present and future, drawing on Fiona Anderson and Laura Guy’s research into pre-HIV/AIDS queer social and sexual cultures, regeneration, and community building in the 1970s.

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Seminario Millones de perversas. La radicalidad sexual en los años setenta/Millions of perverts. Sexual radicality in the seventies

June 26, 2017

26-27 June 2017
CentroCentro y Conde Duque, Madrid

Millions of perverses aims to make collective formulas of struggle again accessible, explores genealogies of certain transgressive approaches to sexuality and gender, and activates in our present the political uses of the memories of sexual radicality that time and his official narrations have blurred.

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