Drama Studies at Queen’s University Belfast serves up another great programme for Queer at Queen’s (Q@Q) 2020, with panels, discussions and performances around vital new work in queer, gender and performance studies.

All events are free and hosted on Zoom, with advance registration required.

New Northern Irish Scholarship in Gender Studies
Thursday 12th Nov 5-7pm

This panel brings together
some of the best emergent scholarship on queerness and gender in a Northern Irish arts context, to mark the ongoing growth in queer thinking and queer creativity in the region. The panel includes QUB doctoral researchers Sophie Anders, Ciara McAllister and Hilary McCollum.

Register in advance for this event HERE

This event is presented by Drama Studies at QUB in association with Outburst.

Artist Hours Fri 13th & Sat 14th Nov

We’re delighted to welcome a number of artist- scholars to this year’s – safely virtual – Queer at Queen’s events: performer and scholar Manola Gayatri, playwright and scholar Mojisola Adebayo and performer and scholar Nando Messias.

Each of these artists engages in work that is provocative, political and critically queer. Their work foregrounds queer modes of embodiment and desire and critiques the colonial, racist and homophobic institutions and structures that seek to shape bodies and desires.

Artist Hours sees these artists share work and thoughts on their practice.

For the final session, they’ll be joined in conversation with artist and scholar Hilary McCollum.

Friday 13th November

Hour 1:  Manola Gayatri   3-4pm

Register in advance for this event HERE

Hour 2:  Mojisola Adebayo  4.30-5.30pm

Register in advance for this event HERE

Saturday 14th November

Hour 3:  Nando Messias   11am-12pm

Register in advance for this event HERE

Final Roundtable session 12.30-13.30pm: with Manola Gayatri, Nando Messias and Hilary McCollum

Register in advance for this event HERE

This event is presented by QUB Drama and The Seamus Heaney Centre in association with Outburst, with support from Athena/SWAN at the School of Arts, English and Languages.

Over the last five years, Outburst has worked closely with queer/kuir producers, artists, festivals and activists across South America, North America and the Caribbean to create Outburst Americas, an exciting network of shared learning and co-creation and through mutual support. Supported by British Council, the collective has given birth to some incredible ideas and powerful collaborations, as well as supporting training and new commissions for artists and developing touring connections that we hope will continue to expand for many years to come.

We wanted to share those connections and learning with an even wider network of queer artists, makers and thinkers around the world, so we are delighted to announce OutAme, a new website that will feature artists, projects, toolkits and other resources included in and inspired by the project.

To launch the site we’re excited to present a special video by Brazilian rap artist Dani Nega, also launching her first solo album which was produced with the support of Outburst Americas 2020 grants. An audience favourite at Outburst last year with her exhilarating political energy, Nega’s infectious and powerful work speaks of life as a black, lesbian artist in urban Brazil. She takes on racism, police brutality and lesbophobia but also shares the joy of being part of a caring, united collective of black and queer community. Presented in Portuguese and subtitled in English, her film for Outburst is a specially recorded live performance that includes images from street protests and amplifies awareness of young black people killed by State violence.

Dani will join other queer artists and producers live after the short screening as we start to take on the important question:

What can we do through queer arts right now, across the world, to address the issues facing our communities?

We invite you to join the conversation.

FREE but limited tickets, register via booking.

HEEL CAMP

Sun 22nd Nov

Outburst is delighted to support the start of a glittering new initiative for budding young drag artistes!

Heel Camp! is an online workshop for young folk starting their drag journey, facilitated by celebrated Belfast drag queen Electra. The interactive programme will enable the growth of skills, persona and attitude for the young participants, aged 14-16 years, with plenty of room to explore their own ideas and creativity. This starter workshop will support participants to establish their own drag personalities within a safely facilitated, age appropriate and fun environment.

The first workshop has been pre booked to full capacity but the programme will open to new participants in the new year, building upon the individual needs of young drag artists for their own personal development. Keep an eye on our website for news.

THE FUTURE IS A DRAG

Sat 21st Nov 7pm

Online Event

Drag has had a whole new lease of life over the past 10 years, with Drag Race and alternative queens taking it to a whole new level of mainstream popularity and fierce creativity.

But the drag world has not been without its critics too and now our queer sacred clowns are facing a testing time, with restrictions particularly tight on gay club and bar culture.

What is the future for our queens? What roles can they play in the current social and political climate and how do we support each other through this devastating time for cabaret and club performers worldwide?

Join Electra and a host of drag favourites to share your questions, thoughts and ideas in this panel discussion and open forum.

FREE but booking for link essential.

With the wealth of queer creative talent and energy emerging in the North, it’s more vital than ever that we give young artists the support they need to develop their skills and abilities.

Emerging from conversations between Outburst’s Director Ruth McCarthy and award-winning writer and film director Stacey Gregg, Outburst is delighted to launch a new annual mentorship award through the festival, with the aim of supporting local queer creative folx to step into the next stages of their professional careers.

Bring It Back will pair an established queer arts practitioner or company with an emerging queer artist, writer, director or film maker to support one-on-one mentoring, industry networking and participation in a major in-development project.

We are delighted to announce that Belfast-based film maker Caleb J. Roberts is the recipient of our inaugural award.

Caleb is an MA student in Film production at Queen’s University Belfast. He’s the Writer/Director and Art Director of the short film From His Perspective, developed and screened as part of BBC’s Two Minute Masterpiece. An alumnus of the BFI Film Academy, Caleb won the Royal Television Society NI Student Award for Best Short Factual Film in 2019 for his work as the Director of Photography and Producer on Childhood.

Caleb will work with Stacey in the development stage of a feature film screenplay due to shoot this winter on location in Belfast; he will also shadow director Prasanna Puwanarajah during the filming. The production is thrilled to be collaborating with BRING IT BACK, and Caleb will have access to all phases of production from start to finish

A conversation between Stacey and Caleb about film, writing, this award and more will be available here on our website during festival week.