a conversation on Abolitionist Trans/Queer Worldmaking with Eric Stanley and Kah Yangni

Sunday October 30, 2022

6:00pm: View We Are Universal mural with artist Kah Yangni, 1306 Frankford Avenue

6:30pm: Conversation with Dr. Stanley and Yangni, Harriett’s Bookshop, 258 E Girard 

In consideration of the impact the prison industrial complex has on trans, queer, and gender non-conforming people, this conversation brings trans/queer worldmaking strategies together with abolitionist ways of life. 

How can we grow cultures of refusal and resistance where joy and justice intermingle? What experiences of collective life and gender self-determination can move society beyond white supremacist tactics for assimilation? What will it take to not only dismantle the prison industrial complex but to also build liveable futures?

*Prior to the discussion at Harriett’s Bookshop, everyone is invited to meet at 6pm to view We Are Universal, the first large-scale public mural celebrating Philadelphians from the trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary communities.   

Speakers

Eric A. Stanley is an associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of Atmospheres of Violence: Structuring Antagonism and the Trans/Queer Ungovernable (Duke 2021). Along with Tourmaline and Johanna Burton, Eric edited the anthology Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2017) and with Nat Smith, they edited Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex (AK Press 2011/15). 

Click here to buy Atmospheres of Violence from Harriett’s Bookshop

Kah Yangni is an illustrator living in Philadelphia, PA. They make heartfelt art about justice, queerness, and joy. Kah’s artistic mission is to heal themself and others by making art that focuses on radical optimism, and the power we have to make the world a better place. Their art has been shared by people like Indya Moore of the television show Pose, and they’ve worked with the New York Times, Vice Media, The Washington Post, and Chronicle Books, as well as with causes like the Transgender Law Center and the Movement for Black Lives. They’ve been covered by NBC News and them, and their poster work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Kah is currently working on a picture book called “Not He or She, I’m Me” by A.M. Wild, for Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.

Click here to learn more about Kah

Curating Artist

Raegan Truax is a performance artist and scholar working broadly across the disciplines of performance studies, gender and sexuality studies, disability studies, dance, and visual culture. Their research explores questions about time, memory, territory, affective exchange, and labor—particularly in regard to queer feminist histories of subversive art and protest.

They are currently a Post- Doctoral Fellow in the Hurford ‘60 Center for the Arts and Humanities and Visiting Assistant Professor of Visual Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies at Haverford College.

Collaborating Venue

Harriett’s Bookshop
258 E. Girard Ave
Philadelphia, pa 19125

Sponsors

Sponsored by the John B. Hurford ‘60 Center for the Arts and Humanities, The Tri-Co Philly Engagement Grant, and the Distinguished Visitors Program, Haverford College.