a weekend honoring the trans women and fems of club culture
Trans women and fems have been foundational to club culture and electronic music, from synth pioneer Wendy Carlos to iconic club kids like Amanda Lepore, ballroom legends like Sinia Alaia, and game-changing producers such as SOPHIE and Arca. Through dance, sound, and visuals, they show that everyone has the ability to dream up new versions of themselves, even if you have to fight tooth and nail to make it happen. Nightlife subcultures have long offered spaces for work, community, and survival, especially for transfems who are often shut out from more mainstream opportunities.
Within nightlife subcultures transfem’s art often finds glitchy and creative ways to push through dysphoria: manipulating pitch and distorting vocals, exaggerating feminine dance poses and movements, and creating fantastical, transformational versions of themselves through digital visuals. These aesthetics are especially important for the development of hyperpop, noise, and ballroom, influencing music and pop culture beyond the clubs.
This weekend will be a blend of informative and hands-on experiences. You can learn about transfeminism at a workshop, and watch short films and archival footage on the history of trans women and fems in electronic music. To get your hands dirty yourself, you can join a dance workshop on feminine sensuality, a skill-sharing on digital vocal editing and distortion, as well as a collective session for making glitchy visuals of yourself.
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