Party at the End of Gender-Normativity

A public art project presenting illustrated futures of friendship, care, intimacy, and celebration beyond the confines of the gender-binary. 
 
In the Indian subcontinent, the struggle against gender norms is deeply tied to the movement against caste segregation. In 13 Century CE, Janabai, an oppressed-caste worker wrote poems about breaking out of the shackles of the oppressive brahmin priest caste, "cymbals in hand, a veena upon my shoulder, I go about; who dares to stop me?" Building on this position of radical optimism, we draw a line starting with her legacy moving through those termed ‘witches’ and burned at the stake, via the angry chants of the Black Trans women* of Stonewall Inn as well as the lives of many powerful gender-dissidents, to manifest the end of 
gender-normativity in 2121. 
 
Covid-19 has created an alienated world that is affecting trans* folks in disproportionate ways. The consequences are loss of income, as well as undue pressure on those living with unsupportive families and/or in regions where trans* people face high risk of violence. One key impact has been our isolation from spaces where we go to express ourselves freely in the company of our trans* families. The party has been such a communal liberatory situation, with histories ranging from Kinnar gharanas in South Asia to Black-led balls of New York City. 
 
This project — by a team of trans* & non-binary creatives — remembers such moments of frenzied dancing, passionate conversation, frantic fondling, & comfortable cuddling to vision parties at the end of gender-normativity. Newly comissioned large-scale illustrations were created together embodying the dynamic energy of party & after-party spaces we have missed dearly. These graphics, printed at larger than life sizes, are then installed on the streets of Vienna in order that gender-deviant bodies from 2121 can beckon the people of the city towards a future where we feel safe to stand out.