[spectre] Harm Reduction and Queer Care - Disruptive Fridays #6 - May 8

[Tatiana Bazzichelli]

Disruptive Fridays #6 - May 8, 2020
Harm Reduction and Queer Care

Starting Friday 5pm Berlin time.

The sixth edition of Disruptive Fridays features a conversation with
Pedro Marum (XenoEntities Network, Mina, Suspension, PT/DE), Mariana
Nobre V. (Performer, choreographer, queer rave instigator, Emotional CPR
- eCPR, Rabbit Hole and Lecken collectives, PT/DE), Mariana Cunha
(Kosmicare, PT) and Rafi (Artist, Organizer, TS Raver, DE), moderated by
Nada Bakr (Disruption Network Lab EG/DE).

During this conversation we will discuss harm reduction within
queerfeminist self-organized communities that welcome queers, trans, POC
and neurodivergent people to discuss, test and learn about psychoactive
substances. For long they have operated with structures that not only
provide moments of revelry but also much-needed care and acceptance for
many, who often find in these communities their peers, their kin, forms
of coping and resistance. In the current times of pandemic and isolation
they are debating how to continue this work.

As the clubs and parties close, where does all this energy go now? What
happens to all the bottled-up anxieties and loneliness? What happens to
the people that struggle with addiction and, instead of understanding,
find prejudice and discrimination? Who looks after those whose needs
have always been overlooked or oppressed? What happens now that
governments have (yet again) failed to protect, and these communities
have become de-fragmented and even more precarious under isolation? How
can we foster collective digital support, debates, talks and guidelines
about harm reduction and emotional support in self-isolation times?

With Pedro Marum, Mariana Cunha, Mariana Nobre V. and Rafi we will speak
about their ongoing projects and about “RAVELENGTH”, an upcoming project
in which they collaborate to generate accessible tools for harm
reduction, relief and empowerment within the queerfeminist electronic
music scene and raver communities. By organizing online discussions,
workshops and support groups in collaboration with artists, healthcare
professionals and local community organizers, they call for a culture of
solidarity across and beyond European borders.

Speakers:

Pedro Marum (XenoEntities Network, Mina, Suspension, PT/DE)
Marum is one of the instigators of the collective party mina (Lisbon),
co-founder of the label and artist platform suspension, and founder
member of XenoEntities Network. mina and suspension have started a
collaboration with harm reduction NGO Kosmicare, organising talks and
exchange groups with the queer community, raising awareness and
providing access to tools and knowledge on harm reduction. In response
to the pandemic crisis, together with other collectives they initiated
Ravelength.

Mariana Nobre V. (Performer, choreographer, queer rave instigator,
Emotional CPR (eCPR), Rabbit Hole and Lecken collectives, PT/DE)
Emotional CPR is a practice based on values of mutual support and
interpersonal communication for addressing personal and community
moments of crisis and distress. Having its origins on a public health
education program developed in the field of mental health, eCPR is now
being integrated with somatic practices and informed by queer principles
of consent, inclusion, collective action, access and solidarity. This
work is being developed by a team of eCPR practitioners and artists with
extensive experience in queer activism, movement research, queer
nightlife production and harm reduction.

Mariana Cunha (Kosmicare, PT)
Mariana works with Kosmicare, an NGO that envisions a world where drugs
are used with liberty and wisdom. She studied pharmacological and
neurosciences and has been working in harm reduction since 2017.
Currently, she runs a permanent drug checking laboratory in Lisbon. Her
interests include psychopharmacology, raves, science fiction and
everything in between.

Rafi (Artist, Organizer, TS Raver, DE)
Rafi is an organiser and artist based in Berlin. He organises with TS
Raver, a queer nightlife project that positions peer led harm reduction
teams as anchors for critical care.

Nada Bakr (Disruption Network Lab, EG/DE)
Nada Bakr is a curator, researcher and cultural manager based in Berlin.
She holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Media Arts Cultures from Aalborg
University. She works on different projects in Berlin and Cairo related
to visual arts, digital culture, art and activism, digital rights and
media art. Her work in the field of media art is developed through
research and practice on the intersection between art and technology.
Nada is the Managing Director and co-curator of Cairotronica - Cairo
Electronic and New Media Art festival, where she curates and manages the
biennial festival program. She works as project manager for the
conference and community programme and is a member of the Disruption
Network Lab e. V..
-- 
Tatiana Bazzichelli // Artistic Director
Disruption Network Lab
http://disruptionlab.org
Twitter: @disruptberlin // @t_bazz
PGP: disruptionlab.org/pgp