Duration: 12:00-17:30 (break included)

Black, indigenous, and queer of color presence is often misrepresented or forgotten in historical documentation. In this archive workshop which accompanies the exhibition Young Birds from Strange Mountains, we ask ourselves how our stories appear, who narrates them, and craft our own contributions to intervene in hegemonic narratives. Our goal is to question the line between private and public archives, and formats of archiving through the lens of Southeast Asian (diasporic) queer archiving. In doing so, we hope to create a dialogue between archival materials, individuals and creativity.

In the first part of the workshop, we will tour the archive of Schwules Museum Berlin  and put them in conversation with  the archive-in-exhibition of Young Birds, the Strange Mountain Archive. In doing so, we will engage with queer archival practices, queer theories and reflections by various scholars, activists, artists and poets on sharing one’s own story.

In the second part, we will do writing exercises, and creatively engage with the archive by making visual or written contributions, e.g. mini-zines, collages, letters, poems, short prose.

This archiving workshop is aimed at all queer BIPOC. It will be held in spoken English. Please register at fuehrungen@schwulesmuseum.de. Participation is limited to 12 people. In order to create a safer space, please state your positionality as a BIPOC, and a few lines about your motivation to attend the workshop in your E-mail. The workshop is free of charge.

Jessica Walter (she/her) is a literary and cultural studies scholar with a focus on diaspora, postcolonialism and queer theory. As a research trainee at the Schwules Museum, she is involved with the archive, exhibitions, and education/outreach. In the archive, she is interested in affects and temporality, particularly related to South Asian diasporic subjects.

Thao Ho (she/her) is a researcher, activist and writer. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, as part of the research project “Tales of the Ordinary Diasporic” led by Prof. Dr. Elahe Haschemi Yekani. She is interested in political organising practices and alternative ways of archiving.

This workshop belongs to the accompanying program of the exhibition Young Birds from Strange Mountains.