Queerness, Activism, & the Mission—Past to Present
Queerness, Activism, & the Mission—Past to Present is a lecture and walking tour that will contextualize Gray Area within its home in San Francisco’s Mission District. The lecture portion will be brief; the lion’s share of the session will be on the streets of the neighborhood.
The workshop will address the theme of Worlding Protocol through a lens of queerness, Mission-based activism, and the intersections between the two. The walking tour will highlight lost queer spaces, murals, sites of current and former activism, and other features of the Calle 24 Cultural District.
Following the workshop, our host Win Mixter will continue the conversation at an informal happy hour on the patio at nearby lesbian-owned Casements Bar (2351 Mission Street) from 6–7PM. Please note that this event is not an official part of the tour and drinks/ food are not included.
Course Logistics
Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021
Time: 3-6PM PT
Cost: $40
We also offer Diversity Scholarships. Apply here.
Experience Level: Open to all regardless of experience.
Requirements: Augmented Reality portions will be activated with a smartphone, so bring one if possible.
COVID-19 Protocol: The tour is in-person, so vaccination required. Masks highly encouraged. Read more about our visitor guidelines.
Workshop Outline
- Visit lost queer spaces in the Mission
- Highlight present loci of queerness in the Mission
- Locate activism in the Mission, past & present
- Identify intersections between queerness, activism, and Mission culture
- Use Augmented Reality to bring history to life
- Hear from contemporary queer artists and activists living and working in the Mission today
- Address the Festival theme question, “How do we negotiate the balance between our individual freedom and communal dependencies; and what practical reality can we build together?”
About the route
We’ll be walking about 2 miles on mostly flat streets, making several stops along the way in strategic locations to avoid blocking foot traffic. The stops will include lost queer sites, murals, businesses and community centers, and more! Please let us know ahead of time if you have any accessibility needs. Please bring your smartphone, a pair of headphones, your mask, and water.
Educational / Experiential Goals
Two primary questions that this session seeks to address are, “How can artistry, creativity, and technology serve the needs of activists in the contemporary Mission and San Francisco at-large? How can we find commonality between the struggles of all oppressed people to find collective liberation?”
About Technologies
We’ll use an Augmented Reality overlay to expand the history of a location with supplemental imagery. We’ll visually tie past to present by highlighting the intersection between queerness, activism, and Mission District culture.
