UVM reflections

After a harrowing week leading up to the exhibit debut, I arrived at University of Vermont at 6 am to install the exhibit. All went well and it was set up by time the Translating Identities Conference began.

The exhibit was set up in a large lobby area central to the conference space. The cozy chairs gave the space a relaxed feeling which fit well with the intention of the installation.

The workshop got off to a rocky beginning when the session was misprinted, but about sixty people got to see the website. Many of them left earlier when I invited them to take a look at the exhibit themselves.

TIC monitors informed me that many people who came during sessions took the time to watch the videos and/or read the panels. In between session I witnessed several people reading panels or discussing topics raised in the exhibit. Every time I got the chance, I brought out more printed material. By the end of the day, an estimated 800 people had passed through the space and taken the 200 exhibit companions and 100 zines. The day had been a success!

Donation!

The project received it's first monetary donation in the week leading up to the exhibit opening on October the 24th! The donation was enough to cover the web costs for the year. Thank you a lot Mr. Pangborn.

Vocalo Airing: A Killer Without Remorse

Vocalo is airing the audio doc I made about the Sexual Minorities Archives. Unfortunately, they referred to Bet by the wrong pronoun, I sent them a strongly worded e-mail saying they needed to correct that before they aired it. More details about the airing below:


A Killer Without Remorse
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Vocalo playlist image
Original broadcast

* Monday, October 12th, 2009 7:00am - 10:00am

Your host: Tom

Archive: No archive currently available.

Featured Vocaleros: susi7, TechieTranny, KarenGollrad, BLACKOUT
The Rundown

7:00am She told her shrink she wanted to be a man. Dating women.

8:00am Tortured and murdered in Wyoming because he was gay, Matthew Shepard became a national symbol of violence driven by hate. A new play talks to his killer, who ten years after the crime, expresses no remorse.

9:00am Music saves lives. A peace corps of musicians. They come to the rescue with instruments and learning.

And on the 20's, weather and traffic with Chester, the Vocalo.org traffic horse.
Playlist
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1.
Unnatural Cause Part III
Unnatural Cause Part III
Segment by susi7
Oct 10, 2009
2.
Bet Power I: The Archives
Bet Power I: The Archives
Audio
Segment by TechieTranny
Oct 10, 2009
3.
Pin-Up, Pilt-Down by Blamaday
Pin-Up, Pilt-Down by Blamaday
Audio
Segment by KarenGollrad
Oct 9, 2009
4.
Wrestle

More clips online

New film clips edits are up on youtube and on the website.



Louis Mitchell, a founding member of LAGADDA (Lesbians and Gays of African Decent for Democratic Action), speaks to sectarian differences in 1980's San Fransisco.



This is the first in a series of clips addressing the relationship between Transmasculinity and feminism. This features Alex Pangborn, a transgender activist, talking about addressing sexism before and after transitioning.


It's two weeks away from the exhibit debut and I've edited about 3/4 of my videos (different from the ones on the website). I've added a Merch page to the site and am looking into different methods to make the docs more referencable before adding too many more.

Vocalo debut and Improvments (Sept)

I edited together a story about housing discrimination which you can find under short docs.

It will e airing on vocalo, a collaborative radio station based out of Chicago, IL.

I've been going through another round of improvements on the website as I am determined to make it more navigable. For your convenience there is now a google search bar and will be a tag cloud as soon as I figure out the glitches. That is all a work in progress.

TIC Proposal Accepted

I got an email last week telling me that my Translating Identities proposal has been accepted. I am talking with the people to see what kind of space is available so I can move forward with my design plans.

I am also pricing out banners and blue print printing in order to get a rough estimate of what the exhibit will cost to put together.

Updating website

So the access tv show didn't work out as I had hoped. Due to technical difficulties, the person running the show could not play the clip on air. Most of the talk time ended up being taken up by trans 101 type stuff.

I did end up updating the website though. Most of things you might not notice. But I have changed the archives section to education tools and I will be uploading different kinds of material to be used for education in community-type spaces or public school classrooms or academic research. That will all be available free to download for anyone who wants it, and as always users are welcome to send me any content they would like to be available on that page as well.

Lastly, I have added a paypal secure donate button on most of the pages with rotating content. I am wanting to make all the material accessible to people of all income levels, but I also am paying for the webspace and bandwidth to run the project out of my own pocket. Pleas consider donating a few bucks if you can.

Air Time

I am leaving momentarily to go to the cable access station where I will be interviewed for the Gay liberation network's TV show. They will show the new preview clip from the trans oral history project.

Catch it on air tonight on cable channel 21 in Chicago from 6:30-7:00.

New content!

Hey all,

I have finally uploaded the second interview clip form bet power, entitle legacy. It's better than the first, so I urge you to check it out.

Also, I am going on the Gay Liberation Network's Chicago Public access TV show on Friday. I composed a clip from the project to show on air, and that can be viewed on youtube if you look on the channel TransOralHistory. There is also a link on the webpage under short docs.

Progress Since May

I have not updated this blog in months but I have been making progress, so here is a quick rundown…

MAY

I wrote into the Translating Identities Conference telling them about my project and asking if I could do an instillation of the exhibit during the conference at the end of October. They responded very positively and encouraged me to apply to host a session.

JUNE

I got a call from Brattleboro, Vermont asking if I could make a video clip to show at gallery walk, a monthly festival where art galleries stay open late and host various events. The Hooker Dunham Theatre was showing a queer rights film in honor of stonewall and wanted to use show a clip in the Gallery space. I create a small clip and sent in a flyer with info about me and the project on it.

I edited a clip from Bet Power’s interview and uploaded it to the website. It was the official first short doc clip.

JULY

I also moved to Chicago where I got in contact with people from GednerWorks and the Gay Liberation network. A cross-dresser who works with GLN agreed to be interviewed and expressed interest in conducting some oral history interviews.

The GLN invited me to be interviewed on their Public Access TV show. I am still waiting to confirm the interview but I will post about it if I end up doing it.

I finally filled out a bio and session form for the Translating Identities Conference and am e-mailing the transcending boundaries conference.

I am off to the Allied Media Conference as I type this. The conference kicks off with a session about transgender representation in independent media. Armed with flyers, business cards, and enthusiasm, I’m ready to meet potential allies.

Website Finished (for now)

After months of development, I am nearing a stopping point in designing the website. I am still not exactly pleased with a few elements, and I definitely have some major web projects ahead of me for next semester (like a fancy animated timeline, and an exhibit walk through). But for the moment I am pretty satisfied with the ground work I have laid and am eager to get working on content! Check out the site.

San Fransisco Historical Society

The San Fransisco's GLBT Historical Society has an exhibit going up about the transformation (aka gentrification) of Polk Street in the 1980's. I have contacted the exhibit curator about using his material in my exhibit. He seems friendly and sympathetic, so it looks like it will work out.

Web Design

So I haven't done work adding to the actual project in a long time. Hopefully I will rectify that somewhat before the semester ends. However, I have been working on designing a new website which will have interactive elements. I'm talking to artist about helping me bring to fruition my vision for the homepage, I was going to post the basic layout but the image's color were all off. I hope this is not indicative of a larger issue. I will post images within the next week.