Reclaiming Queerness, Reclaiming Palestine

Writers Against the War on Gaza and Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art invite the voices of artists, activists, and historians to participate in a variation of Lois Weaver’s experimental Long Table format, repurposing the private form of a dinner party as a structure for public conversation and engagement.

When, in November 2023, IOF soldier Yoav Atzmoni putatively raised the rainbow flag over the ruins of Gaza “in the name of love,” queer critics—some from the Middle East, others intimately acquainted with it—raised concerns about the continued weaponization of the symbols of gay liberation toward unsalutary ends. These critics correctly identify how such appropriations of the symbols of gay liberation make it unduly difficult for LGBTQ+ activists across the region to do their work, as the movement’s symbols become ever more associated with an imperialist project of mass killing. Is it possible to salvage symbols of queer liberation from groups that seek to instrumentalize queer suffering toward colonial ends? In fighting against homonationalism, ethnic cleansing, and Zionism, how can Pride possibly be reclaimed?

Reclaiming Queerness, Reclaiming Palestine is a two-part conversation series that brings together historians, anthropologists, artists, activists, and critics to discuss a shared lexicon of reclamation, as it relates to queer histories and to the struggle for Palestinian liberation. In the former case, queer activists have long recognized the possibility of reclaiming epithets like queer or f*gg*t, as powerful tools for self-affirmation. In the latter, the project of reclamation is at the heart of the struggle for Palestinian liberation as the Right to Return. Both work against homonationalist and ethnocratic regimes that aim to annihilate life in the present in order to impose mythic versions of the past. In so doing, they share a commitment to remaking the world as it ought to be.

About WAWOG

Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) is an ad hoc coalition committed to solidarity and the horizon of liberation for the Palestinian people. Drawing together writers, editors, and other culture workers, WAWOG hopes to provide ongoing infrastructure for cultural organizing in response to the war. This project is modeled on American Writers Against the Vietnam War, an organization founded in 1965.

Accessibility

Located at 26 Wooster Street, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art strives to provide a welcoming environment to all visitors. Five external steps lead to our entrance doors: a wheelchair lift is available. All galleries are wheelchair-accessible, and a single-occupancy accessible restroom is located behind the visitor services desk: all restrooms are gender-neutral. Large print didactics are available. Staff will work with individuals and groups who disclose accessibility needs in advance to accommodate them to the best of our ability. Visitors with disabilities and seniors are admitted with their caregiver.

The nearest accessible subway station for multiple trains is Broadway-Lafayette St. off the B, D, F, or M trains, approximately .6 of a mile away from the museum. More info on accessible stations can be found here.

For questions or access requests, please email [email protected].

Host or Publisher Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art