Revolutionary Frequencies
photography exhibition, roundtable discussion, performance, & dance party
Friday, March 28th
Photo exhibition and reception from 5pm
Roundtable, performance and DJ sets from 6pm
Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry
929 E 60th Street
Free and Open to the public
*food and beverages will be served
Presented in partnership with Rebuild Foundation and UChicago’s Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion .
Exhibition: “Chronicles of Resistance” by Dato Koridze
Performance: by Uta Bekaia, Miss Angelíca Grace, and Empress Darling Shear.
Conversation with: Thomas DeFrantz, Theaster Gates, Jonathan Flately, Kris Trujillo, Dato Koridze, Uta Bekaia, and DJ Duane Powell.Moderated by Leah Feldman.
DJ sets: with DJ Duane Powell and Citizens Union (Dato Koridze).
5-6pm exhibition opening reception
6-7:30 roundtable
7:30 - 11:00 performance and DJ sets
Join us at the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry for Revolutionary Frequencies, a program that brings together artists and scholars to celebrate revolutionary frequencies and their embodied and gestural histories. Building on oft quoted adage: “If I can’t dance it’s not my revolution” we invite you to join us to dialogue, listen, and move together to build on the histories of dance and resistance from ACT UP to Chicago’s House scene and Tbilisi’s underground queer resistance.
The evening will begin with “Chronicles of Resistance,” an exhibition by photographer and DJ Dato Koridze documenting the role that the underground queer dance scene has played in the recent demonstrations in Tbilisi, Georgia. Demonstrators have been mobilizing in the streets for over two months against a Russian-led right wing turn in Georgian politics marked by the election of the Georgian Dream party, the passing of the Foreign Agent and Anti-LGBTQI laws, and the suspension of EU membership discussions in November. The spirit of the demonstrations takes inspiration from the underground queer club scene. Until it was outlawed, protesters were designing decorative masks to protect themselves at demonstrations and shield their identities from doxing efforts. They employ lasers, play music, and dance in the streets, developing collective movement and gestures of resistance.
After a reception and view of the exhibition, join us for a roundtable discussion about dance and resistance with Theaster Gates, Thomas DeFrantz, Kris Trujilo, Jonathan Flatley, DJ Duane Powell, Dato Koridze, and Uta Bekaia, moderated by Leah Feldman.
We will continue with a performance by drag artist Miss Angelíca Grace, Empress Darling Shear and Uta Bekaia featuring costumes by Bekaia. The performance will be immediately followed by two DJ sets by Citizens Union (Dato Koridze) and DJ Duane Powell.
Please join us for a celebration of music, dance, art, friendship, queer life, love, thought, and resistance!