Cross-border art and queer incursion: On working with queer youth from southern Africa

abstract

While southern Africa is defined by deep rifts of homophobia and transphobia, queer youth navigate this environment in innovative and creative ways. In this Profile I will explore, through the use of a participatory visual workshop, dubbed Art for Activism, the experiences of queer youth in this region. The Profile will explore the possibilities which this workshop offers to queer youth, the challenges experienced by queer youth and the strategies they use to deal with these challenges. I argue that creative approaches, like the Art for Activism workshop, allows for dislocation to be a successful strategy to engage queer youth.

keywords:

• queer
• youth
• activism
• southern Africa
• LGBTI

Notes

1. See Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity by Butler (1990), Epistemology of the Closet by Sedgwick (1990) and Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender and the End of Normal by Halberstam (2012) for examples of their work.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gabriel Hoosain Khan

GABRIEL HOOSAIN KHAN is the coordinator of the Youth and Education Project at Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA), a position he has held since January 2013. Prior to this he worked as the Archivist at GALA. GALA is a Johannesburg-based organisation that studies, preserves and promotes the history and contemporary experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in Africa. He brings to his work a keen interest and knowledge of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa as it intersects with other struggles for justice (especially the LGBTI one). He has also used his base at GALA to explore his interest in the use of creative methodologies such as visual art, drama and social media platforms to build the capacity of youth advocating for their rights. He is currently completing his Masters in Education at the University of Free State. As a queer Muslim, some of his areas of interest include Islam and same-sex sexuality, intersecting identities (sexuality, gender and race) and the struggles of youth in post-independence Africa. Email: [email protected]