MESSSY: our preview event
Published on November 23, 2023 by M
Hi, I'm M - one of the rats of ERDR, the art collective that's organizing the Queer Futures Collective. Maybe you've spoken with me before as I currently run social media and lead our grant writing as part of my rat duties.
Earlier this week, we hosted MESSSY, a preview our spring event: a Night at the Orfelia. We invited artists to create a poster or preview of their work and share what they’re imagining 2053 will hold. MESSSY was an art show, a dance floor, and a gloopyhole into the future of queer nightlife (and the world around it).
We had low expectations for this event that we were funding out of pocket. However, y'all showed up! All of those hours running ourselves ragged were worth it to see how people's eyes lit up in the space. We welcomed just under 500 attendees and received at least 150 reflections on preferred futures (I did not have it in me to count them at 6 am). Resident Advisor selected us as an RA Pick event, Pride Source listed us as "5 Queer Things You Can Do Right Now-ish," and over 400k people watched our Twink Mines reel on Instagram. Those numbers pale next to the comments and praise you made sure to tell us in person and online.
Being in community with you is a blessing. We're very grateful to everyone who left us feedback on where we can grow. Thank you so much to all of the volunteers who helped us build out the set, and to everyone who came to envision our preferred futures.
We're tired in our bones, but energized for our spring event. Our vision might be hard to describe (we're definitely not writers by day) but we know deeply that it needs to be exist. We - Dylan, I, and all 500 of you who stopped by - know that trans joy, trans technologies, and trans spaces exist in the future. We'll make sure they do.
We are continuing to seek sponsorship, so if you or anyone you know would like to make an impact on queer Midwestern futures, please reach out. If this is what we could do with less than 10k, imagine what we can do with your help.
From a finances and data perspective, we're still logging all of our expenses and going through the feedback cards. We're looking forward to sharing out what we learn!
In gloop and in grime,
M Kuznetsov and Dylan Box
Earlier this week, we hosted MESSSY, a preview our spring event: a Night at the Orfelia. We invited artists to create a poster or preview of their work and share what they’re imagining 2053 will hold. MESSSY was an art show, a dance floor, and a gloopyhole into the future of queer nightlife (and the world around it).
We had low expectations for this event that we were funding out of pocket. However, y'all showed up! All of those hours running ourselves ragged were worth it to see how people's eyes lit up in the space. We welcomed just under 500 attendees and received at least 150 reflections on preferred futures (I did not have it in me to count them at 6 am). Resident Advisor selected us as an RA Pick event, Pride Source listed us as "5 Queer Things You Can Do Right Now-ish," and over 400k people watched our Twink Mines reel on Instagram. Those numbers pale next to the comments and praise you made sure to tell us in person and online.
Being in community with you is a blessing. We're very grateful to everyone who left us feedback on where we can grow. Thank you so much to all of the volunteers who helped us build out the set, and to everyone who came to envision our preferred futures.
We're tired in our bones, but energized for our spring event. Our vision might be hard to describe (we're definitely not writers by day) but we know deeply that it needs to be exist. We - Dylan, I, and all 500 of you who stopped by - know that trans joy, trans technologies, and trans spaces exist in the future. We'll make sure they do.
We are continuing to seek sponsorship, so if you or anyone you know would like to make an impact on queer Midwestern futures, please reach out. If this is what we could do with less than 10k, imagine what we can do with your help.
From a finances and data perspective, we're still logging all of our expenses and going through the feedback cards. We're looking forward to sharing out what we learn!
In gloop and in grime,
M Kuznetsov and Dylan Box