Sex Worker Culture: Doc by Macedonian Sex Work Activists, Call for Art in Rhode Island

Two really interesting sex worker culture and politics projects. I’m not affiliated with either, but I’m big fans of both!

Promoting the rights of sex workers in FYR Macedonia: Film Screening and Discussion at Bluestockings Bookstore – Thursday, July 23rd at 7 pm – FREE
WITNESS and partner organization, HOPS, will be screening their new
documentary on sex workers’ rights in Macedonia, on July 23 at Bluestockings Bookstore. Following the screening, WITNESS partner representative, Marija Tosheva will take part in a discussion on the role of the film in advocating for more just treatment for sex workers in Macedonia and Eastern Europe, and internationally as well.

Marija Tosheva is Program Director of Healthy Options Project Skopje (HOPS), a Macedonian NGO which since 1996 has run outreach and advocacy programs with sex workers and drug users, promoting safer behavior and enabling access to legal, health and social services, as well as resocialization and reintegration of sex workers, drug users, and their families. She is in New York for the summer editing the video with WITNESS.

DATE: July 23, 2009
TIME: 7:00 PM
PRICE: FREE
LOCATION: Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Wanted: Art Made By Sex WorkersShare
Body of Work is the working title of a small group exhibit that will take place in Providence, Rhode Island in the fall of 2009. Focusing exclusively on art made by sex workers, the show will attempt to shatter common myths about what it means to be a sex worker, while also providing much-needed gallery space for talented artists who may lack other means of showcasing their work.

With Providence quickly becoming the center of a national prostitution debate, it is vitally important to remind people that sex workers have minds as well as bodies, and should not be reduced to simple stereotypes. Because of this, work submitted to the show need not necessarily be sex work-related or even sex-related. Sex workers are a diverse group of people with diverse talents, interests, and skills, and this will be reflected in the final exhibit.

Submissions by hookers, strippers, rentboys, sex educators, porn stars, burlesque performers, dominatrices, go-go boys, and more are encouraged, though due to time and space constraints it should be emphasized that Body Of Work will ultimately focus on work by a small number of artists. If the quality of work reaches beyond the scope of the gallery, a larger exhibit may take place in a different venue at a later date.

If you are interested in submitting your work to the show, more specific/logistical deets are after the jump:

2-D, 3-D, and video media are welcome, as are works by writers interested in reading or performing at the event. Performance submissions are also encouraged, though the gallery’s small space will render large-scale performances very unlikely. The show will coincide with the second anniversary of Mixtapes For Hookers and be promoted as such, both locally and online.

To submit work for the show, e-mail (with the word ‘proposal’ in the subject line) yurigellerbentme@gmail.com. Include your name, location, and information about your work (titles, dates, dimensions, media.) Jpegs should be included as attachments. Links to artists’ websites are also encouraged.

About the show:

Work can be no bigger than 24X24, including framing. If the work is unframed, larger pieces may be acceptable.

Unfortunately, shipping will not be covered, so consider that if you are a non-local artist.

The deadline for submissions is August 7th. Work must be delivered to the gallery by the first week of September.

Any sales will be split 70 (you)/30 (the gallery.)