Salon 16’s Queer Read & Respond Group is a fortnightly reading/writing group which will focus on queer theory, literature, film and art. This program of discussion and creative output is aimed at young creatives interested in Queer Identity and expression.

Meeting One – A discussion of Audre Lorde’s ‘The Uses of The Erotic: The Erotic as Power’.

The participants and gallery staff gathered together on Valentines day to discuss this text by Audre Lorde. The ground floor of the gallery had been set up with tables, candles and a rose and we had a fresh vegan chilli for the participants to enjoy. We began by talking about an overview of the text with many of the participants having read the text prior and brought along their initial thoughts and feelings. The conversation then covered various aspects of the main themes, eroticism, pleasure, pornography, love, sensation, isolation and connection. Many participants were confident enough to share emotionally and personally, alongside critically evaluating the text which brought a richness to the conversation.

For the response part of the evening the participants chose five words which came to mind after reading the text. Then we encouraged them to create sentences from these words. Participants created poetry, drawing and polemics and all confidently shared their creations to the rest of the group.

We look forward to seeing what they come up with next!

-Thomas

Featured Image: Tessa Boffin, from the series Angelic Rebels: Lesbians and Safer Sex (1989), reproduced in Boffin, Tessa and Sunil Gupta, Ecstatic Antibodies: Resisting the AIDS Mythology, Rivers Oram Press (1990)(© the estate of Tessa Boffin/Gupta+Singh Archive, London 2019).

These events are curated by Thomas Dixon & generously supported by Creative Scotland.