Image courtesy of Sister Spit 2017 Tour.
Sister Spit, the nationally touring queer, feminist spoken word event, will land at Art Exchange (ARTX) on Saturday, March 11. Co-hosted by The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach, this will be the sixth time the center has brought the event to the city, and the first time it has taken place at the recently renovated East Village arts facility.
“We are thrilled to partner with The Center to host this vibrant and dynamic arts program in our community,” said ARTX Executive Director Jay Hong in a statement. “Co-hosting Sister Spit is a tremendous opportunity for us to showcase our beautifully renovated space and resident artists and we look forward to welcoming several hundred attendees this year.”
Founded in San Francisco by award-winning author Michelle Tea during the 90s, the tour was relaunched as Sister Spit: The Next Generation in 2007 and maintains a revolving roster of established and emerging LGBTQ and allied artists. Sister Spit will bring to Long Beach seven touring queer and queer-inspired writers, artists and poets, presenting their critical and creative takes on myriad topics, such as feminism, race, size, class, identity, technology, gender and sexuality.
This year, Sister Spit’s 20th Anniversary Tour is produced by Bay Area-based nonprofit organization, RADAR Productions, and will feature a diverse lineup including Riverside-based poet and author Joshua Jennifer Espinoza (There Should Be Flowers), Foglifter Journal Contributing Editor Celeste Chan and multi-genre musician and dancer Maya Songbird.
Image courtesy of Virgie Tovar: Fat Activist, Sexologist & Author from Interrupt Magazine.
Also on the docket is nationally recognized author, activist and local fan favorite Virgie Tovar (http://www.virgietovar.com/), New York-based performer and writer Cathy de la Cruz (Funny Feminism columnist in Weird Sister), 2014 Jackson Literary Award Recipient and RADAR Productions Executive Director Juliana Delgado Lopera and Oakland-based poet and performer Denise Benavides (Writing Through Bipolar in Sixteen Steps and Split), according to the release.
Alongside its nationally touring artists, Sister Spit’s stop in Long Beach will also highlight local authors that will soon be announced.
“Sister Spit is a staple LGBTQ arts program in Long Beach and The Center is always honored to co-host,” said Porter Gilberg, the Center’s executive director, in a statement. “As one of the only queer arts events in the City, this event is a tremendous opportunity to witness some of the best and brightest emerging performers in the United States.”
Attendees will also have the opportunity to check out Art Exchange’s resident studio artists, who will have their adjacent spaces open to the community. Additionally, over a dozen local organizations will be tabling during the event to connect with attendees, share information and engage with event goers.
Image courtesy of Sister Spit 2017 Tour.
Set to take place on Saturday, March 11 at 7:00PM at Art Exchange, the event is free and open to the public. For more information visit the center’s website here or the Facebook event page here.
Art Exchange is located at 356 East 3rd Street.
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