Digital Carnival Z: Visionary Organizing on Social Media

Visionary Organizing on Social Media: The Limits and Possibilities of Touch, Tenderness and Timelessness

Featuring Angelic Proof and Gina Goico

Grace Lee Boggs spoke of the need for "visionary organizing" in times of crisis. Through the limits of the COVID-19 pandemic and continual global crisis, much social organizing has occurred exclusively within the online space. Angelic Proof and Gina Goico, two media artists, activists and scholars - look towards the capacities of "visionary organizing" within social media spaces. They ask: what does it take to sustain and build a nurturance culture in online space? A culture that "is violence turned backwards" [1] and a culture that moves outside of systems of violence and towards cycles of profound care. What are the future visions of digital freedoms that challenge norms of organizing and archives that lead to an evolving map towards sustained legacies of queer, trans, Black, Indigenous and other marginalized publics?

From stock images, to algorithmic oppression, Proof and Goico are eager to imagine a digital future where there is more space for multiplicity and honest exchange. Goico and Proof will share mini-lectures, texts, and interactive activities for everyone to participate and imagine what it takes for the possibilities of touch, tenderness, and timelessness to exist online.

This artist talk is part of the public program series for Cinevolution's Digital Carnival Z, featuring UNION by Featured Artists Nancy Lee 李南屏 and Kiran Bhumber ਕਿਰਨਦੀਪ ਕੌਰ ਭੰਬਰ.

Discover the rest of the events in the series at www.DigitalCarnival.ca.

***

[1] Nora Samaran "Nurturance Culture”

About the Artists

Angelic(a) Proof [t(he)y] is a queer trans-gender Russian-Jewish poet and media visionary. As an advocate for justice in media, specifically towards imaginations of queerness, Angelic(a) has facilitated workshops across North America. A working group member of the Studio for Media Activism and Critical Thought at Ryerson University, and a dedicated researcher of emancipatory media systems, Angelic loves dreaming outside of systems of violence, digging up language, and moving towards multiplicity.

Angelic(a) has developed programs in partnership with the Museum of Anthropology, Jewish Queer Trans Vancouver and Everybody Is In Downtown Eastside, working in community cohesion through art and media. At the University of British Columbia, they founded the Artivism: Festival of Creative Resistance and co-curated UBC’s 2SLGBTQQIA+ Pride Festival. Throughout their studies, they developed research projects on the representations of sexual violence within news broadcasts as well as the oppressive algorithms dictating Google Images.

Angelic(a) Proof is a white settler who grew up on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) peoples. Angelic holds a Bachelor of Media Studies from the University of British Columbia. They are expected to graduate with an MA in Arts Politics from New York University in 2021.

Gina Goico

B.1989 | she/they | Dominican Republic/The Bronx

A queer afro-indigenous descendant, Goico is multidisciplinary artist, educator and self-proclaimed necia. Through their work, she navigates their identity and the spaces where they exist in the Dominican Republic and the United States. Through their career they have come to create a diverse body of work that ranges from embroidery to installations, ink drawings and performance. Goico also facilitates spaces for temporary communities and dialogues around healing in the current status quo. Goico was a Van Lier Fellow and artist in residence with Smack Mellon. They also participated in AIM fellowship at The Bronx Museum of the Arts; The Laundromat Project, Kelly Street Resident Artist, among others. They have exhibited in the US and the Dominican Republic, and continue to support actively socio-political initiatives in the island and in diaspora. Goico holds an AAS in Fine Arts and Illustration from Altos de Chavon the School of Design in the Dominican Republic and a BFA in Fine Arts from Parsons. They are expected to graduate from a MA in Arts Politics from NYU in 2021.

About Digital Carnival Z

Cinevolution’s annual flagship event, Digital Carnival is a festival of cutting-edge media art for community and artistic audiences of all ages. This year's theme of Z references the gender-neutral pronoun ‘zie,’ the emergent generation-Z, and the possibilities for moving beyond the XX/XY binary.

Headlined by UNION by Featured Artists Nancy Lee 李南屏 and Kiran Bhumber ਕਿਰਨਦੀਪ ਕੌਰ ਭੰਬਰ, the festival highlights 16 boundary-defying artists who are exploring different ways of understanding the relationship between bodies, gestures, culture and society.

From April 21 - June 5, Digital Carnival Z will feature art, performances and talks by Natasha “Courage” Bacchus, Kiran Bhumber ਕਿਰਨਦੀਪ ਕੌਰ ਭੰਬਰ, Lena Chen, Margaret Dragu and Justine A. Chambers, Mallory Donen, Robin Gaudreau/Rye, Gina Goico, Romi Kim/Skim, Nancy Lee 李南屏, Danielle Mackenzie Long, Mickey L.D. Morgan, Kofi Oduro (Illestpreacha), Cecilia Point, Angelic Proof, Juli Saragosa, and Sarah Shamash.

For more information, or to explore the festival, visit www.DigitalCarnival.ca.

Accessibility

ASL interpretation, automated captions in English, and descriptive language will be available at the event. The event will be recorded, and an English transcript will be made available with the recording after the event.

Cinevolution understands that access needs are different for everyone and that these needs can also change every day. We will do our best to accommodate your needs before you even attend our programming. However, if there are additional accessibility needs, we will try our best to accommodate.

For more information or specific requests, or to register for the event by email or phone, please contact Regan Shrumm, our Accessibility Coordinator, at 778-803-7150 ext. 105 or regan@cinevolutionmedia.com.

Acknowledgements

Digital Carnival Z is made possible with generous support from the Government of Canada, Canada Media Fund, TD Ready Commitment, BC Arts Council, the City of Richmond, and the City of Vancouver.

Richmond Art Gallery is the Exhibition Partner for the Featured Artist Exhibition, UNION by Nancy Lee 李南屏 and Kiran Bhumber ਕਿਰਨਦੀਪ ਕੌਰ ਭੰਬਰ.