Zines
Some History

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QUEERUPTION is a free DIY radical queer gathering that has so far happened in London, New York, San Francisco, Berlin and Amsterdam. Every Queeruption is a little different from the last one, shaped by the people who plan it, the community that makes it happen and the possibilities of each new location.

In some of its previous incarnations, QUEERUPTION has been dubbed 3 days of art, action and anarchy (London, 1998), a radical queer encuentro (New York, 1999), an explosion of sex and politics (London, 2002), and a great queer camping trip (Berlin, 2003).

These gatherings have included shared vegan meals, political discussions, direct actions, skills workshops, bands, spoken word, dress-up and cabaret, dance parties, film screenings, radical sex, spontaneous haircuts and more.

While some gatherings have been more communal and other more spread out, some held in the city and others rurally, the overall effect is one of building radical queer community, both within the local scene and internationally.

Ongoing discussions within the community include topics of race, class and cultural exclusivity, ablism, gender binarism/ transphobia and the reproduction of oppressive sexual norms within radical communities.

These topics are of central concern for many of us in our personal lives as well as in the political sphere, and they also come within the context of QUEERUPTION itself. As a community, in an evolving way, we are grappling with these issues.

ZINES

The Queeruption collective has so far produced three zines. Click on the thumbnails below to read the first one.

Queeruption Zine 1 (December 2003):

QUEERUPTION is a DIY event in that every person who attends is ideally a participant, whether that means cooking, performing, making a workshop, doing first aid, planning a political action, or helping to clean up when the party is over. There should be no distinction between organisers and attendees. it also means that you don’t have to be an expert or professional - if you want to do something – do it!!!

QUEERUPTION gatherings are free and donation based. No one who organises, performs, screens a film, or makes a flyer for the gathering is paid, and no one is turned away from any event or accommodation for lack of funds. As much as possible, space, meals, materials and equipment are acquired by donation and innovation - but some aspects of the gathering inevitably cost money. So please give what you can.

The money raised at our events will be used to cover the initial costs of the gathering.

Some History

The first QUEERUPTION happened in the Spring of 1998, when about 100 queers spent a weekend together in a squatted building in South London. The goal of the organisers was to make a politically inspiring and educational gathering that was open to all, and was about us all taking initiative, creating, and participating, instead of just consuming a lifestyle sold to us.

Since then, QUEERUPTION gatherings have happened in New York, San Francisco, London again, Berlin and Amsterdam.

In London, Berlin and Amsterdam QUEERUPTION took place in a single location where everyone who wanted could live together communally. In Berlin, the political crackdown on squatting made it impossible to house everyone together centrally, so the gathering was held outside of the city on squatted land.

In New York and San Francisco, queeruptors were welcomed in a variety of venues, including warehouse collectives, clubs, art galleries, infoshops, an alternative college campus, and individual homes.