Radiant: Poetry & Open Mic Night
-
When
- Where
-
Address
156 Forbes St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
-
Hours
6–8PM
-
Phone
+61 2 8936 0888
Indigenous women and queer folk have a particular power within the poetic form. Across the spoken, the sung, the written, the gathered, our women care for story and continue songs that began with the first sunrise. —Jazz Money
Join us at Eulogy for the Dyke Bar for a poetry, storytelling, and open mic night, curated by Wiradjuri poet and artist Jazz Money, and hosted by Sydney-based actor, dancer, poet, and powerhouse Mel Ree.
The evening explores poetry as a dynamic, contemporary experimental form, as well as a method through which to find yourself, community, and home. Mel Ree along with poets Adrian Mouhajer and Brooke Scobie will explore themes of queerness, love, desire, identity, family, cultural connection, and Country.
Mel Ree trained as an actor and identifies as a dancer, poet and fierce woman. Born in Papua New Guinea to the daughter of a chief, her ancestors sit at the base of her spine spurring her on to tell her story, hoping to spark wildfires within listeners that burn down differences, uniting us in our pain and understanding of this human condition.
Brooke Scobie is a queer Goorie woman, single mum, emerging writer, and community worker. She was born and bred on Bidjigal country in South West Sydney and now lives on Darkinjung land. In her writing, Brooke is most passionate about telling stories that centre identity, love and family using the imagery of Country.
Adrian Mouhajer was born and raised in Lakemba to conservative Muslim migrant Lebanese parents and is a twenty-seven year old non-binary lesbian Muslim Lebanese poet who explores themes of queerness, love, desire, family and cultural connection within their work. They are a member of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and won Highly Commended in the 2021 Sydney Opera House Antidote Mentorship for Diverse Emerging Writers. Their work has been published by Sydney Opera House, SBS voices, Aniko Press and Diversity Arts Australia. They also perform their poetry in local spaces and events, including the Sydney Opera House and Bankstown Arts Theatre.
—
Presented by UNSW Galleries, the National Art School and Sydney WorldPride, Eulogy for the Dyke Bar is a sculptural environment and memorial to bygone dyke bars. The installation incorporates a café and operating bar, and functions as an active community space for performances, cruising, socialising, and contemplating the future of queer spaces.
This project aims to reclaim the term ‘dyke’ in its most expansive sense and recognises that gender and identities are complex and fluid. Anyone who identifies with, or feels an allyship with, the dyke part of the queer spectrum is welcome and valued at the dyke bar.
Images: Radiant: Poetry & Open Mic Night for 'Eulogy for the Dyke Bar' at the National Art School Café, 2023. Photography: Bee Elton.