Asian Pacific American Community at The Center tag:www.thedccenter.org,2009-10-30:/blog//1 2012-05-30T20:02:22Z Movable Type 4.32-en dcglbtapihttp://feedburner.google.com Social Change and Intersectional Activism tag:www.thedccenter.org,2012:/blog//1.2435 2012-05-25T18:57:58Z 2012-05-25T19:26:55Z Join us for a presentation and discussion on the ground-breaking new book Social Change and Intersectional Activism, the Spirit of Social Movements with author Sharon Doetsch-Kidder. This presentation will take place as part of the 2012 OutWrite LGBT Book Fair. Saturday August 4th, 11:00 AM, the DC Center for the LGBT Community, 1318 U Street NW. Sharon Doetsch-Kidder will read from and comment on her book. This will be followed by a panel discussing featuring several of the activists referenced in the book. Social Change and Intersectional Activism: The Spirit of Social Movement finds in oral histories of 'intersectional activism' - activism that addresses multiple forms of oppression or discrimination (racism, classism, sexism, etc.) - narratives of love, faith, and joy that drive, guide, and sustain the practice of social change. Reading these texts in relation to feminist, queer, and race theory and Buddhist philosophy, Doetsch-Kidder argues that an understanding of spirit is crucial to explaining the power that social movements have to change hearts, minds, and social structures and to understanding the ways in which leaders of social change organizations influence others. Focusing on the best of what activists do, this project draws from their stories lessons and reminders about the pleasures and wonders of social change and the power of kindness and principled action in the face of injustice. The OutWrite Book Fair will include several book readings, poetry readings, and literary discussions. Several book publishers will display and sell recently published LGBT books, and the DC Center will have over 1,000 used LGBT themed books for sale at the event (many at only $1 each). Find out more at www.outwritedc.org. The DC Center socialchange.jpgJoin us for a presentation and discussion on the ground-breaking new book Social Change and Intersectional Activism, the Spirit of Social Movements with author Sharon Doetsch-Kidder. This presentation will take place as part of the 2012 OutWrite LGBT Book Fair. Saturday August 4th, 11:00 AM, the DC Center for the LGBT Community, 1318 U Street NW. Sharon Doetsch-Kidder will read from and comment on her book. This will be followed by a panel discussing featuring several of the activists referenced in the book.

Social Change and Intersectional Activism: The Spirit of Social Movement finds in oral histories of 'intersectional activism' - activism that addresses multiple forms of oppression or discrimination (racism, classism, sexism, etc.) - narratives of love, faith, and joy that drive, guide, and sustain the practice of social change. Reading these texts in relation to feminist, queer, and race theory and Buddhist philosophy, Doetsch-Kidder argues that an understanding of spirit is crucial to explaining the power that social movements have to change hearts, minds, and social structures and to understanding the ways in which leaders of social change organizations influence others. Focusing on the best of what activists do, this project draws from their stories lessons and reminders about the pleasures and wonders of social change and the power of kindness and principled action in the face of injustice.

The OutWrite Book Fair will include several book readings, poetry readings, and literary discussions. Several book publishers will display and sell recently published LGBT books, and the DC Center will have over 1,000 used LGBT themed books for sale at the event (many at only $1 each). Find out more at www.outwritedc.org.

]]> The DC Center and the Rainbow Dragon Fund Announce Partnership tag:www.thedccenter.org,2012:/blog//1.2294 2012-03-27T01:22:53Z 2012-04-14T01:58:08Z The DC Center and the Rainbow Dragon Fund are proud to announce a new partnership this year. The DC Center serves as fiscal sponsor of the Rainbow Dragon Fund, DC's only queer Asian American and Pacific Islander giving circle. "The DC Center is proud to support the work of the Rainbow Dragon Fund," stated David Mariner, Executive Director of the DC Center. The mission of the Rainbow Dragon Fund is: To increase social justice philanthropic impact in support of queer AAPI individuals, organizations and/or community in the DC metropolitan area, andTo provide/build a fun, supportive, and engaging vehicle for collective philanthropy by and for queer AAPIs. "Giving circles are a great way to increase your philanthropic impact through collaboration and community," said Aaditi Dubale, a founding member. "We thank the DC Center for their support and look forward to a strong start." The Rainbow Dragon Fund will be hosting their launch party next week on April 5th at Larry's Lounge (1840 18th Street NW). For more information about the Rainbow Dragon Fund, visit: http://www.rainbowdragonfund.org/ To learn more about the DC Center's work the local Asian American and Pacific Islander LGBT Community check out Center APA on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/centerapa or on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/centerapa The DC Center rainbowdragonfund.gifThe DC Center and the Rainbow Dragon Fund are proud to announce a new partnership this year. The DC Center serves as fiscal sponsor of the Rainbow Dragon Fund, DC's only queer Asian American and Pacific Islander giving circle.

"The DC Center is proud to support the work of the Rainbow Dragon Fund," stated David Mariner, Executive Director of the DC Center.

The mission of the Rainbow Dragon Fund is:

  • To increase social justice philanthropic impact in support of queer AAPI individuals, organizations and/or community in the DC metropolitan area, and
  • To provide/build a fun, supportive, and engaging vehicle for collective philanthropy by and for queer AAPIs.

"Giving circles are a great way to increase your philanthropic impact through collaboration and community," said Aaditi Dubale, a founding member. "We thank the DC Center for their support and look forward to a strong start."

The Rainbow Dragon Fund will be hosting their launch party next week on April 5th at Larry's Lounge (1840 18th Street NW). For more information about the Rainbow Dragon Fund, visit: http://www.rainbowdragonfund.org/

To learn more about the DC Center's work the local Asian American and Pacific Islander LGBT Community check out Center APA on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/centerapa or on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/centerapa

]]> Happy Hour Celebrating Black History Month tag:www.thedccenter.org,2012:/blog//1.2228 2012-02-22T19:29:03Z 2012-02-22T22:21:31Z Join us for a social mixer celebrating Black History Month as we foster unity, leadership and collaboration. Join the leaders and supporters of DC's largest People of Color Pride celebrations as we celebrate our identity, diversity and history. This is an excellent networking opportunity with LGBTQ People of Color community advocates. Join us at Number Nine (2nd floor) for 2-4-1 happy hour specials--- order any drink and get a second drink free! Monday, February 27th 6:00-8:00pm Number Nine, 2nd Floor 1435 P St NW Washington, DC Please RSVP via Facebook For questions contact David M. Perez at DPerez@LatinoGLBTHistory.com, Earl Fowlkes at efowlkes@dcblackpride.org or Puesh Kumar at President@khushdc.org. Jason 2900_Rainbow_Martini_Posters.1.1.jpg

Join us for a social mixer celebrating Black History Month as we foster unity, leadership and collaboration. Join the leaders and supporters of DC's largest People of Color Pride celebrations as we celebrate our identity, diversity and history. This is an excellent networking opportunity with LGBTQ People of Color community advocates. Join us at Number Nine (2nd floor) for 2-4-1 happy hour specials--- order any drink and get a second drink free!

Monday, February 27th 6:00-8:00pm
Number Nine, 2nd Floor 1435 P St NW Washington, DC

Please RSVP via Facebook

For questions contact David M. Perez at DPerez@LatinoGLBTHistory.com, Earl Fowlkes at efowlkes@dcblackpride.org or Puesh Kumar at President@khushdc.org.

]]> JALWA: DC LGBT Bollywood Dance Party tag:www.thedccenter.org,2012:/blog//1.2204 2012-02-09T21:26:10Z 2012-02-09T21:40:22Z KhushDC is bringing back Jalwa parties - DC's LGBTQ Bollywood dance party! Friday March 2nd at the Green Lantern. Doors open at 10:00 PM. Tickets: $12 before 11pm and $15 after Bollywood beats all night long! For more information contact board@khushdc.org. KhushDC is a social, support and political group that provides a safe and supportive environment, promotes awareness and acceptance, and fosters positive cultural and sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and additional gender or sexual minority South Asians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For more information about the Asian Pacific American LGBT Community in DC, check out these links: Center APA on Facebook Center APA on Twitter The DC Center jalwa.jpgKhushDC is bringing back Jalwa parties - DC's LGBTQ Bollywood dance party! Friday March 2nd at the Green Lantern. Doors open at 10:00 PM. Tickets: $12 before 11pm and $15 after

Bollywood beats all night long! For more information contact board@khushdc.org.

KhushDC is a social, support and political group that provides a safe and supportive environment, promotes awareness and acceptance, and fosters positive cultural and sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and additional gender or sexual minority South Asians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

For more information about the Asian Pacific American LGBT Community in DC, check out these links:

Center APA on Facebook

Center APA on Twitter

]]> Khush DC Book Club: Ninny's Natter tag:www.thedccenter.org,2012:/blog//1.2194 2012-02-05T05:10:27Z 2012-02-09T21:34:24Z Khush DC is excited to announce our first book club meeting of the year! This month's book will be Ninny's Natter by Ninad Jog, a KhushDC community member! The book club meeting will take place on Sunday, February 12th, 2012 at The DC Center beginning at 2:00 PM. Immediately following our discussion, KhushDC is pleased to host a special Q&A session with the author. You can purchase a copy of the book (paperback or Kindle version) on Amazon or if you require assistance in obtaining a book, feel free to contact Jeff Ajanee at vp @ khushdc.org (without spaces). Have suggestion for future book club books? Email Jeff today! KhushDC is a social, support and political group that provides a safe and supportive environment, promotes awareness and acceptance, and fosters positive cultural and sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and additional gender or sexual minority South Asians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For more information about the Asian Pacific American LGBT Community in DC, check out these links: Center APA on Facebook Center APA on Twitter The DC Center ninny.gifKhush DC is excited to announce our first book club meeting of the year! This month's book will be Ninny's Natter by Ninad Jog, a KhushDC community member!

The book club meeting will take place on Sunday, February 12th, 2012 at The DC Center beginning at 2:00 PM. Immediately following our discussion, KhushDC is pleased to host a special Q&A session with the author. You can purchase a copy of the book (paperback or Kindle version) on Amazon or if you require assistance in obtaining a book, feel free to contact Jeff Ajanee at vp @ khushdc.org (without spaces). Have suggestion for future book club books? Email Jeff today!

KhushDC is a social, support and political group that provides a safe and supportive environment, promotes awareness and acceptance, and fosters positive cultural and sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and additional gender or sexual minority South Asians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

For more information about the Asian Pacific American LGBT Community in DC, check out these links:

Center APA on Facebook

Center APA on Twitter

]]> Khush DC Valentines Day Happy Hour tag:www.thedccenter.org,2012:/blog//1.2186 2012-02-02T06:12:53Z 2012-02-05T05:27:54Z Valentines Happy Hour to celebrate the love for each other, the love for our community, and love for those special ones in our lives. We'll have drink specials and Larry's is offering a special "Masti Mai Tai" for $4 for KhushDC family and friends. The cost to attend is free, but if you have a few extra dollars, please consider donating towards the Jalwa party (more below). February 11th at 6:30 PM at Larry's Lounge (1836 18th Street NW, 20009). KhushDC is a social, support and political group that provides a safe and supportive environment, promotes awareness and acceptance, and fosters positive cultural and sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and additional gender or sexual minority South Asians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Facebook Event Page. For more information about the Asian Pacific American LGBT Community in DC, check out these links: Center APA on Facebook Center APA on Twitter The DC Center khushdcvalentine.jpgValentines Happy Hour to celebrate the love for each other, the love for our community, and love for those special ones in our lives. We'll have drink specials and Larry's is offering a special "Masti Mai Tai" for $4 for KhushDC family and friends. The cost to attend is free, but if you have a few extra dollars, please consider donating towards the Jalwa party (more below).

February 11th at 6:30 PM at Larry's Lounge (1836 18th Street NW, 20009).

KhushDC is a social, support and political group that provides a safe and supportive environment, promotes awareness and acceptance, and fosters positive cultural and sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and additional gender or sexual minority South Asians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Facebook Event Page.

For more information about the Asian Pacific American LGBT Community in DC, check out these links:

Center APA on Facebook

Center APA on Twitter

]]> God Loves Pavement: Two Brown Authors Hit the Road tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.2042 2011-11-24T02:06:55Z 2012-02-11T21:22:27Z Farzana Doctor and Vivek Shraya first bonded while on a five hour drive to a joint book reading. They had such a great time that they decided to keep driving, into the US, only to do more readings and to pick up snacks along the way. KHUSH DC and OutWrite present God Loves Pavement: Two Brown Authors Hit the Road to the DC Center on Thursday March 29th at 7:00 PM. The DC Center is located at 1318 U Street NW. Farzana Doctor is a Toronto-based author and the recipient of the Writers' Trust of Canada's Dayne Ogilvie Grant for an emerging gay Canadian author (2011). Her first novel, Stealing Nasreen, received critical acclaim and earned a devoted readership upon its release in 2007. She is currently touring Six Metres of Pavement, which Publishers Weekly has praised as "..a paean to second chances." She also provides private practice psychotherapy services, delivers workshops on writing, queer and trans issues, and other diversity-related topics. She is a co-curator of the Brockton Writers Series. Six Metres of Pavement is a novel about Ismail Boxwala, a man who made the worst mistake of his life one summer morning twenty years ago. After his daughter's tragic death, he struggles to continue living. A divorce, years of heavy drinking, and sex with strangers only leave him more alone. Ismail's story begins to change after he reluctantly befriends two women: Fatima, a queer activist kicked out of her parents' home; and Celia, his grieving Portuguese-Canadian neighbour who lives six metres away. A slow-simmering romance develops between Ismail and Celia. Meanwhile, dangers lead Fatima to his doorstep. Each makes complicated demands of him, ones he is uncertain he can meet. Vivek Shraya is a Toronto-based artist and arts educator. Winner of the We Are Listening International Singer/Songwriter Award, Vivek has released multiple albums including his sixth record, 1:1, to be released this fall. God Loves Hair, his first collection of short stories, was a 2011 Lambda Literary Award finalist, won the Applied Arts Award for Illustration in 2010, and is being used as a textbook at several post-secondary institutions. Vivek delivers workshops and lectures on writing, art, gender, sexuality and homophobia. Vivek has performed internationally, sharing the stage with Tegan and Sara, Dragonette, and Melissa Ferrick, and appearing at NXNE, CMW, and Word on the Street. His music has also been featured on the TV show Degrassi. Seeking Single White Male, his first short film, is being screened at festivals throughout 2011. A second short, Ache in My Name, is available to watch online. God Loves Hair is a collection of 20 short stories following a tender, intellectual, and curious child as he navigates complex realms of sexuality, gender, racial politics, religion, and belonging. Told with the poignant insight and honesty that only the voice of a young mind can convey, the stories are accompanied by the award-winning illustrations of Toronto artist Juliana Neufeld. Facebook Event Page This even was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. The DC Center pavement.jpgFarzana Doctor and Vivek Shraya first bonded while on a five hour drive to a joint book reading. They had such a great time that they decided to keep driving, into the US, only to do more readings and to pick up snacks along the way.

KHUSH DC and OutWrite present God Loves Pavement: Two Brown Authors Hit the Road to the DC Center on Thursday March 29th at 7:00 PM. The DC Center is located at 1318 U Street NW.

Farzana Doctor is a Toronto-based author and the recipient of the Writers' Trust of Canada's Dayne Ogilvie Grant for an emerging gay Canadian author (2011). Her first novel, Stealing Nasreen, received critical acclaim and earned a devoted readership upon its release in 2007. She is currently touring Six Metres of Pavement, which Publishers Weekly has praised as "..a paean to second chances."

She also provides private practice psychotherapy services, delivers workshops on writing, queer and trans issues, and other diversity-related topics. She is a co-curator of the Brockton Writers Series.

Six Metres of Pavement is a novel about Ismail Boxwala, a man who made the worst mistake of his life one summer morning twenty years ago. After his daughter's tragic death, he struggles to continue living. A divorce, years of heavy drinking, and sex with strangers only leave him more alone.

Ismail's story begins to change after he reluctantly befriends two women: Fatima, a queer activist kicked out of her parents' home; and Celia, his grieving Portuguese-Canadian neighbour who lives six metres away. A slow-simmering romance develops between Ismail and Celia. Meanwhile, dangers lead Fatima to his doorstep. Each makes complicated demands of him, ones he is uncertain he can meet.

Vivek Shraya is a Toronto-based artist and arts educator. Winner of the We Are Listening International Singer/Songwriter Award, Vivek has released multiple albums including his sixth record, 1:1, to be released this fall.

God Loves Hair, his first collection of short stories, was a 2011 Lambda Literary Award finalist, won the Applied Arts Award for Illustration in 2010, and is being used as a textbook at several post-secondary institutions. Vivek delivers workshops and lectures on writing, art, gender, sexuality and homophobia.

Vivek has performed internationally, sharing the stage with Tegan and Sara, Dragonette, and Melissa Ferrick, and appearing at NXNE, CMW, and Word on the Street. His music has also been featured on the TV show Degrassi.

Seeking Single White Male, his first short film, is being screened at festivals throughout 2011. A second short, Ache in My Name, is available to watch online.

God Loves Hair is a collection of 20 short stories following a tender, intellectual, and curious child as he navigates complex realms of sexuality, gender, racial politics, religion, and belonging.

Told with the poignant insight and honesty that only the voice of a young mind can convey, the stories are accompanied by the award-winning illustrations of Toronto artist Juliana Neufeld.

Facebook Event Page

This even was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc.


]]> National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.2029 2011-11-19T19:59:51Z 2011-11-19T20:18:08Z May 19 is National Asian and Pacific Islander (API) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The Banyan Tree Project, a national campaign to end the silence and shame surrounding HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander communities, is the lead organizer for this event nationwide. Find out more about the Bayan Tree Project at www.banyantreeproject.org. To find out more about the LGBT Asian Pacific American community in Washington DC visit us on facebook at facebook.com/centerapa or on twitter at twitter.com/centerapa. The DC Center apiaidsday.pngMay 19 is National Asian and Pacific Islander (API) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The Banyan Tree Project, a national campaign to end the silence and shame surrounding HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander communities, is the lead organizer for this event nationwide.

Find out more about the Bayan Tree Project at www.banyantreeproject.org. To find out more about the LGBT Asian Pacific American community in Washington DC visit us on facebook at twitter.com/centerapa.

]]> Sulu DC 2nd Year Anniversary & Awards Show tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.2014 2011-11-15T18:44:15Z 2011-11-15T20:04:22Z Recognized as "The Face of DC Poetry" by The Washington Post, Sulu DC will celebrate its second year of presenting high-quality showcases of Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) performance artists at a special fundraiser Anniversary & Awards Show on Saturday, November 19 at Artisphere in Arlington, VA. This special night of performances from AAPI artists will be hosted by critically acclaimed spoken word pioneer, Regie Cabico and will feature: --A screening of "Wedding Night" and other short films by deaf filmmaker Sabina England; --Keva I. Lee, a professional dominatrix and former counselor for sex workers in the criminal justice system; --Chip Han, Virginia-based beat boxer and winner of the 2010 Kollaboration DC talent showcase; --J Pharaoh & the Manhattan Project, a hip-hop/soul/rock band out of Virginia Beach --DJ Boo, a Filipino-American DJ and musician based in New York The show will also celebrate and recognize members of the local and regional AAPI community by presenting the following awards: Artist of the Year, Community Contribution, Community Partner, as well as the Sulu DC Audience, Star, and House Awards. The 2nd Anniversary and Awards Show will take place on Saturday, November 19 at 6:30 pm at Artisphere. Tickets are available online for $20. To purchase tickets, visit http://tickets.artisphere.com. The show is supported in part by Toki Underground, DC APA Film, Ichiban Sushi in McLean, Kollaboration DC, and Artisphere. More information about the show's artists, Sulu DC and donating to Sulu DC is available at http://suludc.com. Front Desk Sulu 2nd Anniversary graphic.png

Recognized as "The Face of DC Poetry" by The Washington Post, Sulu DC will celebrate its second year of presenting high-quality showcases of Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) performance artists at a special fundraiser Anniversary & Awards Show on Saturday, November 19 at Artisphere in Arlington, VA.

This special night of performances from AAPI artists will be hosted by critically acclaimed spoken word pioneer, Regie Cabico and will feature:

--A screening of "Wedding Night" and other short films by deaf filmmaker Sabina England;
--Keva I. Lee, a professional dominatrix and former counselor for sex workers in the criminal justice system;
--Chip Han, Virginia-based beat boxer and winner of the 2010 Kollaboration DC talent showcase;
--J Pharaoh & the Manhattan Project, a hip-hop/soul/rock band out of Virginia Beach
--DJ Boo, a Filipino-American DJ and musician based in New York

The show will also celebrate and recognize members of the local and regional AAPI community by presenting the following awards: Artist of the Year, Community Contribution, Community Partner, as well as the Sulu DC Audience, Star, and House Awards.

The 2nd Anniversary and Awards Show will take place on Saturday, November 19 at 6:30 pm at Artisphere. Tickets are available online for $20. To purchase tickets, visit http://tickets.artisphere.com. The show is supported in part by Toki Underground, DC APA Film, Ichiban Sushi in McLean, Kollaboration DC, and Artisphere.

More information about the show's artists, Sulu DC and donating to Sulu DC is available at http://suludc.com.

]]> Center Arts Presents: Meet the Beijing Dance Company at The DC Center tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.1995 2011-11-03T20:09:07Z 2011-11-05T21:49:03Z Come meet the celebrated dancers of the Beijing Dance Company at The DC Center for a unique event especially for the LGBT Metro DC community! Wednesday, November 16 7:00 PM-9:00 PM The DC Center 1318 U Street NW Suggested donation $5-$10 Dancers from China's top professional company will talk about their spectacular program of classical Chinese dance fused with vibrant, cutting-edge creations that debuts at the Kennedy Center November 17-19. Find out what it's like for them coming to dance in the nation's capital as part of their historic American Tour. A Q&A will follow the panel presentation. Don't miss this rare opportunity! Plus, attendees to the DC Center event will be entered in a raffle to win a pair of tickets to a Beijing Dance Company performance at the Kennedy Center! Winners will be announced after the panel. Attendees will also have a unique opportunity to purchase specially discounted tickets by cash or check at the event. The Beijing Dance Company will perform at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater: November 17-19 at 7:30 pm and November 19 at 2:00 pm. Tickets at The Kennedy Center Box Office, Charge by Phone at 202-467-4600, and www.kennedy-center.org. More information at www.beijingdance.com. RSVP on Facebook. Front Desk meetbeijing150blog.jpgCome meet the celebrated dancers of the Beijing Dance Company at The DC Center for a unique event especially for the LGBT Metro DC community!

Wednesday, November 16
7:00 PM-9:00 PM
The DC Center
1318 U Street NW
Suggested donation $5-$10

Dancers from China's top professional company will talk about their spectacular program of classical Chinese dance fused with vibrant, cutting-edge creations that debuts at the Kennedy Center November 17-19. Find out what it's like for them coming to dance in the nation's capital as part of their historic American Tour. A Q&A will follow the panel presentation. Don't miss this rare opportunity!

Plus, attendees to the DC Center event will be entered in a raffle to win a pair of tickets to a Beijing Dance Company performance at the Kennedy Center! Winners will be announced after the panel. Attendees will also have a unique opportunity to purchase specially discounted tickets by cash or check at the event.

The Beijing Dance Company will perform at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater: November 17-19 at 7:30 pm and November 19 at 2:00 pm. Tickets at The Kennedy Center Box Office, Charge by Phone at 202-467-4600, and www.kennedy-center.org. More information at www.beijingdance.com.

RSVP on Facebook.

]]> Why the Violence - DC QPOC Collective Event tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.1960 2011-10-19T21:59:42Z 2011-10-19T22:13:18Z The DC Queer People Of Color (QPOC) collective will hold a community dialogue, Why the Violence? on Thursday, October 27, 2011 from 6:30-8:30pm at the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center, 2000 14th Street NW, DC. As a follow-up from the June 6th panel discussion during Capital Pride, we seek to create a safe space for LGBTQ people of color to discuss the increasing incidences of violence in DC. Please share with fellow community concerned community members on Facebook or download the flyer. We welcome you to participate in a community hearing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people of color communities in DC. Stand up and TESTIFY about what YOU THINK is causing the upsurge of alarming violence against and within our communities. This hearing is an open, public forum, and the first in a proposed series of Mobilizing the Mosaic actions being organized by a newly formed collective of Queer People of Color (QPOC) in DC. Come offer your thoughts on violence in our communities, learn about LGBTQI resources available in DC, and propose ideas for action to keep all of us safe. The Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center is located on the corner of 14th & U Street NW. Yellow or Green line to U Street/Cardozo. Join us at Nellie's at the corner of U St. NW and 9th Street for an informal gathering to continue conversation and community building after the hearing. --DC QPOC is an informal collective of individuals and organizations interested in fostering unity, community, leadership and activism among Queer People of Color through educational and social events.-- Justin whytheviolence.jpgThe DC Queer People Of Color (QPOC) collective will hold a community dialogue, Why the Violence? on Thursday, October 27, 2011 from 6:30-8:30pm at the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center, 2000 14th Street NW, DC. As a follow-up from the June 6th panel discussion during Capital Pride, we seek to create a safe space for LGBTQ people of color to discuss the increasing incidences of violence in DC.

Please share with fellow community concerned community members on Facebook or download the flyer.

We welcome you to participate in a community hearing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people of color communities in DC. Stand up and TESTIFY about what YOU THINK is causing the upsurge of alarming violence against and within our communities. This hearing is an open, public forum, and the first in a proposed series of Mobilizing the Mosaic actions being organized by a newly formed collective of Queer People of Color (QPOC) in DC. Come offer your thoughts on violence in our communities, learn about LGBTQI resources available in DC, and propose ideas for action to keep all of us safe.

The Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center is located on the corner of 14th & U Street NW. Yellow or Green line to U Street/Cardozo. Join us at Nellie's at the corner of U St. NW and 9th Street for an informal gathering to continue conversation and community building after the hearing.

--DC QPOC is an informal collective of individuals and organizations interested in fostering unity, community, leadership and activism among Queer People of Color through educational and social events.--

]]> The LuLu Sessions is premiering in Washington DC tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.1942 2011-10-07T20:00:58Z 2011-10-07T21:21:52Z Washington D.C. - THE LULU SESSIONS will have its Washington DC Premiere on October 9th, 2011 at the Goethe-Institut as part of the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival. "LuLu" is the winner of the George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award and the Best Documentary Feature at the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, has been nominated for 4 Grand Jury Awards, took Second Place in Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Toronto LGBT Film Festival, and Director S. Casper Wong also won the Emerging Director Award at AAIFF in New York City. Reviewers call it "bold, raging, confident," "intensely magical, " "inexplicable beauty, calmness, clarity and truth." "unforgettable...full of passion and spitfire." VARIETY says "Asian and LGBT festivals will line up for this audience puller." LA WEEKLY calls it a "Must-see" documentary! Premiering at the Goethe-Institut (812 7th Street NW) October 9th, at 2:00 pm THE LULU SESSIONS is a raw and deeply personal documentary about the last 15 months of the larger-than-life LuLu, through the eyes of someone who couldn't be more different - her best friend and ex-lover, the filmmaker. Leave your ideas of boundaries in love and life behind, because this film will take you to a whole new frontier - and it's likely to make your jaw drop, laugh out loud, cry and continue to think about it long after you have left the theater. LuLu is unlike anyone you've ever met. She's the amusingly profane, chain-smoking, no-holds-barred Dr. Louise Nutter, genius cancer research scientist and demanding yet beloved professor. Her sweet-sounding nickname, LuLu, has nonetheless, stuck from her hardscrabble childhood days as a former cheerleader growing up on a small farm in Vermont. At 42, she is told she has the very illness she researches - end stage breast cancer. The next 15 months - LuLu's last - are an adventure that rattles her assumptions, values and places a spotlight on the boundaries of the bond between LuLu and the filmmaker. The film offers us insight not only into a deeply connected relationship but the beginning of an intimacy between two women that outgrows our understanding of friendship and partnership - and maybe even life. Lulu returns to her family farm for stability and solace but battles resurrected ghosts instead. Dying becomes a process of shedding - of long-held but stale presumptions, obligations and relationships and forging new ones. THE LULU SESSIONS is a powerful, stark testimonial about the tenacity of love and our capacity for pushing past limits - in love, friendship, forgiveness and life itself, in the face of impending mortality. This film is one of the first personal documentaries seen through the lens of a Chinese American, queer woman. Yet, in its heart, "LuLu" binds audiences - straight or gay, Asian or not, men or women, young or old - to the most universal of stories, that of love and death. This modern day Thelma and Louise meets Tuesdays with Morrie, prods all of us to wonder what our own final adventure will look like. And with whom will we be sharing this last ride. About the Director/Writer The LuLu Sessions is the debut feature documentary of director/writer S. Casper Wong. Her Shirts & Skins, a narrative short, was broadcast nationally by the Independent Film Channel and is in the Tribeca Film Institute's curated Reframe Collection. OO 1, her narrative feature screenplay, received the Alfred P. Sloan Foundations Grant for Screenwriting and Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay at Urbanworld Film Festival and was awarded screenwriting grants. Wong is currently working on an animated musical space adventure, and Staying Well, a feature documentary and television mini-series in collaboration with UCLA about integrative East-West medicine, and Becoming, a longitudinal documentary chronicling Chinese adoptees growing up in American families. Prior to earning an MFA in film directing from New York University, Wong was a senior attorney at IBM, a biomedical engineer and a cartoonist. About the Editor/Co-Writer Laura Minnear is an award-winning editor who began her work in documentaries for series such as PBS-Frontline and Nova, after a diverse background in field biology/zoology, fine arts and one of her great passions, dance. Her recent credits include GIRL WITH BLACK BALLOONS (editor, co-producer), directed by Corinne van der Borch, which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010 to sold out screenings, and was named one of the "Best of the Fest". BLAST! (co-editor) with director Paul Devlin premiered at Hot Docs 2009 and on BBC Storyville, and continues to air internationally and on PBS. She is currently a producer/editor for Dan Rather Reports and was recently honored as the first person to win two Front Page awards in the same year from the Newswomen's Club of New York. The stories we tell, whether on-screen or in how we choose to live our daily lives, still seem to her to be about the dance. Justin Lulu sessions icon.jpgWashington D.C. - THE LULU SESSIONS will have its Washington DC Premiere on October 9th, 2011 at the Goethe-Institut as part of the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival.
"LuLu" is the winner of the George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award and the Best Documentary Feature at the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, has been nominated for 4 Grand Jury Awards, took Second Place in Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Toronto LGBT Film Festival, and Director S. Casper Wong also won the Emerging Director Award at AAIFF in New York City. Reviewers call it "bold, raging, confident," "intensely magical, " "inexplicable beauty, calmness, clarity and truth." "unforgettable...full of passion and spitfire." VARIETY says "Asian and LGBT festivals will line up for this audience puller." LA WEEKLY calls it a "Must-see" documentary!

Premiering at the Goethe-Institut (812 7th Street NW)
October 9th, at 2:00 pm

THE LULU SESSIONS is a raw and deeply personal documentary about the last 15 months of the larger-than-life LuLu, through the eyes of someone who couldn't be more different - her best friend and ex-lover, the filmmaker. Leave your ideas of boundaries in love and life behind, because this film will take you to a whole new frontier - and it's likely to make your jaw drop, laugh out loud, cry and continue to think about it long after you have left the theater.
LuLu is unlike anyone you've ever met. She's the amusingly profane, chain-smoking, no-holds-barred Dr. Louise Nutter, genius cancer research scientist and demanding yet beloved professor. Her sweet-sounding nickname, LuLu, has nonetheless, stuck from her hardscrabble childhood days as a former cheerleader growing up on a small farm in Vermont. At 42, she is told she has the very illness she researches - end stage breast cancer.

The next 15 months - LuLu's last - are an adventure that rattles her assumptions, values and places a spotlight on the boundaries of the bond between LuLu and the filmmaker. The film offers us insight not only into a deeply connected relationship but the beginning of an intimacy between two women that outgrows our understanding of friendship and partnership - and maybe even life. Lulu returns to her family farm for stability and solace but battles resurrected ghosts instead. Dying becomes a process of shedding - of long-held but stale presumptions, obligations and relationships and forging new ones.

THE LULU SESSIONS is a powerful, stark testimonial about the tenacity of love and our capacity for pushing past limits - in love, friendship, forgiveness and life itself, in the face of impending mortality. This film is one of the first personal documentaries seen through the lens of a Chinese American, queer woman. Yet, in its heart, "LuLu" binds audiences - straight or gay, Asian or not, men or women, young or old - to the most universal of stories, that of love and death.
This modern day Thelma and Louise meets Tuesdays with Morrie, prods all of us to wonder what our own final adventure will look like. And with whom will we be sharing this last ride.

About the Director/Writer
The LuLu Sessions is the debut feature documentary of director/writer S. Casper Wong. Her Shirts & Skins, a narrative short, was broadcast nationally by the Independent Film Channel and is in the Tribeca Film Institute's curated Reframe Collection. OO 1, her narrative feature screenplay, received the Alfred P. Sloan Foundations Grant for Screenwriting and Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay at Urbanworld Film Festival and was awarded screenwriting grants. Wong is currently working on an animated musical space adventure, and Staying Well, a feature documentary and television mini-series in collaboration with UCLA about integrative East-West medicine, and Becoming, a longitudinal documentary chronicling Chinese adoptees growing up in American families. Prior to earning an MFA in film directing from New York University, Wong was a senior attorney at IBM, a biomedical engineer and a cartoonist.

About the Editor/Co-Writer
Laura Minnear is an award-winning editor who began her work in documentaries for series such as PBS-Frontline and Nova, after a diverse background in field biology/zoology, fine arts and one of her great passions, dance. Her recent credits include GIRL WITH BLACK BALLOONS (editor, co-producer), directed by Corinne van der Borch, which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010 to sold out screenings, and was named one of the "Best of the Fest". BLAST! (co-editor) with director Paul Devlin premiered at Hot Docs 2009 and on BBC Storyville, and continues to air internationally and on PBS. She is currently a producer/editor for Dan Rather Reports and was recently honored as the first person to win two Front Page awards in the same year from the Newswomen's Club of New York. The stories we tell, whether on-screen or in how we choose to live our daily lives, still seem to her to be about the dance.

]]> Center Arts Presents: Kazim Ali's Poetry Reading and Presentation tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.1933 2011-10-04T19:20:47Z 2011-10-11T17:53:47Z Please join us for an evening with award-winning writer Kazim Ali. Kazim will read selections from his work and also share reflections on his recent trip to Palestine and Israel. Thursday, October 20 7:00 PM-9:00 PM The DC Center 1318 U Street, NW $5 suggested donation Kazim Ali is the author of two books of poetry, The Far Mosque, winner of Alice James Books' New England/New York Award, and The Fortieth Day. As a translator, he has published Water's Footfall by Sohrab Sepehri. Ali is also the author of the novel Quinn's Passage, named one of "The Best Books of 2005" by Chronogram magazine, The Disappearance of Seth, Bright Felon: Autobiography and Cities, Orange Alert: Essays on Poetry, Art and the Architecture of Silence, and Fasting for Ramadan. He is an assistant professor of Creative Writing at Oberlin College and teaches in the Stonecoast MFA program of the University of Southern Maine and is a founding editor of Nightboat Books. Sponsored by: The Asian American Literary Review The DC Center for the LGBT Community Interfaith Peace-Builders Split This Rock RSVP on Facebook. Sign up to volunteer. Front Desk Kazim Ali graphic.jpgPlease join us for an evening with award-winning writer Kazim Ali. Kazim will read selections from his work and also share reflections on his recent trip to Palestine and Israel.

Thursday, October 20
7:00 PM-9:00 PM
The DC Center
1318 U Street, NW
$5 suggested donation

Kazim Ali is the author of two books of poetry, The Far Mosque, winner of Alice James Books' New England/New York Award, and The Fortieth Day. As a translator, he has published Water's Footfall by Sohrab Sepehri.

Ali is also the author of the novel Quinn's Passage, named one of "The Best Books of 2005" by Chronogram magazine, The Disappearance of Seth, Bright Felon: Autobiography and Cities, Orange Alert: Essays on Poetry, Art and the Architecture of Silence, and Fasting for Ramadan.

He is an assistant professor of Creative Writing at Oberlin College and teaches in the Stonecoast MFA program of the University of Southern Maine and is a founding editor of Nightboat Books.

Sponsored by:
The Asian American Literary Review
The DC Center for the LGBT Community
Interfaith Peace-Builders
Split This Rock

RSVP on Facebook.

Sign up to volunteer.


]]> Models needed: FUK!T photoshoot in September tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.1919 2011-09-21T18:07:56Z 2011-09-21T20:57:44Z Many of you may be familiar with The DC Center's FUK!T campaign, the sex safer sex campaign as seen at some of your favorite DC hot-spots. You may have also been to the equally hot (and NSFW) website for the campaign dcfukit.org. Here you'll find information about safer sex and HIV in the District, as well as some pretty great photos of the models from previous FUK!T photo shoots. We will be updating our website, and also our campaign, and we're looking for models for our next photo shoot! Please check out the website to see some of what we'll be looking for at the next shoot (partial nudity, for example), and let us know if you'd like to be a part of it! We're looking for people that are a part of the very diverse GBT community, and that represent it accordingly, so don't hesitate to ask to be a part! That is, ALL races, ethnicities, body-types, ages and gender identities are needed! The next shoot will be on September 25th at Cobalt from 10AM to 1PM. If you're interested, you must contact Brant Miller at brant@thedccenter.org, or call The DC Center at 202-682-2245 for the necessary information. Please do so by 5:00PM on Friday, September 23rd. Those that do not contact Brant beforehand will not be able to participate in the event. Brant
fukitmodels2.pngMany of you may be familiar with The DC Center's FUK!T campaign, the sex safer sex campaign as seen at some of your favorite DC hot-spots. You may have also been to the equally hot (and NSFW) website for the campaign dcfukit.org. Here you'll find information about safer sex and HIV in the District, as well as some pretty great photos of the models from previous FUK!T photo shoots.

We will be updating our website, and also our campaign, and we're looking for models for our next photo shoot! Please check out the website to see some of what we'll be looking for at the next shoot (partial nudity, for example), and let us know if you'd like to be a part of it! We're looking for people that are a part of the very diverse GBT community, and that represent it accordingly, so don't hesitate to ask to be a part! That is, ALL races, ethnicities, body-types, ages and gender identities are needed!

The next shoot will be on September 25th at Cobalt from 10AM to 1PM.

If you're interested, you must contact Brant Miller at brant@thedccenter.org, or call The DC Center at 202-682-2245 for the necessary information. Please do so by 5:00PM on Friday, September 23rd. Those that do not contact Brant beforehand will not be able to participate in the event.

]]> The Naughty Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin and His Hairy Ass tag:www.thedccenter.org,2011:/blog//1.1702 2011-06-27T18:34:24Z 2011-06-27T18:52:31Z Ron Suresha will tell authentic, bawdy, queer Turkish folktales and jokes, based on work from his most recent book from GLBTQ publisher Lethe Press, The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin: Stories, jests, and donkey tales of the beloved Persian folk hero, which Midwest Book Review acclaimed as "a fine pick and very highly recommended." More at: www.MullahNasruddin.com. Ron J. Suresha is a Lambda Literary Award finalist for his anthologies, Bi Men: Coming Out (2006) and Bisexual Perspectives on the Life and Work of Alfred C. Kinsey (2010). His most recent book, published January by Lethe Press, is The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin. Using the name R. Jackson, he has edited the anthologies Bi Guys (also a "Lammy" finalist), Bearotica, Bear Lust, and Bears in the Wild published by Bear Bones Books, a Lethe imprint for which he serves as Acquisitions Editor. More at: www.RonSuresha.com and www.BearBonesBooks.com. The DC Center nasruddin.pngRon Suresha will tell authentic, bawdy, queer Turkish folktales and jokes, based on work from his most recent book from GLBTQ publisher Lethe Press, The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin: Stories, jests, and donkey tales of the beloved Persian folk hero, which Midwest Book Review acclaimed as "a fine pick and very highly recommended." More at: www.MullahNasruddin.com.

Ron J. Suresha is a Lambda Literary Award finalist for his anthologies, Bi Men: Coming Out (2006) and Bisexual Perspectives on the Life and Work of Alfred C. Kinsey (2010). His most recent book, published January by Lethe Press, is The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin. Using the name R. Jackson, he has edited the anthologies Bi Guys (also a "Lammy" finalist), Bearotica, Bear Lust, and Bears in the Wild published by Bear Bones Books, a Lethe imprint for which he serves as Acquisitions Editor. More at: www.RonSuresha.com and www.BearBonesBooks.com.

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