BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//BGSQD - ECPv6.15.18//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:BGSQD
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.bgsqd.com
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for BGSQD
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20240310T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20241103T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250308T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250308T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250213T185904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250227T195658Z
UID:15206-1741446000-1741453200@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Elizabeth Costello\, author of The Good War\, in Conversation with Kate Rounds (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:Elizabeth Costello will read from her feminist noir/queer-coming-of-age novel The Good War and chat with journalist Kate Rounds about writing and life. Stick around afterward for a reception with snacks provided by Red Table. \n  \nTo reserve a copy of Elizabeth Costello’s The Good War (Regal House Publishing\, January 28\, 2025\, paperback\, $21.95) please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve a copy of The Good War for March 8 event” in the subject line. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nElizabeth Costello is a writer living in Portland\, Oregon. She works (remotely) as an editor for UC Berkeley and co-founded the ekphraestival\, a generative exchange among visual artists and poets that culminates in readings and exhibitions in April\, national poetry month. Her debut novel\, The Good War\, is out now from Regal House and was described by Publishers Weekly as “dark and intense…lyrical…Moody and atmospheric\, this gritty tale is worth a look.” \n  \nKate Rounds is the author of the novel Catboad Road\, published by Bywater Books. She’s a veteran journalist and has an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She lives in Jersey City without a cat. \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/elizabeth-costello/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/March-8-Elizabeth-Costello-banner-Rev-1-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250312T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250312T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250114T184931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T205014Z
UID:15123-1741802400-1741813200@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:The Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar: Queer Economies of Care: Community\, Desire\, and the Politics of Necessity (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout the Seminar\nCLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies and the Barnard Center for Research on Women are thrilled to announce the Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar in the city\, a six-week program exploring the transformative legacy of Amber Hollibaugh—a radical lesbian feminist\, scholar\, artist\, and lifelong activist for queer survival economies. \nFacilitated by interdisciplinary artist and educator Gili Rappaport\, this seminar invites participants to dive into themes of queer survival\, care\, and community resilience in the face of economic hardship\, criminalization\, and marginalization. Participants will engage with foundational texts\, recorded dialogues\, and contributions from local artists and activists while contributing to a living archive honoring queer histories and futures. \nThe Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar (2024) relaunches CLAGS’ public education series\, Seminars in the City\, originally held in July 1998. \nThe Amber Hollibaugh Seminar is co-sponsored by the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (@bgsqd) and Barnard Center for Research on Women. \n\nWhy Join?\nThis seminar is more than a class—it’s a space to build community\, a book club to reflect on queer survival strategies\, and an homage to Amber’s vision of community care and radical solidarity. Participants will explore the intersections of class\, desire\, and kinship through a rich syllabus of readings\, discussions\, and creative work. \nWhether you’re an organizer\, artist\, body worker\, visionary\, builder\, or community member\, this seminar offers a unique opportunity to learn\, share\, and contribute to an archive of queer care and resistance. \nSchedule\nDates: March 12 – April 16\, 2025\nTime: Wednesdays\, 6–9 PM\nLocation: Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (208 West 13th Street\, NYC) \nPlease note: The April 16th meeting will NOT take place at the Bureau. We will post the location for that date as soon as we have that confirmed. \nThis is an in-person experience. Unfortunately\, we cannot accommodate remote participants at this time. \nWhat to Expect\nEach week focuses on a key theme: \n\nWeek 1: Queer Survival Economies — Honoring Amber Hollibaugh’s Legacy\nWeek 2: Public Space\, Gentrification\, and Queer Displacement\nWeek 3: Oral Histories and Resilient Queer Spaces\nWeek 4: Queer Desire and Class as Radical Resistance\nWeek 5: Trans and BIPOC Narratives on Survival and Criminalization\nWeek 6: Community-Based Economies and Mutual Aid\n\nReading list (excerpts provided free of charge\, available through the CLAGS archive) \n\nAmber Hollibaugh\, My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home\nAudre Lorde\, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name\nGloria Anzaldúa\, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza\nbell hooks\, Belonging: A Culture of Place\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, M Archive: After the End of the World\nJosé Esteban Muñoz\, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\nVivek Shraya\, I’m Afraid of Men\nGayle Rubin\, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice\nTourmaline\, Black Trans Feminism is the Future\nEric A. Stanley and Nat Smith (Eds.)\, Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex\nSylvia Rivera\, Queens in Exile\, The Forgotten Ones\nDean Spade\, Love in a F*cked-Up World: How to Build Relationships\, Hook Up\, and Raise Hell Together\nAdrienne Maree Brown\, Pleasure Activism\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, Dub: Finding Ceremony\n\nParticipation Details \n\nOpen to NYC publics\, free of charge\nWe encourage applications from first-time students\, people from underrepresented communities\, and interests that reflect the city’s diversity of cultures\, aesthetics\, and creative practices. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible space for all participants. If you need any accommodations to fully participate in the seminar\, please note this in the application form.\n20 spots available—apply soon!\nParticipants will have the option to contribute to a collaborative publication and CLAGS archive project\n\nNO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout Amber Hollibaugh\nAmber Hollibaugh was a legendary radical/lesbian/feminist/scholar/artist. A lifelong political activist and organizer\, she was on the founding board of Queers for Economic Justice and served as QEJ’s Executive Director from 2011-2014. She established Queer Survival Economies (QSE)\, a project at the Barnard Center for Research on Women addressing the intersections of sexuality\, poverty\, homelessness\, labor\, and the criminalization of survival. Hollibaugh was the Founding Director of the Lesbian AIDS Project at GMHC\, the first effort of its kind to organize with and for lesbians living with HIV. Amber also served as the Director for Aging Initiatives at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She fought for class and poverty issues to be addressed by an otherwise very bourgeois LGBTQ movement. Amber was a fierce advocate for transnational solidarity and movement building around sexuality\, bodily autonomy and pleasure. Her publications included the book My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\, and she directed and co-produced the documentary film The Heart of the Matter. Her works have been translated into several languages\, and she worked very closely with activists in China and India. \nImage credit: Joaquin Golez @othereros
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/queer-economies-of-care-2/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/march12th-april16th_Queer_Economies_Instagram_lavender.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="CLAGS%3A The Center for LGBT Studies":MAILTO:info@clags.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250313T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250313T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250219T221056Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250219T221444Z
UID:15214-1741892400-1741899600@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:OUTspoken: The Publishing Triangle’s Reading Series\, March Edition (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:The Publishing Triangle presents its monthly OUTspoken Reading Series as host Rob Byrnes welcomes Shawn Stewart Ruff\, Christian Gullette\, Elizabeth Costello\, Lucian Childs\, Barry Brennessel\, Sarah Sarai\, and Stephen Greco. \n\nJoin us in-person or watch the live-stream to hear from some of queer literature’s most dynamic established and up-and-coming voices. \n\n\n\nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\n\n\n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/outspoken-march-2025/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/March-13-OUTspoken-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250315T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250315T203000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250307T202212Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250307T202256Z
UID:15288-1742065200-1742070600@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:TELL: LUCK (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:TELL is a monthly queer storytelling show hosted and curated by Drae Campbell. It is the longest running event at the Bureau! 10 years and going. Each month there is a different theme and a different line up of queer artists who tell true stories from their lives on a theme. \nThe theme for March is Luck\, featuring storytellers Tanya Marquardt and Kei Williams. \n\nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \nSuggested donation to benefit the storytellers and the Bureau: $10. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nDrae Campbellis the host and curator of TELL\, an award winning podcast that can be found anywhere you listen to podcasts. \nTheater: The Nosebleed (Lincoln Center Theater\, Woolly Mammoth Theater & National Tour\, Lortel Nominated)\, Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater)\, Only You Can Prevent Wildfires (Teatro Circulo)\, My Old Man (Dixon Place)\, Storm Still (DirectorFest\, Drama League)\, La Cage Aux Folles (Barrington Stage Company).         \nFilm and TV:Senior Escort Service\, Blunderpuss\, It’s Very Common\, TOW. \nTV: Bull\, New Amsterdam. \nBFA\, The University Of The Arts   \nIg @draebiz and @tellqueerz   \n\n\n  \nTanya Marquardt is a writer and performer in Lenapehoking/Brooklyn. Their book Stray: Memoir of a Runaway was named a Best Queer & History Bio by The Advocate and Some Must Watch While Some Must Sleep\, Tanya’s play about being a sleep talker\, toured internationally and inspired an NPR Invisibila. This year they will publish a piece on The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Feminist Press\, and write about recconecting with Magyar queer archives and folkdance in upcoming anthology Do Trans People Dream of Electric Sheep; their play HOUSE\, a transfeminist retelling of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is in development.  \n\n\n\nBorn in Upstate NY\, Kei Williams (they/them) is a queer transmasculine organizer\, artist\, and historian. Kei currently serves as NEW Pride Agenda’s Interim Executive Director. In 2021\, Kei was selected as a Community Fellow through the Mellon Initiative for Emerging Scholars at The New School\, where they co-teach a Media Theory course\, and was honored with the Black Voices for Black Justice Award (2022) as a leader in the fight for racial and gender justice. \nAs a founding member of Black Lives Matter NYC and part of Movement Netlab\, Kei has helped to shape powerful campaigns and developed practical tools to scale up movements grounded in abolition\, democracy\, and love. Kei joined Black Gotham Experience in November 2016\, a visual storytelling project elevating the impact of the African Diaspora by remembering together through walks\, talks\, and artistic commissions. Their work has been featured at The Shed\, Lincoln Center\, New Museum\, and the NYC Landmarks Department. \nOutside of work and walking\, Kei is a homebody\, kept company by their dog Spartacus and their dozen inherited plants. Follow Kei at @blackboikei on Twitter and IG. 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/tell-luck/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/March-15-TELL-Luck-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250319T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250319T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250114T185416Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T205109Z
UID:15125-1742407200-1742418000@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:The Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar: Queer Economies of Care: Community\, Desire\, and the Politics of Necessity (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout the Seminar\nCLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies and the Barnard Center for Research on Women are thrilled to announce the Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar in the city\, a six-week program exploring the transformative legacy of Amber Hollibaugh—a radical lesbian feminist\, scholar\, artist\, and lifelong activist for queer survival economies. \nFacilitated by interdisciplinary artist and educator Gili Rappaport\, this seminar invites participants to dive into themes of queer survival\, care\, and community resilience in the face of economic hardship\, criminalization\, and marginalization. Participants will engage with foundational texts\, recorded dialogues\, and contributions from local artists and activists while contributing to a living archive honoring queer histories and futures. \nThe Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar (2024) relaunches CLAGS’ public education series\, Seminars in the City\, originally held in July 1998. \nThe Amber Hollibaugh Seminar is co-sponsored by the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (@bgsqd) and Barnard Center for Research on Women. \n\nWhy Join?\nThis seminar is more than a class—it’s a space to build community\, a book club to reflect on queer survival strategies\, and an homage to Amber’s vision of community care and radical solidarity. Participants will explore the intersections of class\, desire\, and kinship through a rich syllabus of readings\, discussions\, and creative work. \nWhether you’re an organizer\, artist\, body worker\, visionary\, builder\, or community member\, this seminar offers a unique opportunity to learn\, share\, and contribute to an archive of queer care and resistance. \nSchedule\nDates: March 5 – April 9\, 2025\nTime: Wednesdays\, 6–9 PM\nLocation: Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (208 West 13th Street\, NYC) \nPlease note: The April 16th meeting will NOT take place at the Bureau. We will post the location for that date as soon as we have that confirmed. \nThis is an in-person experience. Unfortunately\, we cannot accommodate remote participants at this time. \nWhat to Expect\nEach week focuses on a key theme: \n\nWeek 1: Queer Survival Economies — Honoring Amber Hollibaugh’s Legacy\nWeek 2: Public Space\, Gentrification\, and Queer Displacement\nWeek 3: Oral Histories and Resilient Queer Spaces\nWeek 4: Queer Desire and Class as Radical Resistance\nWeek 5: Trans and BIPOC Narratives on Survival and Criminalization\nWeek 6: Community-Based Economies and Mutual Aid\n\nReading list (excerpts provided free of charge\, available through the CLAGS archive) \n\nAmber Hollibaugh\, My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home\nAudre Lorde\, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name\nGloria Anzaldúa\, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza\nbell hooks\, Belonging: A Culture of Place\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, M Archive: After the End of the World\nJosé Esteban Muñoz\, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\nVivek Shraya\, I’m Afraid of Men\nGayle Rubin\, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice\nTourmaline\, Black Trans Feminism is the Future\nEric A. Stanley and Nat Smith (Eds.)\, Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex\nSylvia Rivera\, Queens in Exile\, The Forgotten Ones\nDean Spade\, Love in a F*cked-Up World: How to Build Relationships\, Hook Up\, and Raise Hell Together\nAdrienne Maree Brown\, Pleasure Activism\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, Dub: Finding Ceremony\n\nParticipation Details \n\nOpen to NYC publics\, free of charge\nWe encourage applications from first-time students\, people from underrepresented communities\, and interests that reflect the city’s diversity of cultures\, aesthetics\, and creative practices. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible space for all participants. If you need any accommodations to fully participate in the seminar\, please note this in the application form.\n20 spots available—apply soon!\nParticipants will have the option to contribute to a collaborative publication and CLAGS archive project\n\nNO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout Amber Hollibaugh\nAmber Hollibaugh was a legendary radical/lesbian/feminist/scholar/artist. A lifelong political activist and organizer\, she was on the founding board of Queers for Economic Justice and served as QEJ’s Executive Director from 2011-2014. She established Queer Survival Economies (QSE)\, a project at the Barnard Center for Research on Women addressing the intersections of sexuality\, poverty\, homelessness\, labor\, and the criminalization of survival. Hollibaugh was the Founding Director of the Lesbian AIDS Project at GMHC\, the first effort of its kind to organize with and for lesbians living with HIV. Amber also served as the Director for Aging Initiatives at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She fought for class and poverty issues to be addressed by an otherwise very bourgeois LGBTQ movement. Amber was a fierce advocate for transnational solidarity and movement building around sexuality\, bodily autonomy and pleasure. Her publications included the book My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\, and she directed and co-produced the documentary film The Heart of the Matter. Her works have been translated into several languages\, and she worked very closely with activists in China and India. \nImage credit: Joaquin Golez @othereros
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/queer-economies-of-care-3/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/march12th-april16th_Queer_Economies_Instagram_lavender.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="CLAGS%3A The Center for LGBT Studies":MAILTO:info@clags.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250320T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250320T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250213T191617Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250302T193123Z
UID:15211-1742497200-1742504400@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Julian's Debut: A Reading and An Interview (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:Brian Alessandro’s new novel\, Julian’s Debut—his fifth book and third novel—explores the ethical gray area that comes with writing memoirs. What right do writers have to the private lives of friends\, family\, lovers\, and acquaintances when writing memoirs? \nBrian will read from Julian’s Debut and discuss its themes\, inspirations\, and plot with the award-winning author of 2022’s Greenland\, David Santos Donaldson. Copies of Julian’s Debut will also be sold and autographed during the event. \nTo reserve a copy of Julian’s Debut (Rebel Satori Press\, March 18\, 2025\, paperback\, $21.95)\, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve Julian’s Debut for March 20th event” in the subject line. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n  \nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \n  \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nJulian’s Debut synopsis:  \nJulian Sorrento is a giver. Throughout much of his life he served his large\, dysfunctional family at the expense of his own needs and desires. Drawing from his experiences as his family’s crutch\, therapist\, and bank\, as well as his career as a clinical social worker of homeless youths\, Julian writes a New Yorker article titled My Mighty Meekness\, about altruism\, sacrifice\, and how putting others first could be pleasurable and rewarding\, which is published to a surprising amount of attention. \nFollowing the article’s publication\, Julian’s family comes after him with a righteous fury. They claim he has exaggerated and distorted facts\, making himself look like a victim and a hero and them the villains. His agent encourages him to expand the article into a book and portions of the article are also optioned by The Darlington Brothers\, independent filmmakers\, who hire Julian to adapt the work into a cable series for HBO (now MAX). They are interested exclusively in his anthropologist aunt who inadvertently incited a small civil war in Northeastern India\, her husband\, who builds bombs for Raytheon\, and their son who punishes them both by inviting homeless people to live with them. \nAs Julian meets with each member of his family to hear their grievances\, he also seeks—or sometimes makes up whole cloth—additional damning secrets about them to include in his memoir. Throughout the interminable filial reckoning\, Julian leaves his job with social services\, and develops the cable series with the assistance of Raul\, his ex-fiancé\, who makes vague allusions to sabotaging the media empire he works for as a programmer. \n  \n“An inventive\, wildly entertaining novel\, which revolves around the hazards of writing a memoir about one’s family.  What a cast of characters Brian Alessandro has brought to life\, through sparkling dialogue and vivid\, often comical scenes.  I enjoyed ‘Julian’s Debut’ immensely!” \n– Bill Hayes\, author of Insomniac City: New York\, Oliver Sacks\, and Me \n  \n“By turns comic\, wrenching\, appalling\, bewildered\, shrewd\, never nice\, and always alive\, Julian’s Debut is a powder keg of a book that explodes and explodes.” \n—Paul Lisicky\, author of Song So Wild and Blue: A Life with the Music of Joni Mitchell \n  \nBrian Alessandro has written for Interview Magazine\, Newsday\, PANK (co-founded by Roxanne Gay)\, Huffington Post\, Galerie (Wes Anderson’s cult film streaming app) Lambda Literary\, The Gay & Lesbian Review\, Kirkus Reviews\, and The Florida Review\, and has recently co-adapted Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story into a graphic novel for Top Shelf Productions. Additionally\, Brian co-edited Fever Spores: The Queer Reclamation of William S. Burroughs\, an anthology of essays and interviews about Burroughs for Rebel Satori Press. Brian is also the co-founder and editor in chief of the literary journal\, The New Engagement. His first novel\, The Unmentionable Mann\, was published in 2015 by Cairn Press and his first feature film\, Afghan Hound\, was produced by Maryea Media in 2011\, and is streaming on Plex\, Tubi\, and Amazon. Julian’s Debut\, his fifth book\, will be published by Rebel Satori Press in March 2025. Brian also has a feature film and a limited series in development with an Academy Award-winning producer. \n  \nDavid Santos Donaldson was raised in Nassau\, Bahamas\, and has lived in India\, Spain\, and the United States. He attended Wesleyan University and the Drama Division of the Juilliard School\, and his plays have been commissioned by the Public Theater. He was a finalist for the Urban Stages Emerging Playwright Award and has worked as the Artistic Director for the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts in Nassau\, Bahamas. Donaldson is currently a practicing psychotherapist\, and divides his time between Brooklyn\, New York\, and Seville\, Spain. Greenland is his first novel. \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/julians-debut/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/March-20-Brian-Alessandro-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250326T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250326T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250114T185905Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T213233Z
UID:15129-1743012000-1743022800@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:The Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar: Queer Economies of Care: Community\, Desire\, and the Politics of Necessity (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout the Seminar\nCLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies and the Barnard Center for Research on Women are thrilled to announce the Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar in the city\, a six-week program exploring the transformative legacy of Amber Hollibaugh—a radical lesbian feminist\, scholar\, artist\, and lifelong activist for queer survival economies. \nFacilitated by interdisciplinary artist and educator Gili Rappaport\, this seminar invites participants to dive into themes of queer survival\, care\, and community resilience in the face of economic hardship\, criminalization\, and marginalization. Participants will engage with foundational texts\, recorded dialogues\, and contributions from local artists and activists while contributing to a living archive honoring queer histories and futures. \nThe Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar (2024) relaunches CLAGS’ public education series\, Seminars in the City\, originally held in July 1998. \nThe Amber Hollibaugh Seminar is co-sponsored by the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (@bgsqd) and Barnard Center for Research on Women. \n\nWhy Join?\nThis seminar is more than a class—it’s a space to build community\, a book club to reflect on queer survival strategies\, and an homage to Amber’s vision of community care and radical solidarity. Participants will explore the intersections of class\, desire\, and kinship through a rich syllabus of readings\, discussions\, and creative work. \nWhether you’re an organizer\, artist\, body worker\, visionary\, builder\, or community member\, this seminar offers a unique opportunity to learn\, share\, and contribute to an archive of queer care and resistance. \nSchedule\nDates: March 12 – April 16\, 2025\nTime: Wednesdays\, 6–9 PM\nLocation: Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (208 West 13th Street\, NYC) \nPlease note: The April 16th meeting will NOT take place at the Bureau. We will post the location for that date as soon as we have that confirmed. \nThis is an in-person experience. Unfortunately\, we cannot accommodate remote participants at this time. \nWhat to Expect\nEach week focuses on a key theme: \n\nWeek 1: Queer Survival Economies — Honoring Amber Hollibaugh’s Legacy\nWeek 2: Public Space\, Gentrification\, and Queer Displacement\nWeek 3: Oral Histories and Resilient Queer Spaces\nWeek 4: Queer Desire and Class as Radical Resistance\nWeek 5: Trans and BIPOC Narratives on Survival and Criminalization\nWeek 6: Community-Based Economies and Mutual Aid\n\nReading list (excerpts provided free of charge\, available through the CLAGS archive) \n\nAmber Hollibaugh\, My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home\nAudre Lorde\, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name\nGloria Anzaldúa\, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza\nbell hooks\, Belonging: A Culture of Place\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, M Archive: After the End of the World\nJosé Esteban Muñoz\, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\nVivek Shraya\, I’m Afraid of Men\nGayle Rubin\, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice\nTourmaline\, Black Trans Feminism is the Future\nEric A. Stanley and Nat Smith (Eds.)\, Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex\nSylvia Rivera\, Queens in Exile\, The Forgotten Ones\nDean Spade\, Love in a F*cked-Up World: How to Build Relationships\, Hook Up\, and Raise Hell Together\nAdrienne Maree Brown\, Pleasure Activism\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, Dub: Finding Ceremony\n\nParticipation Details \n\nOpen to NYC publics\, free of charge\nWe encourage applications from first-time students\, people from underrepresented communities\, and interests that reflect the city’s diversity of cultures\, aesthetics\, and creative practices. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible space for all participants. If you need any accommodations to fully participate in the seminar\, please note this in the application form.\n20 spots available—apply soon!\nParticipants will have the option to contribute to a collaborative publication and CLAGS archive project\n\nNO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout Amber Hollibaugh\nAmber Hollibaugh was a legendary radical/lesbian/feminist/scholar/artist. A lifelong political activist and organizer\, she was on the founding board of Queers for Economic Justice and served as QEJ’s Executive Director from 2011-2014. She established Queer Survival Economies (QSE)\, a project at the Barnard Center for Research on Women addressing the intersections of sexuality\, poverty\, homelessness\, labor\, and the criminalization of survival. Hollibaugh was the Founding Director of the Lesbian AIDS Project at GMHC\, the first effort of its kind to organize with and for lesbians living with HIV. Amber also served as the Director for Aging Initiatives at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She fought for class and poverty issues to be addressed by an otherwise very bourgeois LGBTQ movement. Amber was a fierce advocate for transnational solidarity and movement building around sexuality\, bodily autonomy and pleasure. Her publications included the book My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\, and she directed and co-produced the documentary film The Heart of the Matter. Her works have been translated into several languages\, and she worked very closely with activists in China and India. \nImage credit: Joaquin Golez @othereros
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/queer-economies-of-care-4/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/march12th-april16th_Queer_Economies_Instagram_lavender.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="CLAGS%3A The Center for LGBT Studies":MAILTO:info@clags.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250327T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250327T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250228T164709Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250307T173406Z
UID:15227-1743102000-1743109200@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Radical Love as the World Burns\, or Polyamory For Dummies (in person & live streaming)
DESCRIPTION:How do we build love and community when our world and communities are being violently pulled apart? Join queer feminist sex activist relationship coach and author of Polyamory for Dummies\, Jaime Grant\, writer-comedian-nurse Kelli Dunham\, and activist chronic illness advocate JD Davids for a conversation that goes beyond relationship logistics and into the radical possibilities of polyamory as a survival strategy. \nToo often\, polyamory is framed as a lifestyle choice for the privileged—but what if it’s actually a blueprint for collective care? How do we move beyond individualism and scarcity models of love to build networks of support\, abundance\, and resilience? This conversation will explore the ways polyamory intersects with mutual aid\, disability justice\, caregiving\, and the fight against systemic oppression. \nDoesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned polyamorous organizer\, a burnt-out activist seeking new models of connection\, or just someone trying to figure out how to get your polycule to agree on a group chat app\, you have something to contribute to this discussion. \nBring your questions\, your stories\, and your radical love. \n  \nTo reserve a copy of Polyamory for Dummies (For Dummies\, December 24\, 2024\, paperback\, $24.99) please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve Polyamory for Dummies for March 27 event” in the subject line. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n\n\n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\n\n\n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \n\n\nDr. Jaime M. Grant is a queer feminist sex activist and relationship coach. Grant is best known for her sex workshop primer\, Great Sex: Mapping Your Desire and her groundbreaking report Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Polyamorous since her 20s\, Jaime is glad to be focussing on collective love as a revolutionary strategy as we face the political moment. \nJD Davids (he/him) is a chronically ill and disabled writer and strategist with decades of work in world-changing social movements\, policy advocacy and journalism. Most recently\, he founded and co-directed the national Long COVID Justice project. Currently\, he is writing and conducting research at the CUNY Graduate Center’s Biography and Memoir program as an “illder”– a term he coined to represent those mentoring each other in confronting chronic illnesses and an ableist society alike – committed to sharing movement history\, health information and unique approaches to living with illness. In this time of mass disabling pandemics\, he shares stories and strategies through The Cranky Queer Guide to Chronic Illness\, where he braids his experiences as a longtime HIV and disability justice activist\, research advocate\, and life as a queer and transgender parent\, harm reductionist and sexual liberationist. His recent and upcoming publications include authored or co-authored chapters for The Long COVID Survival Guide\, Liberation Stories: Building Narrative Power for 21st Century Social Movements\, Unfolding Corpus: Vulnerability and Radicality in Times of Plagues\, and Race\, Justice\, and HIV: Visions for a Society Without Bars. \nKelli Dunham is the nonbinary ex-nun storytelling nurse author trauma-informed comedian so ubiquitous in modern Brooklyn. Kelli is the author of seven hilarious books about not hilarious subjects including a bestselling book on puberty and the forthcoming Almost The Best Medicine: Intentional Humor For Nurses And Others With Impossible Jobs (FoundVoice Publishing 2025). Kelli has appeared on Showtime\, BBC4’S Sunday Religion in Culture Program\, the Discovery Channel\, the Moth Mainstage and the occasional livestock auction. \nKelli’s show Second Helping: Two Dead Lovers Dead Funny was called “a love letter to queer community” by the Bechdel Theater and “drop dead hilarious” by Go Magazine. PGN recently named Kelli one of “48 LGBT Creative People Of Influence” and former NYC mayor Bill DeBlasio once called Kelli “a show off.” To Kelli’s face. \nSubscribe to Kelli’s substack for more helpful hilarity!
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/polyamory-for-dummies/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/March-27-Polyamory-for-Dummies-banner-rev1-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250328T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250328T190000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250317T155834Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250317T162655Z
UID:15333-1743181200-1743188400@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:The New York Rebel Poets of the Beat Generation (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:OUTWRIGHT\, Ltd. and the Bureau present the third an final program of a series on the Rebel Poets of the 1960s and 1970s. This program will focus on Beat Poets who lived and published in New York during these years. \nPoets included in the program are Anne Waldman\, Bob Kaufman\, Frank O’Hara\, and Diane di Prima. We will examine their lives and read from their works. \nBooks by and about the featured poets will be available for purchase. \nLight refreshments will be served. \n\n\n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\n\n\n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\n  \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/the-new-york-rebel-poets-of-the-beat-generation/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/March-28-NY-Rebel-Poets-banner.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250329T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250329T160000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250305T225309Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250307T182355Z
UID:15274-1743260400-1743264000@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Book launch: "Take It Outside" (Incision Press) (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:Please join us at the Bureau on Saturday\, March 29th at 3pm for the North American launch of Take It Outside\, an anthology of queer & trans desire edited by Cash Torn and Orlando Silver. \nThis anthology is the first from the Australia-based international house Incision Press\, which is dedicated to publishing words for the queer revolution. \nFive of the anthology´s contributing writers will be reading excerpts from Take It Outside : Jordan Asher\, Jaymie Wagner\, Libro Levi Bridgeman\, Ryder West\, and Christian Pan. Physical copies of Take It Outside will also be available for purchase and for authors to sign. \nTo reserve a copy of Take It Outside (Incision Press\, 2025\, paperback)\, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve Take It Outside for March 29th event” in the subject line. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n  \nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \n  \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nJordan Asher (she/they) is a queer writer currently living in New Orleans. She writes fiction that explores the cadence of queer identity and emotions. Her writing invites readers to explore the complexities of desire\, knowledge\, love\, and candor. Jordan loves stationary\, the color yellow\, and her beloved orange cat\, Chunk. \n  \nJaymie Wagner is a queer\, trans\, and polyamorous nonbinary girl who lives in the Twin Cities. A writer of short stories\, erotica\, and her “Sing For Me” series of werewolf novels\, she is here to smooch weird things and somehow keeps making her mom proud. \n  \nLibro Levi Bridgeman (NonBiNArYBiRo) (they/them) wrote the sell-out theatre show The Butch Monologues. Short stories include For Ezra\, now a stop-motion film. They co-run hotpencil press with Serge Nicholson. They are featured in the documentary Private View. \n  \nRyder West (they/them) is a non-binary trans masc writer of smutty words. Their stories focus on vulnerability in D/s relationships and the sexiness of trans bodies. When not stomping on their partners in their Doc Martens\, they can be found halfway up a climbing wall or underneath a blanket and a purring cat. \n  \nChristian Pan writes erotic fiction that frequently explores bisexual identity and experience. He is a Creative Director for Incision Press\, the editor & organizer of The Best Bi Erotica of the Year\, Volume One\, and the author of over 19 books and 100 short stories. For more information\, please go to linktr.ee/christianpan \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/take-it-outside-incision-press/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/March-29-Incision-Press-banner-rev1-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250330T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250330T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250302T204738Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250318T162613Z
UID:15232-1743346800-1743352200@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:On Activism\, Friendships\, and Fighting\,  From ACT UP to the World: A book reading and conversation with Benjamin Heim Shepard and Ron Goldberg (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:Conflict and resolution are the lifeblood of social movements. How\, and with whom\, do we find lasting friendship\, support\, and joy in a world in need of so much repair? \nIn On Activism\, Friendships\, and Fighting veteran organizer and social worker Benjamin Heim Shepard traces a pressing dynamic of social movements: friendship and conflict. Shepard and ACT UP veteran Ron Goldberg\, author of of Boy with the Bullhorn: A Memoir and History of ACT UP New York\, will hold a reading and conversation about friendship and social movements\, conflict and resolution in ACT UP. Shepard’s work builds on oral histories with more than thirty movement organizers—from AIDS\, queer\, trade union\, community\, Occupy\, and harm reduction-based movements—reflecting on the lessons\, meanings\, and future directions of movements and collective organizing efforts. The book examines the reasons and ways the interviewees became involved in activism\, the friendships they formed\, and the conflicts they faced. This includes asking questions such as: where do friendships support or undermine these efforts? How can conflicts be resolved? Is there room to agree to disagree? And where do people find lasting support?  Implications and questions about democracy and community practice will be explored. \nGoldberg’s work is a coming-of-age memoir of life on the front lines of the AIDS crisis with ACT UP New York. From the moment Ron Goldberg stumbled into his first ACT UP meeting in June 1987\, the AIDS activist organization became his life. For the next eight years\, he chaired committees\, planned protests\, led teach-ins\, and facilitated their Monday night meetings. He cruised and celebrated at ACT UP parties\, attended far too many AIDS memorials\, and participated in more than a hundred zaps and demonstrations\, becoming the group’s unofficial “Chant Queen\,” writing and leading chants for many of their major actions. Boy with the Bullhorn is both a memoir and an immersive history of the original New York chapter of ACT UP\, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power\, from 1987 to 1995\, told with great humor\, heart\, and insight. \nUsing the author’s own story\, “the activist education of a well-intentioned\, if somewhat naïve nice gay Jewish theater queen\,” Boy with the Bullhorn intertwines Goldberg’s experiences with the larger chronological history of ACT UP. \n  \n\n\nTo reserve a copy of both/either On Activism\, Friendships\, and Fighting (Common Notions\, March 25\, 2025\, paperback\, $22) and/or Boy with the Bullhorn (Fordham University Press\, September 3\, 2024\, paperback\, $22.95)\, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve a copy of [title(s)] for March 30th event.” \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\n\n\n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \n\n\nWhat they are saying: \n“When I needed a friend\, Ben was there for me. This books explains how I knew\, instinctively\, that I could trust him. We had overlapped in ACT UP\, and I had read his work on collective power\, but there was something in his affect\, heart\, and character\, that let me know that Ben holds friendship as a place of grappling\, listening\, opening\, and acting together. That he expands connection and relationship by embracing us in our weaknesses and vulnerability\, as much as our creative contributions and original thought. Here is the handbook to the way and the why that Ben Shepard befriends so well.” —Sarah Schulman\, American playwright and author of Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York\, 1987–1993 \n“I have known how brilliant\, insightful\, and rigorous Ben Shepard now for over two decades\, and I relish the blossoming and intersectionality of his work and life; of course this project is necessary and alive–essential to our kinship groups and social structures (right now!). I am in such deep admiration of what is collected and celebrated here—I hope to teach this in my poetry and literature classes and reckon with all the love and conflict it mindfully works to integrate. I can’t underscore enough this voluminous archive of history\, documentation\, and activism. And there’s so much more I want to say (and stay in) in its important and unveiling (revealing/revelatory?) discussion of friendship.” —Prageeta Sharma\, the author of five collections of poetry; her forthcoming poetry collection Onement Won  will be published from Wave Books in the fall of 2025. She is the Henry G. Lee Professor of English at Pomona College. \n“A great read on activist relationships—the reason many of us join movements and too many of us leave. This book offers gossipy tidbits and rich insight. Like many of us\, especially at a time like this\, Ben wonders\, ‘How do we get beyond our silos?’ In answer\, he shares the insights of scores of his ‘strange and wonderful’ activist friends\, on the conflicts and caregiving within movements.” —Lesley Wood\, Professor of Sociology\, friend of activists and activist friend\, York University \n“I found myself thoroughly engaged with Benjamin Shepard’s remarkable book on friendship\, which is focused on human connections\, and disconnections\, that occur in the process of working toward a common goal.  I love these stories\, and I think this book has much to say about friendship itself and\, of course\, about the making of a social world.” —Jay Parini\, author of Borges and Me. \n“I’ve known Benjamin Shepard for decades\, watching his writing on movements and collective power\, affinity groups which take on drug companies and defend community gardens\, battling the WTO and supporting each other. Friendship is a theme of Shepard’s work\, but so is the play\, and inevitably differences of opinion\, the conflict which spins out of efforts to combat institutional injustice\, reducing harms\, and dovetailing in their own countless directions\, spurning still new clashes of ideas and movements. Looking to oral histories\, On Activism\, Friendships\, and Fighting: Oral Histories\, Strategies\, and Conflicts traces some of this trajectory\, looking at the ways movements cope with the very notion of difference.  A leap away from the orthodox or party lines\, this is Benjamin Heim Shepard’s most ambitious\, and compelling work yet.” -Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz\, American historian and writer \n“What happens when personal friendships collide with collective missions?  On Activism\, Friendships\, and Fighting masterfully engages the reader with fascinating oral histories of people who must negotiate the complexities of friendships while dealing with differences arising when public political struggles intersect with private loyalties. Through candid interviews\, Ben Shepard introduces us to activists recounting how friendships serve as sources of strength\, energy\, and solidarity\, yet how they can often sow conflict\, betrayal\, and burnout. This wonderful book brings to life Hannah Arendt’s ‘political meaning of friendship’ idea; it insightfully illustrates these tensions and triumphs and the human connections that could enhance or break collective actions in the name of social justice.” —Peter M. Nardi\, author of Gay Men’s Friendships: Invincible Communities\, and Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College \n“The furies hover above these stories about friends and their shadows\, good selves battling with themselves\, rivals and heroes\, hubris and true heroism. Homer\, our first great storyteller\, wrote about Ulysses —his only hero. Shepard has many. Their stories remind us that friendship has changed and so have we. These changes reveal themselves through his singular storytelling.” —Irwin Epstein\, Professor Emeritus\, CUNY\, author of Men as Friends (Koehlerbooks\, 2023). \n“Ben Shepard knows that understanding the dynamics of radical friendship is the foundation of radical movements. In this book organizers will find many of the necessities that won’t fit neatly on our strategy charts.” —James R. Tracy\, editor\, A Southern Panther: Conversations with Malik Rahim \n“It’s not easy to live up to Aristotelean ethics. When we do\, its transformative.” In his previous book\, Ben Shepard showed us how essential friendships are to movement building. On Activism\, Friendships\, and Fighting shows us how critical they are movement survival in Trump Time. Ben’s new book instructs us through the stories of rebel friendships\, collectives\, and alliances that triumphed\, that blew apart\, that survived\, that fought bitterly\, that disintegrated and then regenerated\, that were suppressed\, that refused to be suppressed—all along carrying forward the vital tasks of resistance and advocacy. The alternately exhilarating and maddening lives we lead as activists and comrades are here in full\, along with some hard lessons and much love.—Eric Laursen\, author of The Operating System: An Anarchist Theory of the Modern State \n“I love this book! The relationships forged through struggle are the foundation of all social movements. They are as complex and beautiful as the organizers interviewed for this book. Activist-scholar Ben Shephard knows this in theory and in practice because he lives it everyday.” — Lynn Lewis\, Editor\, Women Who Change the World: Stories from the Fight for Social Justice and founder\, The Picture the Homeless Oral History Project \n“On Activism\, Friendships\, and Fighting: Oral Histories\, Strategies\, and Conflicts is a book about friendship. Friendships are typically birthed in proximity or circumstance (neighbors\, classmates\, coworkers). They are often time-limited\, simply fading away rather than blowing up from a conflict. We all know people we ‘used to be friends with’.  There are other books out there about friendship\, many inspired by the ‘loneliness epidemic’ that began with COVID isolation. All of them offer the same antidote: make friends\, more friends. Find a new hobby\, enroll in a class\, get involved in your place of worship. This is especially targeted to people who are older\, looking for new friends their own age. But here Benjamin Shepard writes a more accurate prescription for people of any age: make friends with people with whom you share a passion that brings meaning to your life. Together you can make a difference in the world.  The people in this book had to do one very specific thing before they could make those friends: they had to be vulnerable. They had to share their own stories\, their own struggles\, their own dreams. That decision was terrifying for some of them\, but all found that it was only in opening up that they could find their tribe. Finding your affinity group does not eliminate the potential for conflict\, and Ben shows how those conflicts play out in various groups: “What unites us and what divides us?” The shared purpose often\, but not always\, is enough to keep the friendships intact. It’s only when the conflicts become attacks that friendships and affinity groups fall apart. You may be surprised to learn that the most personal\, most vicious attacks came from inside the groups\, not outside. When those personal\, internal attacks persist – often without confrontation – those groups splinter\, often beyond repair. Ben provides cautionary tales\, but also solutions from those willing to have hard conversations and nurture friendships. Can activist groups that are not homogeneous survive? Can the personal friendships within – based on respect and a shared sense of purpose – overcome class differences or disagreements about tactics and ideology? How do you avoid the impulse to treat allies like enemies? Is everything black or white? As the late\, great Andy Vélez of ACT UP put it\, “You don’t have to like everyone. You just have to be willing to do the work.” And the most important work is listening\, listening with an open mind and heart. It is also a book about the importance of storytelling. Only with a diversity of voices can the true stories of oppression\, healing\, and hope be told. Lin-Manuel Miranda was spot-on when he wrote “Who lives? Who dies? Who tells your story?” The answers in Ben’s book are “Everyone. Everyone. You.” — Victoria Noe\, Author of the Friend Grief series F*g Hags\, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community and What Our Friends Left Behind: Grief and Laughter in a Pandemic \n  \nBy day\, Benjamin Shepard\, PhD\, works as Professor of Human Services at City Tech/CUNY.  By night\, he works to keep NYC from turning into a giant shopping mall. \nHe is also the author/editor of over a dozen books:  White Nights and Ascending Shadows\, From ACT UP to the WTO\, The Beach Beneath the Streets\, Play\, Creativity and Social Movements\, Queer Political Performance and Protest\, Rebel Friendships\, Illuminations on Market Street: (a Story about Sex and Estrangement\, AIDS and Loss\, and Other Preoccupations in San Francisco)\, Community Projects as Social Activism\,  Brooklyn Tides: On the Fall and Rise of a Global Borough\, Sustainable Urbanism\, Travels in a Conflicted World\, and On Friendship\, Activism\, and Fighting.  \nIn 2010\, he was named to the Playboy Honor Role as one of twenty professors “who are reinventing the classroom.” \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/on-activism-friendships-and-fighting/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/March-30-Activism-Friendship-Fighting-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250402T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250402T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250114T190813Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250305T222058Z
UID:15134-1743616800-1743627600@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:The Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar: Queer Economies of Care: Community\, Desire\, and the Politics of Necessity (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout the Seminar\nCLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies and the Barnard Center for Research on Women are thrilled to announce the Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar in the city\, a six-week program exploring the transformative legacy of Amber Hollibaugh—a radical lesbian feminist\, scholar\, artist\, and lifelong activist for queer survival economies. \nFacilitated by interdisciplinary artist and educator Gili Rappaport\, this seminar invites participants to dive into themes of queer survival\, care\, and community resilience in the face of economic hardship\, criminalization\, and marginalization. Participants will engage with foundational texts\, recorded dialogues\, and contributions from local artists and activists while contributing to a living archive honoring queer histories and futures. \nThe Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar (2024) relaunches CLAGS’ public education series\, Seminars in the City\, originally held in July 1998. \nThe Amber Hollibaugh Seminar is co-sponsored by the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (@bgsqd) and Barnard Center for Research on Women. \n\nWhy Join?\nThis seminar is more than a class—it’s a space to build community\, a book club to reflect on queer survival strategies\, and an homage to Amber’s vision of community care and radical solidarity. Participants will explore the intersections of class\, desire\, and kinship through a rich syllabus of readings\, discussions\, and creative work. \nWhether you’re an organizer\, artist\, body worker\, visionary\, builder\, or community member\, this seminar offers a unique opportunity to learn\, share\, and contribute to an archive of queer care and resistance. \nSchedule\nDates: March 12 – April 16\, 2025\nTime: Wednesdays\, 6–9 PM\nLocation: Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (208 West 13th Street\, NYC) \nPlease note: The April 16th meeting will NOT take place at the Bureau. We will post the location for that date as soon as we have that confirmed. \nThis is an in-person experience. Unfortunately\, we cannot accommodate remote participants at this time. \nWhat to Expect\nEach week focuses on a key theme: \n\nWeek 1: Queer Survival Economies — Honoring Amber Hollibaugh’s Legacy\nWeek 2: Public Space\, Gentrification\, and Queer Displacement\nWeek 3: Oral Histories and Resilient Queer Spaces\nWeek 4: Queer Desire and Class as Radical Resistance\nWeek 5: Trans and BIPOC Narratives on Survival and Criminalization\nWeek 6: Community-Based Economies and Mutual Aid\n\nReading list (excerpts provided free of charge\, available through the CLAGS archive) \n\nAmber Hollibaugh\, My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home\nAudre Lorde\, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name\nGloria Anzaldúa\, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza\nbell hooks\, Belonging: A Culture of Place\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, M Archive: After the End of the World\nJosé Esteban Muñoz\, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\nVivek Shraya\, I’m Afraid of Men\nGayle Rubin\, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice\nTourmaline\, Black Trans Feminism is the Future\nEric A. Stanley and Nat Smith (Eds.)\, Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex\nSylvia Rivera\, Queens in Exile\, The Forgotten Ones\nDean Spade\, Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)\nAdrienne Maree Brown\, Pleasure Activism\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, Dub: Finding Ceremony\n\nParticipation Details \n\nOpen to NYC publics\, free of charge\nWe encourage applications from first-time students\, people from underrepresented communities\, and interests that reflect the city’s diversity of cultures\, aesthetics\, and creative practices. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible space for all participants. If you need any accommodations to fully participate in the seminar\, please note this in the application form.\n20 spots available—apply soon!\nParticipants will have the option to contribute to a collaborative publication and CLAGS archive project\n\nNO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout Amber Hollibaugh\nAmber Hollibaugh was a legendary radical/lesbian/feminist/scholar/artist. A lifelong political activist and organizer\, she was on the founding board of Queers for Economic Justice and served as QEJ’s Executive Director from 2011-2014. She established Queer Survival Economies (QSE)\, a project at the Barnard Center for Research on Women addressing the intersections of sexuality\, poverty\, homelessness\, labor\, and the criminalization of survival. Hollibaugh was the Founding Director of the Lesbian AIDS Project at GMHC\, the first effort of its kind to organize with and for lesbians living with HIV. Amber also served as the Director for Aging Initiatives at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She fought for class and poverty issues to be addressed by an otherwise very bourgeois LGBTQ movement. Amber was a fierce advocate for transnational solidarity and movement building around sexuality\, bodily autonomy and pleasure. Her publications included the book My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\, and she directed and co-produced the documentary film The Heart of the Matter. Her works have been translated into several languages\, and she worked very closely with activists in China and India. \nImage credit: Joaquin Golez @othereros
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/queer-economies-of-care-5/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/march12th-april16th_Queer_Economies_Instagram_lavender.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="CLAGS%3A The Center for LGBT Studies":MAILTO:info@clags.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250404T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250404T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250314T173639Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250314T193121Z
UID:15324-1743789600-1743800400@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:An Evening with Ben Fink: Celebrating the Launch of “Noble Deeds\,” Hosted by Joe E. Jeffreys (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division hosts a special evening celebrating the publication of Noble Deeds: Mythic Portraits of the Imperial Court. This NYC launch\, hosted by drag historian Joe E. Jeffreys\, will spotlight Ben Fink’s groundbreaking book\, which vividly captures the pageantry and philanthropy of one of the oldest LGBTQ+ organizations. \nJoin us at The LGBT Community Center\, 208 13th St\, RM 101\, on Friday\, April 4\, 2025\, from 6 PM to 9 PM. \nBen and  Joe E Jeffries will discuss the historical and cultural significance of the Imperial Court System and the creation of NOBLE DEEDS. \nBen will share his inspiration behind the portraits\, share stories from the book\, and present a slideshow of images that showcase the unique artistic approach of the work. \nNoble Deeds by Ben Fink is not just a book but a monumental tribute to the enduring legacy and vibrancy of the Imperial Court\, one of the oldest and most influential LGBTQ+ organizations in the world. Over a span of seven years\, Ben Fink devoted over 10\,000 hours to this project\, meticulously capturing the essence of more than 650 iconic figures within the Imperial Court through his lens and art. This expansive hardbound coffee table book\, which is a self-published endeavor is a limited edition run with an even more exclusive book box set\, presents a collection of these portraits\, each one a testament to the individual’s unique contributions and the collective impact of the Court. \nEach image in Noble Deeds is a masterful blend of photography and illustrated techniques\, brought to life through an eight-color printing process that adds a vibrant painting-like quality to the art. These portraits are not just pictures; they are visual storytelling pieces that create narratives fitting for the personalities portrayed. They build upon the elaborate costumes and personas crafted by the subjects themselves during their year-long reigns as emperors\, empresses\, dukes\, duchesses\, princes\, princesses\, and their nonbinary counterparts. \nThe book offers readers a deep dive into a beguiling blend of myth and reality that defines the Imperial Court. Through stunning portraits enhanced by evocative imagery\, Fink not only captures but also celebrates the spirit of these figures—each portrayal resonating with the dignity\, flamboyance\, and commitment of its subject. The portraits range from regal depictions to intimate glimpses into the personal moments of these community icons\, each framed within the broader narrative of LGBTQ+ history and activism. \nAlongside the visual feast\, Noble Deeds also presents a meticulously researched history of the Imperial Court\, co-written by Ben Fink and a noted historian within the court system\, Daniel Barrows. This narrative spans over 5\,000 words\, detailing the Court’s evolution from its humble beginnings in 1965 to its pivotal role in community service\, philanthropy\, and activism today. The history component of the book does more than recount facts; it weaves the personal tales of those depicted in the portraits with the larger story of the Court’s impact on society. \nThis book is a must-have for anyone interested in the intersection of art\, history\, and LGBTQ+ activism. From its compelling narrative to its breathtaking visuals\, Noble Deeds serves as a vital document of the pageantry and philanthropy that have characterized the Imperial Court for over six decades. \n  \nTo reserve a copy of Noble Deeds ($160)\, please write to the Bureau at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve a copy of Noble Deeds for April 4 event.” \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n  \nThis event will take place in person in room 101 of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n  \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nAbout the Author: \nBorn in Baltimore in 1963\, multidisciplinary artist and photographer Ben Fink found refuge and a deep connection in the expressive power of art from an early age. His distinctive talent gained him access to the Memphis College of Art and later the University of Memphis\, where he explored the traditions of painting\, graphic design\, photography\, and art history. Ben relocated to New York City in the late ’90s\, attaining success as a photographer for major corporate brands and iconic food personalities. Ben has provided visuals for more than 300 cookbooks\, earning attention in high-profile national publications and accolades from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) and James Beard Foundation. His works delve into complex social themes and showcase haunting narratives\, establishing him as a notable figure in photography circles. His latest book\, Noble Deeds\, highlights issues of personal identity and social rebellion through painterly portraits. \n  \nAbout the host: \nJOE E. JEFFREYS is a multiplatform drag historian and pundit. He has published on the subject in encyclopedia\, essay anthologies\, journals\, and zines\, while his drag- happy videos have screened at galleries and museums internationally\, including the Tate Modern. \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/ben-fink-noble-deeds/
LOCATION:The Lesbian\, Gay\, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 101\, New York\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-4_25-Ben-Fink.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250405T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250405T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250316T180046Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250316T180046Z
UID:15330-1743865200-1743872400@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Bywater Books and the Publishing Triangle Present "Brave New Worlds" (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:Brave New Worlds: \nTelling our stories in a time of erasure and censorship. \nAs queer writers\, we have learned that embracing the diversity of our cultural experiences and identity informs the ways we write and the stories we tell. But these are dark days\, and we need literature that can lift us up and give us hope. How do the current political and cultural climates impact the types of stories writers need to tell\, and what genres we use to tell them? What are the impacts of threats of reprisal and erasure? Is there still a place for Happily Ever After narratives? What do those conventions even look like for our literary community today? Tomorrow? \nJoin Bywater Books authors Samara Breger\, Anna Burke\, Cheryl A. Head\, and Ann McMan in an important and thoughtful discussion moderated by Carol Rosenfeld. \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/bywater-books-and-publishing-triangle/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-5-Bywater-Pub-Triangle-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Publishing Triangle":MAILTO:staff@publishingtriangle.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250406T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250406T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250319T204929Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250324T145542Z
UID:15349-1743951600-1743958800@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Sensations Magazine: First Century of the American Gay Rights Movement\, 1924-2024\, Research Presentation with Poetry (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:Historian\, publisher\, and poet David Messineo shares highlights from his recent research findings on “The First Century of the American Gay Rights Movement\, 1924-2024” – the theme of the 2024 Sensations Magazine – and is joined by poets Alyta Adams\, Joel Allegretti\, Davidson Garrett\, Steve Koenig\, and others TBA\, sharing their original poems published in the issue. \nA Q&A will follow the presentation. No open mic. \nSensations Magazine is an award-winning literary magazine based in New Jersey\, publishing independently since 1987.  Copies of the 2024 Sensations Magazine are available for purchase at the Bureau for $25–reduced to $20 at the event! \nThe event is free to attend and open to the public. \n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \n  \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books or publications. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/sensations-magazine/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-6-Sensations-Magazine-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250407T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250407T213000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250303T164826Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T230622Z
UID:15239-1744050600-1744061400@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz (in-person Brooklyn Institute for Social Research course)
DESCRIPTION:The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research presents Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz at the Bureau \nInstructor: Hannah Leffingwell \n“Queerness is not yet here\,” José Esteban Muñoz declares. And yet\, his work is animated by sympathetic\, often exuberant explorations and nuanced analyses of queer performance and queer activism—from the evanescent installations of Felix Gonzales-Torres to the reparative performances of Nao Bustamante. What does it mean\, then\, to propose that queerness has yet to arrive? What are the dimensions of normativity—political\, aesthetic\, temporal—that seek to forestall it? And with what tools might queerness be\, eventually\, realized? Drawing on a wide variety of thinkers\, concepts\, and discourses\, from Ernst Bloch to Lauren Berlant\, from “structures of feeling” to “counterpublics\,” from psychoanalysis to theories of race\, sexuality\, and performance\, Muñoz takes an interdisciplinary and decidedly optimistic approach to queerness as a horizon of radical potentiality. Whether breaking new ground with his theory of disidentification—an anti-normative orientation for queers and people of color that both embraces and subverts stereotypes—or attending to the potency of gesture in drag and dance\, Muñoz helps us envision and construct queer worlds using materials scavenged from the normative trappings of identity. If queerness is not here yet\, how\, thinking with Muñoz\, can we bring it about? \nIn this course we’ll read from José Muñoz’s classic Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\, examining along the way other essays by him and work by the artists he cites\, including\, among others\, Bustamante\, Gonzalez-Torres\, Amiri Baraka\, Frank O’Hara\, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. We’ll ask: how does “disidentification” traverse the dual allure of identification with and transgression of dominant cultural meanings? What strategies does aesthetics offer\, if what we are seeking is a rearrangement of everyday practices as well as structural and communal change? How might theory itself be re-conceptualized from the perspective of artistic practices? And how might our own engagement—or disidentification—with contemporary discourses bring about queerness in the here and now? \n“Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz (In-Person)” is being held in partnership with the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, an all-volunteer queer cultural center\, bookstore\, and event space hosted by The Lesbian\, Gay\, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. For a limited time\, the Bureau is selling José Muñoz’s Cruising Utopia at a 20% discount ($22.40 instead of $28)—just mention the course when purchasing in-store! \nCourse Schedule\nMonday\, 6:30-9:30pm ET*\nApril 07 — April 28\, 2025\n4 weeks\n$335.00 \nThree scholarship spaces are reserved for each course\, because we realize that not everyone can afford to pay the full fee. Students who cannot pay the full fee should email us at info@thebrooklyninstitute.com to learn about our scholarship options. We will not ask questions about your financial situation\, but we do ask that you use the system in good faith and consider the needs of other students and faculty members. \nRegister here!\n*Please note: the Bureau is not open on Mondays. We will open for this course at 6 PM. \nImage: David Wojnarowicz\, Science Lesson (detail)\, 1982-83.
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/future-queer-bisr/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-BISR-Jose-Esteban-Munoz.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250409T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250409T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250114T191047Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250305T222352Z
UID:15136-1744221600-1744232400@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:The Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar: Queer Economies of Care: Community\, Desire\, and the Politics of Necessity (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout the Seminar\nCLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies and the Barnard Center for Research on Women are thrilled to announce the Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar in the city\, a six-week program exploring the transformative legacy of Amber Hollibaugh—a radical lesbian feminist\, scholar\, artist\, and lifelong activist for queer survival economies. \nFacilitated by interdisciplinary artist and educator Gili Rappaport\, this seminar invites participants to dive into themes of queer survival\, care\, and community resilience in the face of economic hardship\, criminalization\, and marginalization. Participants will engage with foundational texts\, recorded dialogues\, and contributions from local artists and activists while contributing to a living archive honoring queer histories and futures. \nThe Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar (2024) relaunches CLAGS’ public education series\, Seminars in the City\, originally held in July 1998. \nThe Amber Hollibaugh Seminar is co-sponsored by the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (@bgsqd) and Barnard Center for Research on Women. \n\nWhy Join?\nThis seminar is more than a class—it’s a space to build community\, a book club to reflect on queer survival strategies\, and an homage to Amber’s vision of community care and radical solidarity. Participants will explore the intersections of class\, desire\, and kinship through a rich syllabus of readings\, discussions\, and creative work. \nWhether you’re an organizer\, artist\, body worker\, visionary\, builder\, or community member\, this seminar offers a unique opportunity to learn\, share\, and contribute to an archive of queer care and resistance. \nSchedule\nDates: March 12 – April 16\, 2025\nTime: Wednesdays\, 6–9 PM\nLocation: Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (208 West 13th Street\, NYC) \nPlease note: The April 16th meeting will NOT take place at the Bureau. We will post the location for that date as soon as we have that confirmed. \nThis is an in-person experience. Unfortunately\, we cannot accommodate remote participants at this time. \nWhat to Expect\nEach week focuses on a key theme: \n\nWeek 1: Queer Survival Economies — Honoring Amber Hollibaugh’s Legacy\nWeek 2: Public Space\, Gentrification\, and Queer Displacement\nWeek 3: Oral Histories and Resilient Queer Spaces\nWeek 4: Queer Desire and Class as Radical Resistance\nWeek 5: Trans and BIPOC Narratives on Survival and Criminalization\nWeek 6: Community-Based Economies and Mutual Aid\n\nReading list (excerpts provided free of charge\, available through the CLAGS archive) \n\nAmber Hollibaugh\, My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home\nAudre Lorde\, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name\nGloria Anzaldúa\, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza\nbell hooks\, Belonging: A Culture of Place\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, M Archive: After the End of the World\nJosé Esteban Muñoz\, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\nVivek Shraya\, I’m Afraid of Men\nGayle Rubin\, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha\, Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice\nTourmaline\, Black Trans Feminism is the Future\nEric A. Stanley and Nat Smith (Eds.)\, Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex\nSylvia Rivera\, Queens in Exile\, The Forgotten Ones\nDean Spade\, Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)\nAdrienne Maree Brown\, Pleasure Activism\nAlexis Pauline Gumbs\, Dub: Finding Ceremony\n\nParticipation Details \n\nOpen to NYC publics\, free of charge\nWe encourage applications from first-time students\, people from underrepresented communities\, and interests that reflect the city’s diversity of cultures\, aesthetics\, and creative practices. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible space for all participants. If you need any accommodations to fully participate in the seminar\, please note this in the application form.\n20 spots available—apply soon!\nParticipants will have the option to contribute to a collaborative publication and CLAGS archive project\n\nNO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS\nAbout Amber Hollibaugh\nAmber Hollibaugh was a legendary radical/lesbian/feminist/scholar/artist. A lifelong political activist and organizer\, she was on the founding board of Queers for Economic Justice and served as QEJ’s Executive Director from 2011-2014. She established Queer Survival Economies (QSE)\, a project at the Barnard Center for Research on Women addressing the intersections of sexuality\, poverty\, homelessness\, labor\, and the criminalization of survival. Hollibaugh was the Founding Director of the Lesbian AIDS Project at GMHC\, the first effort of its kind to organize with and for lesbians living with HIV. Amber also served as the Director for Aging Initiatives at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She fought for class and poverty issues to be addressed by an otherwise very bourgeois LGBTQ movement. Amber was a fierce advocate for transnational solidarity and movement building around sexuality\, bodily autonomy and pleasure. Her publications included the book My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home\, and she directed and co-produced the documentary film The Heart of the Matter. Her works have been translated into several languages\, and she worked very closely with activists in China and India. \nImage credit: Joaquin Golez @othereros
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/queer-economies-of-care-6/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/march12th-april16th_Queer_Economies_Instagram_lavender.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="CLAGS%3A The Center for LGBT Studies":MAILTO:info@clags.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250410T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250410T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250310T195138Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250311T135544Z
UID:15291-1744311600-1744318800@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Griffin Hansbury in Conversation with Eileen Myles (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:Celebrating the paperback launch of his Stonewall Award-winning novel Some Strange Music Draws Me In\, Griffin Hansbury will read and talk with acclaimed author Eileen Myles. Topics may include: trans life across generations\, growing up working class\, Boston accents\, queer pessimism\, the 1980s\, Patti Smith\, escaping the suburbs\, queer survival in MAGA families. \nTo reserve a copy of Some Strange Music Draws Me In (W. W. Norton and Company\, April 15\, 2025\, paperback\, $18.99) please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve Some Strange Music for April 10 event” in the subject line. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n\n\n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\n\n\n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n\n\n  \nAbout Some Strange Music Draws Me In: \nThis provocative novel tells an emotionally gripping story about friendship\, family\, and transgender awakening in a working-class American town. It’s the summer of 1984 in Swaffham\, Massachusetts\, when Mel (short for Melanie) meets Sylvia\, a tough-as-nails trans woman whose shameless swagger inspires Mel’s dawning self-awareness. But Sylvia’s presence sparks fury among her neighbors and throws Mel into conflict with her mother and best friend. Decades later in Trump’s America\, Max (formerly Mel) is on probation from his teaching job for\, ironically\, defying speech codes around trans identity. Back in Swaffham\, he must navigate life as part of a fractured family and face his own role in the disasters of the past. \nPraise for Some Strange Music Draws Me In: \n“One of the best works of literary fiction I’ve read not just this year but in the last several.” – Drew Broussard\, Lit Hub \n“At once an analysis of gender\, sex\, and\, yes\, class\, it’s also populated with characters so real you’ll wish you could hang out with them and keep them safe.”  – Rufus Hickock\, BUST Magazine \n“This gorgeous\, propulsive novel is filled with beauty and danger\, youth and wisdom and the life-saving lifelines of counterculture. With writing so tense and honest and real\, I recognized this place and these people deeply\, and felt them all in my heart long after the book was finished.” – Michelle Tea\, author of Knocking Myself Up \n“I loved this devastating marvel of a book.” – Andrea Lawlor\, author of Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl \n“From the first brilliant sentence I knew I was going to love this book\, and I did. Griffin’s writing is poetic and searching and I felt like I had lived these characters’ lives even though we’re worlds apart.” – Ariel Schrag\, author of Adam \n“This funny\, defiant\, and passionate novel will make you want to play Patti Smith’s Horses at full volume as a soundtrack while you’re still reading. Some Strange Music Draws Me In is the coming-of-age\, reckoning-with-gender story we have all needed for decades\, the kind that can change and save your life.” – James Hannaham\, author of Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta  \nhttps://griffinhansburywriter.com/some-strange-music-draws-me-in/ \n  \n  \nGriffin Hansbury (he/him) is the author of Vanishing New York and Feral City (as Jeremiah Moss). A Pushcart Prize and Stonewall Book Award winner\, his writing has appeared in several publications\, including n+1\, the New York Times\, the New Yorker and Paris Review. He works as a psychoanalyst in Manhattan. \n  \nEileen Myles (they/them) is a poet\, novelist\, and art journalist whose practice of vernacular first-person writing has made them one of the most recognized writers of their generation. Pathetic Literature\, which they edited\, came out in Fall of 2022. a “Working Life”\, their newest collection of poems\, is out now. They live in New York and in Marfa\, Texas. \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/griffin-hansbury/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-10-Griffin-Hansbury-Eileen-Myles-banner-rev1-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250412T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250412T120000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250311T193756Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250311T193924Z
UID:15313-1744455600-1744459200@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:lesbian book club: April edition (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:We’ll be reading fiction and non-fiction — classic\, contemporary\, revealing and visionary. As a group we will decide what to read each month\, focusing on lesbian authors and/or related topics. Co-founded by lesbian book lovers Judi Komaki and Piper Olsen. \n\n\nFor our April 12th meeting\, we’ll read Bessie Smith: A Poet’s Biography of a Blues Legend by Jackie Kay (Vintage\, 2021\, paperback\, $16.95). Purchase a copy from the Bureau before April 12th and receive a 15% discount ($14.41 instead of $16.95). Just mention the lesbian book club when making your purchase. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n\n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/lesbian-book-club-april-edition/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-lesbian-book-club-Bessie-Smith.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250412T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250412T180000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250310T204910Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250310T205807Z
UID:15294-1744470000-1744480800@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Queerbook Picture Day (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:This is the last picture day event for the first year of Queerbook project. Everyone from the LGBTQIA+ community is welcome to have their portrait taken to be included in the project. \nQueerbook is a cyanotype print portrait series created by Daniel Cavanaugh. Reminiscent of school portraits\, somewhere between documentation and representation\, the series is attempts to offer the LGBTQIA+ community an opportunity to present as themselves and honor each other. The series began during Pride weekend of 2024 during a free picture day provided by the artist at Colorway Studios in Brooklyn. So far throughout the year\, over 120+ people have sat for the Queerbook portrait series\, the Class of 2024-2025. \nPlease join us at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division for this picture day on April 12\, 2025 from 3 to 6pm and sit for your portrait. All are welcome\, as time permits.  \nA selection of the series is currently on display at the Bureau as part of a group exhibition entitled\, What Are You Looking At? \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/queerbook-picture-day/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QUEERBOOK-FLYER-0412-Daniel-Cavanaugh.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250414T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250414T213000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250303T165118Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T230416Z
UID:15242-1744655400-1744666200@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz (in-person Brooklyn Institute for Social Research course)
DESCRIPTION:The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research presents Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz at the Bureau \nInstructor: Hannah Leffingwell \n“Queerness is not yet here\,” José Esteban Muñoz declares. And yet\, his work is animated by sympathetic\, often exuberant explorations and nuanced analyses of queer performance and queer activism—from the evanescent installations of Felix Gonzales-Torres to the reparative performances of Nao Bustamante. What does it mean\, then\, to propose that queerness has yet to arrive? What are the dimensions of normativity—political\, aesthetic\, temporal—that seek to forestall it? And with what tools might queerness be\, eventually\, realized? Drawing on a wide variety of thinkers\, concepts\, and discourses\, from Ernst Bloch to Lauren Berlant\, from “structures of feeling” to “counterpublics\,” from psychoanalysis to theories of race\, sexuality\, and performance\, Muñoz takes an interdisciplinary and decidedly optimistic approach to queerness as a horizon of radical potentiality. Whether breaking new ground with his theory of disidentification—an anti-normative orientation for queers and people of color that both embraces and subverts stereotypes—or attending to the potency of gesture in drag and dance\, Muñoz helps us envision and construct queer worlds using materials scavenged from the normative trappings of identity. If queerness is not here yet\, how\, thinking with Muñoz\, can we bring it about? \nIn this course we’ll read from José Muñoz’s classic Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\, examining along the way other essays by him and work by the artists he cites\, including\, among others\, Bustamante\, Gonzalez-Torres\, Amiri Baraka\, Frank O’Hara\, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. We’ll ask: how does “disidentification” traverse the dual allure of identification with and transgression of dominant cultural meanings? What strategies does aesthetics offer\, if what we are seeking is a rearrangement of everyday practices as well as structural and communal change? How might theory itself be re-conceptualized from the perspective of artistic practices? And how might our own engagement—or disidentification—with contemporary discourses bring about queerness in the here and now? \n“Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz (In-Person)” is being held in partnership with the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, an all-volunteer queer cultural center\, bookstore\, and event space hosted by The Lesbian\, Gay\, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. For a limited time\, the Bureau is selling José Muñoz’s Cruising Utopia at a 20% discount ($22.40 instead of $28)—just mention the course when purchasing in-store! \nCourse Schedule\nMonday\, 6:30-9:30pm ET*\nApril 07 — April 28\, 2025\n4 weeks\n$335.00 \nThree scholarship spaces are reserved for each course\, because we realize that not everyone can afford to pay the full fee. Students who cannot pay the full fee should email us at info@thebrooklyninstitute.com to learn about our scholarship options. We will not ask questions about your financial situation\, but we do ask that you use the system in good faith and consider the needs of other students and faculty members. \nRegister here!\n*Please note: the Bureau is not open on Mondays. We will open for this course at 6 PM. \nImage: David Wojnarowicz\, Science Lesson (detail)\, 1982-83.
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/future-queer-bisr-2/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-BISR-Jose-Esteban-Munoz.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250416T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250416T200000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250407T172225Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250416T145828Z
UID:15386-1744828200-1744833600@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:2025 Publishing Triangle Awards Finalists Reading (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:The Publishing Triangle presents its Awards Finalists Reading on Wednesday\, April 16\, the day before the 2025 Publishing Triangle awards ceremony. Join host Rob Byrnes as he welcomes RK Fauth\, Joshua Garcia\, Omotara James\, Ruben Reyes Jr.\, and Margot Douaihy as they read from some of the best LGBTQ+ fiction and poetry published in 2024. \n  \n*** \nSpecific books and awards: \nAudre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry \nSong of My Softening\, by Omotara James (Alice James Books) \nA Dream in Which I Am Playing with Bees\, by RK Fauth (Texas Tech University Press) \nFerro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ+ Fiction \nThere is a Rio Grande in Heaven\, by Ruben Reyes Jr. (Mariner Books) \nThom Gunn for Gay Poetry \nPentimento\, by Joshua Garcia (Black Lawrence Press) \n\nJoseph Hansen Award for LGBTQ+ Crime Writing \nBlessed Water\, by Margot Douaihy (Zando/Gillian Flynn Books) \n  \n\nTo reserve a copy of any of these books\, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve a book/books for April 16th event” in the subject line. And let us know the title(s) of the book(s) in the body of the email.\n\nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!\n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\n\n\n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/2025-pub-triangle-finalists/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/April-16-2025-Pub-Triangle-Finalists-banner-Rev2-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Publishing Triangle":MAILTO:staff@publishingtriangle.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250418T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250418T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250228T153836Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250402T173706Z
UID:15223-1745002800-1745010000@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Crossings: Creative Ecologies of Cruising\, by João Florêncio & Liz Rosenfeld—Book Launch (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:Join us to celebrate the publication of João Florêncio & Liz Rosenfeld’s new book Crossings: Creative Ecologies of Cruising. A creative dialogue between a queer artist and a queer academic reminiscing about and thinking with their cruising experiences\, Crossings takes queer sex practices and cultures seriously as ways of knowing and world-making. The result is an erotic hybrid form hovering between scholarship and avant-garde experimentation\, between critical manifesto and sex memoir. Here\, the voices of each author\, merged together in one\, invite the reader to inhabit the erotic spacetime between self and other\, the familiar and the strange\, desire and pleasure\, climax and release. That is\, the spaces and temporalities of cruising itself. \n  \n“Finally\, a book about cruising that is actually about friendship—sex and sensibility\, desire as gateway to more connection\, more critical engagement\, more dreaming. Yes\, Crossings rescues cruising from the drudgery of hyper-individualist masculinist posturing\, invoking the sweet caress of ruined bodies against policing in all its forms. Guidebook\, ode\, invocation\, and creative intervention\, it’s all here in this tender faggotry.” \n—Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore\, author of Touching the Art \n  \nThe event will feature introductory words by Shaka McGlotten and Grace Lavery\, followed by a performance reading of book excerpts by the authors\, and a book signing. \n  \nTo reserve a copy of CROSSINGS (Rutgers University Press\, April 15\, 2025\, paperback\, $22.95)\, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve CROSSINGS for April 18th” in the subject line. \n  \nThe event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, room 210 of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nJOÃO FLORÊNCIO is professor of gender studies and chair of the sex media and sex cultures research area at Linköping University\, Sweden. He is the author of Bareback Porn\, Porous Masculinities\, Queer Futures: The Ethics of Becoming-Pig. \nLIZ ROSENFELD is an interdisciplinary artist\, writer\, and educator. Born in New York City\, they are based in Berlin. \nGRACE LAVERY is a writer and academic. She is the author of several books\, including Pleasure and Efficacy: Of Pen Names\, Cover Versions\, and Other Trans Techniques. \nShaka McGlotten is the author of Dragging: Or\, in the Drag of a Queer Life and Virtual Intimacies: Media\, Affect\, and Queer Sociality. They teach media studies and anthropology at Purchase College-SUNY\, where they also serve as Chair of the Gender Studies program.
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/crossings/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Crossings-NYC-promo-banner.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250421T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250421T213000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250303T165338Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T230326Z
UID:15245-1745260200-1745271000@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz (in-person Brooklyn Institute for Social Research course)
DESCRIPTION:The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research presents Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz at the Bureau \nInstructor: Hannah Leffingwell \n“Queerness is not yet here\,” José Esteban Muñoz declares. And yet\, his work is animated by sympathetic\, often exuberant explorations and nuanced analyses of queer performance and queer activism—from the evanescent installations of Felix Gonzales-Torres to the reparative performances of Nao Bustamante. What does it mean\, then\, to propose that queerness has yet to arrive? What are the dimensions of normativity—political\, aesthetic\, temporal—that seek to forestall it? And with what tools might queerness be\, eventually\, realized? Drawing on a wide variety of thinkers\, concepts\, and discourses\, from Ernst Bloch to Lauren Berlant\, from “structures of feeling” to “counterpublics\,” from psychoanalysis to theories of race\, sexuality\, and performance\, Muñoz takes an interdisciplinary and decidedly optimistic approach to queerness as a horizon of radical potentiality. Whether breaking new ground with his theory of disidentification—an anti-normative orientation for queers and people of color that both embraces and subverts stereotypes—or attending to the potency of gesture in drag and dance\, Muñoz helps us envision and construct queer worlds using materials scavenged from the normative trappings of identity. If queerness is not here yet\, how\, thinking with Muñoz\, can we bring it about? \nIn this course we’ll read from José Muñoz’s classic Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\, examining along the way other essays by him and work by the artists he cites\, including\, among others\, Bustamante\, Gonzalez-Torres\, Amiri Baraka\, Frank O’Hara\, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. We’ll ask: how does “disidentification” traverse the dual allure of identification with and transgression of dominant cultural meanings? What strategies does aesthetics offer\, if what we are seeking is a rearrangement of everyday practices as well as structural and communal change? How might theory itself be re-conceptualized from the perspective of artistic practices? And how might our own engagement—or disidentification—with contemporary discourses bring about queerness in the here and now? \n“Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz (In-Person)” is being held in partnership with the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, an all-volunteer queer cultural center\, bookstore\, and event space hosted by The Lesbian\, Gay\, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. For a limited time\, the Bureau is selling José Muñoz’s Cruising Utopia at a 20% discount ($22.40 instead of $28)—just mention the course when purchasing in-store! \nCourse Schedule\nMonday\, 6:30-9:30pm ET*\nApril 07 — April 28\, 2025\n4 weeks\n$335.00 \nThree scholarship spaces are reserved for each course\, because we realize that not everyone can afford to pay the full fee. Students who cannot pay the full fee should email us at info@thebrooklyninstitute.com to learn about our scholarship options. We will not ask questions about your financial situation\, but we do ask that you use the system in good faith and consider the needs of other students and faculty members. \nRegister here!\n*Please note: the Bureau is not open on Mondays. We will open for this course at 6 PM. \nImage: David Wojnarowicz\, Science Lesson (detail)\, 1982-83.
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/future-queer-bisr-3/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-BISR-Jose-Esteban-Munoz.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250423T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250423T210000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250331T163123Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250414T154050Z
UID:15371-1745434800-1745442000@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Q&A and Book Signing: The LGBTQ+ Travel Guide for Lonely Planet by Alicia Valenski (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:Join us for an exciting evening at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division as we celebrate Lonely Planet’s The LGBTQ+ Travel Guide: Interviews\, Itineraries\, & Inspiration from Insiders in 50 Proud Places Around the Globe written by queer\, neurodivergent travel author Alicia Valenski. Alicia will be joined in conversation by Ed Salvato\, an LGBTQ+ tourism industry author and educator interviewed about his expertise in the book’s introduction and conclusion.\n  \nThe LGBTQ+ Travel Guide centers around people\, not just places\, with LGBTQ+ locals in each place offering personal portraits\, in their own words\, of what makes their destination sparkle. \nQueer community members from different backgrounds and walks of life offer honest\, helpful insights for LGBTQ+ travelers planning to visit their city\, along with inspiration for armchair travelers around the world. \nThe LGBTQ+ Travel Guide includes: \n\n50+ LGBTQ+ travel destinations around the world where the queer community can thrive outside of just Pride parades in the USA\, Europe\, Africa\, South America\, Asia\, Canada\, Australia\, and more\nInsider recommendations and travel tips from LGBTQ+ locals and tastemakers highlighting queer-owned businesses and queer-friendly experiences and excursions throughout\nStunning photography and beautifully illustrated maps for each destination\, featuring color-coded points of interest\nIntimate interviews that bring the reader into LGBTQ+ communities in a personal way with honest\, helpful insights for queer travelers planning to visit their city\, along with inspiration for armchair travelers around the world\n\nPacked with practical information on what to see and do\, and sprinkled with dozens of insider travel tips and inspiration\, The LGBTQ+ Travel Guide is for readers who don’t let their gender expression or sexual orientation hold them back from seeing all the beauty in the world. \n  \nTo reserve a copy of The LGBTQ+ Travel Guide (Lonely Planet\, March 18\, 2025\, hardcover\, $30)\, write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve The LGBTQ+ Travel Guide for April 23rd event” in the subject line. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n  \nThe Q&A will run from 7:30-8:15 p.m. Guests are welcome to arrive from 7 p.m.\, and there will be time after the chat for a book signing from 8:15-9 p.m. \n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n  \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nAbout the speakers: \nAlicia Valenski (she/her) is an American travel writer and the author of The LGBTQ+ Travel Guide with Lonely Planet. With a journalism degree from Penn State\, Alicia cut her teeth as a writer and editor at the Charlotte Observer before rising to the lofty heights of senior editor at theSkimm. Now\, she’s navigating life in the Netherlands with her partner\, their dog\, and a GPS that’s forever confused by the country’s endless bike paths. You can find her on Substack at aliciavalenski.substack.com or on social media at @aliciavalenski. \n  \nEd Salvato is a leading LGBTQ travel expert whose work for over 25 years has centered on the safety\, concerns\, and evolving needs of LGBTQ travelers. As former editor-in-chief of OUT Traveler and ManAboutWorld\, and editor of the groundbreaking Out & About gay travel newsletter\, Ed has long provided vital information and insights for queer travelers navigating a complex world. He co-authored The Handbook of LGBT Tourism & Hospitality\, and has advised destinations\, hotels\, travel advisors and travel brands on creating truly inclusive and welcoming experiences. He served for six years on the board of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA)\, including five years as Treasurer.  \n\nEd speaks globally on LGBTQ travel safety and inclusion and is a professor of tourism and hospitality at New York University’s Tisch Center of Hospitality\, where\, in addition to his regular course load\, he created the first course dedicated to inclusion and belonging in tourism. He is proud that his contributions have been included in the LGBTQ+ Travel Guide and grateful to be included in this important conversation.\n\n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/lgbtq_travel_guide/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-23-Lonely-Planet-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250425T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250425T200000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250318T171717Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250322T155839Z
UID:15346-1745607600-1745611200@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Warhol Superstar\, Jackie Curtis Undressed: Joey Preston in Conversation  (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:This event celebrates the release of Jackie Curtis Undressed\, a memoir by Joey Preston\, Jackie Curtis’s cousin and executor. In his new book\, Preston shares a collection of stories and memories that paint an intimate portrait of his famous cousin—the legendary downtown performance artist and Warhol superstar\, Jackie Curtis.  \nIn conversation with researcher Jenny Mohan\, Preston will reflect on his first-hand experiences of Jackie’s meteoric rise in the downtown art scene\, alongside a generation of other iconic talents. The memoir also delves into the lives of their unconventional family\, particularly their renowned grandmother\, Slugger Ann\, whose East Village bar was a cornerstone in both cousins’ lives. \nThe event will feature select materials from the Jackie Curtis Papers\, part of The Center Archive\, offering a unique glimpse into Jackie’s world. \n  \nTo reserve a copy of Jackie Curtis Undressed (paperback\, $16.95)\, write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve Jackie Curtis Undressed for April 25th event” in the subject line. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n  \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nJoey Preston is a lifetime native New Yorker as well as Executor to the Estate of his First Cousin and Godfather\, Warhol Star\, Jackie Curtis. After decades of supporting Jackie’s work and memory\, Joey has emerged as a two-time author who reflects on his interpersonal and professional experiences as witnessed through his eyes and feelings of a close family member.  \nJoey has always spent his life in the support of Jackie\, not only during their family and professional lives together\, but also in the public sharing of Jackie’s memory through stage managing\, directing\, producing for stage and film\, speaking engagements\, as well as Associate Producer of the major film documentary\, “Superstar In A Housedress – The Life and Legend of Jackie Curtis”.  \nAs keeper of the legal flame\, Joey continues to represent Jackie’s literary plays and poetry after four decades since Jackie’s death. Jackie’s archival files are now permanently available for review at the LGBT Center in New York City for posterity and future generations to enjoy. \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/jackie-curtis-undressed-joey-preston/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-25-Joey-Preston-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250426T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250426T160000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250311T183924Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250311T183924Z
UID:15310-1745679600-1745683200@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Two Books in One Year (in person & live-streaming)
DESCRIPTION:Launching a debut novel (Rabbis of the Garden State) and a debut book of poetry (It Wasn’t Easy to Reach You)\, both from Dan Meltz\, who will be in conversation with Rob Byrnes. \nTo reserve a copy of Rabbis of the Garden State (Rattling Good Yarns Press\, May 6\, 2025\, paperback\, $18.95) and/or It Wasn’t Easy to Reach You (Trail to Table\, February 14\, 2025\, paperback\, $20)\, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve book for April 26 event” in the subject line and let us know which book in the body of the email. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \n\n\nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \n\nAlso live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: \nyoutube.com/@bgsqd \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \n\nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n\n\n\n  \n\nDan Meltz was raised in the low-rent reaches of Jersey\, 16 minutes from Times Square\, and has lived in Manhattan for fifty years. He’s a retired technical writer and teacher of Deaf young people\, with a B.A. from Columbia (no honors). Both his first book of poems\, “It Wasn’t Easy to Reach You\,” from Trail to Table\, and his first novel\, “Rabbis of the Garden State\,” from Rattling Good Yarns\, have been published in 2025. \n  \nRob Byrnes is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of six novels and several short stories and essays. He has been a member of The Publishing Triangle Steering Committee for more than a decade\, and currently serves as Treasurer. He has been inducted into the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival Hall of Fame and has been recognized with a Gay City News Impact Award and inclusion on City & State NY’s annual “Gay Power 100” list.
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/dan-meltz/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-26-Dan-Meltz-banner-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250427T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250427T173000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250311T153124Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250409T183206Z
UID:15306-1745766000-1745775000@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Strange & Unyielding Spring Launch: Amber Dawn + Anton Solomonik + Dia Felix + Emily Zhou (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:It’s a freaky\, filthy\, and likely rage fueled get-together. It’s also a book launch. Little Puss Press and Arsenal Pulp press join forces to bring you: Anton Solomonik\, with his debut book Realistic Fiction; and Amber Dawn with her new poetry collection—Buzzkill Clamshell\, along with Emily Zhou and Dia Felix to up the literary unruliness.  \nReadings to be followed by a book signing.  \nTo reserve any of the above titles\, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve book(s) for April 27 event\,” and please let us know which titles you’d like us to reserve for you in the body of the email. \nThank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us! \n  \nThis event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W. 13th St.\, NYC\, 10011. \nRegistration is not required. Seating is first come\, first served. \nThe Bureau will solicit donations at the beginning of the event—we especially encourage donations from those who do not plan to purchase any books. \nAll are welcome to attend\, with or without a donation. \nWe will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event\, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD \n  \nWhat are people saying? \nAbout Realistic Fiction: “My heart overflows at this long-awaited story collection\, which blends Sonic the Hedgehog aesthetics with the exacting interior investigations of a trans Thomas Mann\, and which answers that question through unforgettable narrators who passionately strive to become less than they are\, and who fail.” \n—Jeanne Thornton\, Lambda Award-winning author of Summer Fun and A/S/L \n  \nAbout a body more tolerable: “a sophomore collection that creeps\, howls\, floats\, shatters. an Indigenous speaker grapples with survival\, the foster care system\, the body\, conceptions of motherhood\, and trans girlhood in this heart-wrenching leap that returns what is most precious to us through lush language and keen lyricism.” \n–Kinsale Drake\, National Poetry Series-winning author of The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket \n  \nAbout Buzzkill Clamshell: “The poems in Buzzkill Clamshell showcase the author’s trademark wit and emotional range as they map the terrain of sexuality\, aging\, chronic illness\, and trauma with gorgeous language that is somehow both shocking and subtle.” \n-Kai Cheng Thom\, author of Falling Back in Love With Being Human \n  \nParticipants’ bios: \nAnton Solomonik is a writer and illustrator living in Brooklyn. He’s the co-host of the World Transsexual Forum\, a discussion panel and open mic series for trans writers and artists. His first book\, Realistic Fiction\, launches in April 2025 by LittlePuss Press. \n  \nAmber Dawn is a writer and creative facilitator living on unceded Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver\, BC). She is the author of several books\, including two novels (Lambda Literary Award winner Sub Rosa and Sodom Road Exit) and two poetry collections (Where the words end and my body begins and My Art Is Killing Me and Other Poems). \n  \nDia Felix is a writer and media producer currently living in the Hudson River Valley. \n  \nEmily Zhou‘s first book\, Girlfriends\, won the 2023 Publishing Triangle’s Leslie Feinberg Award and was a finalist for the 2023 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Fiction. She is the “Editrix-At-Large” at LittlePuss Press and a fiction editor at Joyland Magazine. Her shorter writing has appeared in Literary Hub\, e-flux journal\, Xtra\, Club Curran\, and a few other places. She lives in New York. \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/strange-unyielding-spring-launch/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-27-Strange-and-Unyielding-banner-REV1-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250428T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250428T213000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250303T165757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T230234Z
UID:15249-1745865000-1745875800@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz (in-person Brooklyn Institute for Social Research course)
DESCRIPTION:The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research presents Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz at the Bureau \nInstructor: Hannah Leffingwell \n“Queerness is not yet here\,” José Esteban Muñoz declares. And yet\, his work is animated by sympathetic\, often exuberant explorations and nuanced analyses of queer performance and queer activism—from the evanescent installations of Felix Gonzales-Torres to the reparative performances of Nao Bustamante. What does it mean\, then\, to propose that queerness has yet to arrive? What are the dimensions of normativity—political\, aesthetic\, temporal—that seek to forestall it? And with what tools might queerness be\, eventually\, realized? Drawing on a wide variety of thinkers\, concepts\, and discourses\, from Ernst Bloch to Lauren Berlant\, from “structures of feeling” to “counterpublics\,” from psychoanalysis to theories of race\, sexuality\, and performance\, Muñoz takes an interdisciplinary and decidedly optimistic approach to queerness as a horizon of radical potentiality. Whether breaking new ground with his theory of disidentification—an anti-normative orientation for queers and people of color that both embraces and subverts stereotypes—or attending to the potency of gesture in drag and dance\, Muñoz helps us envision and construct queer worlds using materials scavenged from the normative trappings of identity. If queerness is not here yet\, how\, thinking with Muñoz\, can we bring it about? \nIn this course we’ll read from José Muñoz’s classic Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity\, examining along the way other essays by him and work by the artists he cites\, including\, among others\, Bustamante\, Gonzalez-Torres\, Amiri Baraka\, Frank O’Hara\, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. We’ll ask: how does “disidentification” traverse the dual allure of identification with and transgression of dominant cultural meanings? What strategies does aesthetics offer\, if what we are seeking is a rearrangement of everyday practices as well as structural and communal change? How might theory itself be re-conceptualized from the perspective of artistic practices? And how might our own engagement—or disidentification—with contemporary discourses bring about queerness in the here and now? \n“Future Queer: an Introduction to José Muñoz (In-Person)” is being held in partnership with the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division\, an all-volunteer queer cultural center\, bookstore\, and event space hosted by The Lesbian\, Gay\, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. For a limited time\, the Bureau is selling José Muñoz’s Cruising Utopia at a 20% discount ($22.40 instead of $28)—just mention the course when purchasing in-store! \nCourse Schedule\nMonday\, 6:30-9:30pm ET*\nApril 07 — April 28\, 2025\n4 weeks\n$335.00 \nThree scholarship spaces are reserved for each course\, because we realize that not everyone can afford to pay the full fee. Students who cannot pay the full fee should email us at info@thebrooklyninstitute.com to learn about our scholarship options. We will not ask questions about your financial situation\, but we do ask that you use the system in good faith and consider the needs of other students and faculty members. \nRegister here!\n*Please note: the Bureau is not open on Mondays. We will open for this course at 6 PM. \nImage: David Wojnarowicz\, Science Lesson (detail)\, 1982-83.
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/future-queer-bisr-4/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/April-BISR-Jose-Esteban-Munoz.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250501T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250501T200000
DTSTAMP:20260404T010111
CREATED:20250418T162715Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250418T162715Z
UID:15431-1746122400-1746129600@www.bgsqd.com
SUMMARY:Opening Reception for My Romantic Ideal (in person only)
DESCRIPTION:My Romantic Ideal \nA Queer Photography exhibition curated by Slava Mogutin \nMay 1 – August 31\, 2025 \nOpening reception: Thursday\, May 1\, 6-8 PM\nBureau of General Services—Queer Division\nRoom 210 of The LGBT Community Center\, 208 W 13th Street\, NYC 10011 \nFeatured Artists\nAlejandro Ruiz (US-Mexico) @alexandroruixx\nBen Prince (US) @benprinceusa\nBenjamin Fredrickson (US) @benjaminfredrickson2\nBrian Kenny (US) @briankennny\nBruce LaBruce (Canada) @brucelabruce\nCameron Lee Phan (Vietnam-US) @cameronleephan\nCarter Peabody (US-Mexico) @carter_pbd\nDonovan Quiroz (Mexico) @dnvn1\nFrancis Schichtel (US) @francis_schichtel\nGerardo Vizmanos (Spain-Germany) @gerardovizmanos\nGio Black Peter (Guatemala-US) @gioblackpeter11\nJan Wandrag (South Africa-US) @janwandrag\nŁukasz Leja (Poland-US) @lukaszleja\nLuke Abby (UK-Germany) @lukeabby\nMatt Lambert (US-Germany) @dielamb\nMiguel Villalobos (Venezuela-US) @miguelvillalobosnyc\nPaul Mpagi Sepuya (US) @pagmi\nQuil Lemons (US) @quillemons\nRobert Flynt (US) @robertflyntfoto\nRoss Collab (US) @rosscollab\nScott Hug (US) @mr._hug\nSlava Mogutin (Russia-US) @slavamogutin\nStanley Stellar (US) @stellar.fse\nStuart Sandford (UK-Mexico) @stuartsandford\nTom Bianchi (US) @tombianchi\nTony Solis (Mexico) @tonysolisyosoy\nTyler Matthew Oyer (US) @tmostudio\nVictor Jeffreys II (US) @victorjeffreysii \nCuratorial statement: \nMy Romantic Ideal is a queer photography exhibition that explores the intersections of intimacy\, desire\, and identity in the contemporary landscape of escalating culture wars\, with state-sponsored\, religious and corporate homophobia and censorship on the rise on both sides of the Atlantic. \nAs queer artists\, we occupy spaces where love and lust collide\, where fantasy and reality dissolve\, and where the body becomes both a site of pleasure and protest. This collection of work from 28 emerging and established photographers—each with their unique vision\, background\, and experience—offers a kaleidoscopic view into the multifaceted and often contradictory nature of queer romance. \nThe title of the exhibition reflects the tension between societal expectations of romance and the deeply personal\, rebellious\, and liberating expressions of love and desire that queer artists present. Romantic ideals have historically been dictated and shaped by heteronormative frameworks\, but here\, we subvert and redefine them through a queer lens. Each artist challenges\, queers\, and reclaims the concept of romanticism in their own way\, whether through intimate portraiture\, raw documentation of lived experiences\, or surreal\, dreamlike compositions. \nAs a curator\, I aimed to gather a selection of artists whose work resonates with the complexities of queer love\, desire\, and identity in their many forms. These photographers are not simply documenting a queer reality—they are creating new paradigms of romanticism\, fueled by their journeys and passions. Together\, their works form a vibrant intergenerational dialogue about the politics of love\, the performance of romance\, and the transformative power of queer eroticism. \nMy Romantic Ideal is not just an exhibition of photography\, but a declaration of the many ways we\, as queer artists\, claim and redefine love—on our own terms\, with all its contradictions\, joys\, and struggles. \n 
URL:https://www.bgsqd.com/event/opening-reception-my-romantic-ideal/
LOCATION:Bureau of General Services–Queer Division\, 208 West 13th Street\, Room 210\, New York\, NY\, 10011\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bgsqd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/MY_ROMANTIC_IDEAL_BGSQD_flyer2_WEB.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bureau of General Services%E2%80%94Queer Division":MAILTO:contact@bgsqd.com
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR