A workshop exploring queer urbanism lead by Thomas Stempka
Date: 11 – 21.09.2023
Time: 14:00 – 17:00
Can a city be queer? Can I queer a city? Should I queer a city? Can anyone queer a city? And a bench? Can I queer a bench?
These are the basic existential questions we will be asking / discussing through a series of talks and active workshops in the city of Pristina in TROUBLE-MAKING PLACE-MAKING. Thomas will be presenting the research, historical and contemporary projects which may or may not help us on this investigative journey. Creating/imagining a red thread through the misfits of art and design history (see: Dada, Futurists, Surrealists, Situationists, Actionists, Fluxus, etc), you will look at how cities across the world have been impacted these thinkers. Did they affect their city’s identities? How can a 5 min performance have an impact 50 years later? Mixing in some issues brought up queer theorists (Paul Preciado, Sara Ahmed, Olivier Vallerand), together with Thomas you will discuss how queer theory has/can impact design, specifically urban design. Including those who have stretched architecture from the paper to the streets: Superstudio, Archizoon and the works of Allan Wrexler, this workshop starts off with a lecture/discussion/group roundtable where we will question each other and attack our idols! The workshop will move onto creating your own works in the city of Pristina, and finishing with a mini-exhibition between ourselves… and if we feel up for it, maybe showcase our work for the Pristina public.
Register in the link:
https://forms.gle/wqhcXpryZvGU9pDc7
Who is Thomas?
A visual poet, equal parts creator/destroyer and all-around anti-designer, I’m Thomas Stempka [nice to virtually meet you]. Born in the suburbs of Philadelphia (US), I have studied Architecture in New York, Fine Arts in Vienna, Spatial Design in Linz (AT) and Urban Design in Barcelona. I dropped out of more schools than I can count, but my artistic journeys across Europe and North/South America have given me a wild perspective on what it means to be from somewhere or belong anywhere. I have exhibited in galleries, festivals, streets, and toilets in Austria, Brazil, Catalunya, Chile, Germany, Portugal and Serbia. I am currently based in Barcelona, pursuing a PhD in Design at BAU College of Art & Design with the theme of …. (surprise!) queer urbanism and acts of urban rebellion.
