When you think of the contemporary queer movement, Alok Vaid-Menon is one of the first names that comes to mind in the artistic world.
How many Facebook likes does it take to love yourself? How many followers does it take to feel less alone? Why do we call cis people looking at trans people, progress? These are the kind of questions Alok contemplates in their solo performance Watching You/Watch Me, hosted by the Cuckoo Club, in Bandra, on May 5.
A non-binary, transfeminine writer, entertainer, performance artist and public speaker is how you’d describe Alok, who uses the pronouns ‘them/they’. With a collection of work that voices global trans politics, they attempt to change the narrative of LGBTQI movements and create a space for queer people of colour that are searching for an identity, while also calling for a better understanding of what true ‘visibility’ is for an entire generation that falls left of centre means in the midst of the dominant heteronormative societal standards.
Having captured the gaze of audiences worldwide, Alok is currently touring India and is headed to Mumbai this weekend. You can spend this Friday evening listening to poetry and an experimental performance, attend a guided creative workshop on writing and performance for artists of all backgrounds on Saturday, and expand your perception of gender while questioning its necessity as well as the violent nature of its existence in society today in an interactive workshop.
Exploring sexuality, politics, identity and social justice - these are three culturally, socially and intellectually significant events that will leave you enriched.
You can join the conversation on Friday at ‘Watching You/Watch Me’ with an opening performance by Sri Lankan musician (harpist and singer) and activist ELSZ, Saturday at ‘Writing & Performance Intensive’ and on Sunday at ‘Gender. A Workshop With Alok Vaid-Menon,’ all at The Cuckoo Club.