Lavender Rights Project is committed to supporting artists and performers who represent the communities we serve. With this in mind, we’re excited to announce that the following performers will be featured in our upcoming Art Auction Fundraiser on Friday, December 14 from 5:00-9:00pm at All Pilgrims. Sliding scale tickets can be purchased here.

Ms. Ara-Lei Yandall

In addition to holding the impressive title of Miss UTOPIA International 2018, our first performer, Ms. Ara-Lei Yandall, serves as the Program Coordinator at the Seattle chapter of UTOPIA (United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance).

As is described on their website, UTOPIA has worked since 2009 with Queer and Trans Pacific Islander (QTPI) leaders to create a safe, welcoming, supportive, and vibrant space for members of the community to address basic needs, build pathways toward new expanded career and life opportunities, foster a sense of common purpose, and advocate for social justice, education, and overall wellness among members of the Pacific Islander LGBTQI community.

UTOPIA is led and founded by women of color, identifying as transgender and/or fa’afafine. Fa’afafine is a cultural gender identity native to Samoa translated as “in the manner of a woman.” Since its inception, UTOPIA has worked to build power and help community members access resources, employment, stable housing, higher education, culturally competent healthcare, and more.

You can catch Ms. Ara-Lei Yandall’s performance at the Art Auction, and learn more about UTOPIA’s widespread community initiatives and programs at https://utopiaseattle.org/.

Lavender Country

Lavender Country, well known as a self-titled album released in 1973 by singer/songwriter/guitarist Patrick Haggerty, represents a crucial link to the past, present, and future of gay culture pushing back against the establishment.

Considered the first known gay country music album, Lavender Country is described on label Paradise of Bachelors’ website as “a scathing indictment of the injustices perpetrated on the homosexual community, a proud proclamation of gay identity, and a love letter of bracing intimacy and eroticism [that] appropriates the signifiers of the conservative country genre, queering its heteronormative vocabulary into a deeply personal language.”

In Dan Taberski’s documentary (featured above), These C*cksucking Tears (named after a song on the original album), Haggerty describes releasing the album back in the 70’s:

“We would run ads in the underground gay press: ‘Send $3 to Post Office Box 22228 Seattle, WA 98122 — send us $3 and we’ll send you Lavender Country.’ That’s how it worked. We sold 1000 copies and there weren’t any more albums to sell.”

Haggerty continues performing as Lavender Country with “his fabulous and talented band of rabblerousing merrymakers,” as is described on the group’s Facebook page. Join us at the Art Auction to experience Lavender Country’s ‘fuck the establishment’ tones in the seemingly-contradictory (but intentionally so) country genre.

Tail Feather

Closing our night will be Tail Feather, a boi-lesque ballet presented by Earth Pearl Collective. Tail Feather uses dance, spoken word, boi-lesque, and theatre takes to share stories of masculinity from the masculine-centered woman while making parallels to the beautiful display of masculinity found in the plumage of male birds from around the world.

Tail Feather is director and creator Sadiqua Iman’s creative response to an African American queer elder’s question, “What happened to just being a good ole fashioned butch?” With choreography by Iman’s sister, New York choreographer Alia Kache, and original music by queer pop artists Be Steadwell, this collaborative project is a memorable tribute to and for the “good ole fashioned butch.”

As “bois of a feather,” Tail Feather performers dig into stereotypes about black queer identity, heteronormative politics within the community, and the sexy (and sometimes sticky) dynamics around love and sex. Check out Tail Feather’s visual expression in a new work of dance, theatre, and boi-lesque at the Art Auction, and follow their hashtags #boisofafeather and #tailfeathercrew to stay up to date on panel discussions, workshops, and events.

Content originally posted by earth pearl collective here

You can learn more about some of the artists being featured in the auction on our recent blog post, 5 Local Artists You Can Support at LRP’s Art Auction, and visit our Art Auction page to see a more complete listing of the art pieces available during the silent auction, purchase tickets, or sign up to volunteer!

Founded in 2016, the Lavender Rights Project advances a more just and equitable society by providing low-cost civil legal services and community programming centered in values of social justice for trans and queer low-income people and other marginalized communities.

The Lavender Rights Project aims to combat the gatekeeping of legal knowledge and mobility by building community-based familiarity with legal processes and preparing community members to effectively advocate for themselves and their loved ones.