Digital Ceremony, Gathering, Talk
SJ Norman and Joseph M. Pierce
Join Knowledge of Wounds for a conversation between Kim TallBear & Daniel Browning on October 20 at 7pm CST.
In this keynote conversation, Dr. TallBear will speak with Bundjalung journalist Daniel Browning on her work on critical non-monogamy. TallBear situates her critique of the assumed, settler-imposed norms of dyadic coupledom and marriage within the Indigenous ethics of Right Relationship. In her work, TallBear traces a compelling line between the strategic imposition of colonial familial structures and sexual mores and the seizure and partitioning of land. In critical dialogue with the work of white ecofeminists such as Annie Sprinkle, TallBear proposes an expanded understanding of erotic relationship and intimate committment that includes both human and more-than-human relations. TallBear both references and refutes the existing formulations of Polyamory, troubling the overwhelming whiteness and neoliberal underpinnings of these movements, and instead makes an argument for the practice of non-monogamy and non-hierarchical intimacy as restorations of our relational sovereignty.
Knowledge of Wounds is a ceremony, a digital fire, a calling to vibrate in good relations across Indigenous time and space. Curated and led by SJ Norman (Koori, Wiradjuri descent) and Joseph M. Pierce (Cherokee Nation), Knowledge of Wounds will unfold as a series of digital events throughout 2021, foregrounding Indigenous methodologies and leadership to create new spaces for knowledge exchange between First Nations communities across the world. Knowledge of Wounds is one of the first programs of its kind to focus specifically on the intersections of Indigeneity, gender, sexuality, and the body. Centering Indigenous practices of care, sovereignty, and accessibility, the Knowledge of Wounds virtual platform will remain as an Indigenous led and held archive, handing back centuries of archival and epistemological authority from settlers to Indigenous communities. Honoring Indigenous time and space in the spirit of the Wiradjuri term Yindyamarra—which refers to the qualities of respect, going slow, honoring, and taking responsibility—the structures and principles for these virtual gatherings are being developed by the curators in early 2021, with individual events being announced throughout the year as the program evolves. Please sign up to the Knowledge of Wounds newsletter for regular updates.
Following the first edition of Knowledge of Wounds—held in-person in January 2020 at Performance Space New York—organizers Norman and Pierce have expanded the program to become a global digital gathering which is collectively supported by five leading experimental arts organizations: Performance Space New York (NY), Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PDX), The Momentary (AR), Ballroom Marfa (TX) and Performance Space Sydney (NSW, Australia).