VBKÖ – Vereinigung bildender Künstlerinnen Österreichs

“What’s the Tea?” is a series of events designed by and for trans* and queer individuals to share their personal stories, inspirations, aspirations, and creative work. Centered around the concept of storytelling, the event draws on the slang term “tea” – meaning to share truth or gossip – to create a space where participants spill their own experiences and insights. Themes of transitoriness and transformation are woven through the narratives, highlighting moments that shape identity, creativity, and community. With a focus on “trans*stories” and “transitorities,” the event invites participants to engage in the transient nature of inspiration and self-expression from the guests.

“What’s the Tea?” is conceived by Faris Cucchi, Mzamo Nondlwana and Pêdra Costa and organized by VBKÖ.


What's the Tea? #1 with Xan Marçall

Friday, October 25, 2024 at 18:00

Location: VBKÖ (Maysedergasse 2/28, 4. Stock, 1010 Wien)
The screening starts at 18:30.

XAN MARÇALL is an Amazonian Kaabok, a Master’s student in Anthropology at Federal University of Bahia – UFBA, Filmmaker, Theater Teacher, actress, writer, HIV/AIDS activist, and an advocate for Trans* and Travestis rights. She has participated in several anthologies and creative writing projects on the peripheral resurgence of the peoples of Abya Yala. Her debut film, IAUARAETE, has been featured in several national and international festivals. She was awarded the Elke Maravilha Award for Best Actress in a Short Film and Best Art Direction at the 14th For Rainbow Festival and the XVII International Panorama Coisa de Cinema Festival, respectively. In 2023, her short film, an exercise in Modal Anthropology, TRANSDISPLAY – Travesty Memory, was selected for the Student Showcase at the 44th Durban Film Festival, where she engaged in dialogues with students from South Africa.

OB A TERRA DO ENCOBERTO is an experimental audiovisual film developed through multi-narrative storytelling, focusing on the friction between documentary and fiction. The film presents worldviews shaped by insurgent Afro-Indigenous imaginaries, explored through history, mystery, poetics, and the magic embedded in the lives of Trans* and Travesti people from northern and northeastern Brazil.

This work is primarily led by and for Trans* and Travesti individuals from the northeast, north, and Amazonian regions, delving into the epistemologies of our territorial migratory context. It acknowledges the intersections of images and imaginaries, where knowledge develops as tactics of resistance, resilience, and insurrection in the battle for Brazilian identity narratives. The feature film documents seven characters, reflecting on their stories and relationships with their own territories. Most importantly, it seeks to recreate a cartographic memory that considers the complexities of imagination, enchantment, and mystery within these identity contexts.

Created by the artists Libra and Xan Marçall, the film was developed in September 2021 across the cities of Salvador, Arcoverde, São Luiz, Mairi, Belém, Salvaterra, and Soure. It was commissioned for the exhibition “Encantadas – Transcendental Brazilian Arts,” curated by Sanni Est, Ué Prazeres, and A TRANSÄLIEN for the Schwules Museum in Berlin.


What's the Tea? #2 with iki yos piña narváez funes

Wednesday, November 23rd at 18:30
Location: VBKÖ (Maysedergasse 2/28, 4. Stock, 1010 Wien)

IKI YOS PIÑA NARVÁEZ FUNES. Afro-descendant, non-human, and cimarrónicx-flesh. Trans-non binary. Performer, writer and drawer.

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