Bodies at the Borders
January 24, 2020
UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences
Digital Arts Research Center 108
January 25, 2020
SFMOMA
Phyllis Wattis Theater
Bodies at the Borders is a two-day symposium addressing the politics of borders as they intersect with issues of sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity and race. With film screenings, poetry readings, performances, and panel discussions, the symposium accompanies installations by Carlos Motta on view at SFMOMA and UC Santa Cruz.
The symposium, produced by Carlos Motta in collaboration with Rachel Nelson, UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences, brings together artists, activists, and scholars to further interrogate the pressing issues of identities, borders, and boundaries. Participant biographies can be found here.
Schedule of Events
January 24, 2020
Symposium Day 1 UC SANTA CRUZ:
9- 9:30 Coffee and bagels
9:30- 9:45 a.m. Introduction
- Rachel Nelson, Interim Director, Institute of the Arts and Sciences, UCSC
9:45-10:15 a.m. Keynote: Carlos Motta, artist
10:15-11:45 a.m. Panel 1: Sexuality and Borders: Pasts and Presents
Moderator: Anjali Arondekar, Associate Professor of Feminist Studies, UCSC
- J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, Kanaka Maoli, Professor of American Studies, Wesleyan University
- Pete Sigal, Professor of History and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, Duke University
- Neferti Tadiar, Professor of Women’s Studies, Barnard College, Columbia University
11:45-12:30 p.m. Film Screening: Deseos by Carlos Motta
12:30-1:30 p.m. Break
1:30- 2 p.m. Performance/ Reading: Demian DinéYazhi´, Diné, artist
2-2:30 p.m. Demian DinéYazhi´ and Joseph Pierce in conversation
- Demian DinéYazhi´, Diné, artist
- Joseph M. Pierce, Citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Associate Professor of Latin American Studies, Stony Brook University
2:30-4 p.m. Panel 2: Borders and Containment
Moderator: Gina Dent, Associate Professor of Feminist Studies, UCSC
- Che Gossett, writer, archivist, and Ph.D. candidate, Trans/Gender Studies, Rutgers
- Silky Shah, Executive Director, Detention Watch Network
- Gabriel Arkles, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU
4-4:30 p.m. Break
4:30-5 p.m. Film Screening: 4 Waters: Deep Implicancy by Arjuna Neuman and Denise Ferreira da Silva
5- 6 p.m. Keynote: "Corpus Infinitum," Denise Ferreira da Silva, Professor and Director of the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia
January 25, 2020
Symposium Day 2: SFMOMA
9:30-10 a.m. Coffee and bagels
10:00-10:15 a.m. Introduction
- Eungie Joo (Curator of Contemporary Art, SFMOMA)
10:15-10:30 a.m. Opening Remarks: Carlos Motta, artist
10:30-11:30 a.m. Keynote: "Illegals in Times of Crisis," Julio Salgado, artist
11:30-1:00 p.m. Panel 3: Sexuality, Migration, and the U.S./ Mexico Border
Moderator: Karma Chávez, scholar and activist, Associate Professor of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, UT Austin
- Karolina López, trans activist, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, Mariposas Sin Fronteras
- Yosimar Reyes, poet and activist
- Jackie Vimo, scholar, Policy Analyst for the National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
1:00-2:30 p.m. Break
2:30-3:30 p.m. Performance: ALOK
3:30-5 p.m. Panel 4: LGBTQIA+ Refugees in Crisis
Moderator: Maya Mikdashi, Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies and Middle Eastern Studies, Rutgers
- Razan AlSalah, filmmaker, media artist, Assistant Professor in Media Production, Concordia University, Tiohtià:ke/Montreal
- Sima Shakhsari, Assistant Professor of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, University of Minnesota
- Sherene Razack, Distinguished Professor of Women and Gender Studies, UCLA