Ehud Joseph

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Phd Student

Queer identity and communities are peripheral to heteronormative mainstream society and parts of the LGBTQ+ community. Yet, queer culture has been a hothouse of cultural development, whose impact is evident across many sectors of society.

Costume making and costumed performance have been key pillars of queer culture, helping develop localised cultural capital that, through its joyful and ludic nature, has helped queer individuals define their identities and celebrate their commonalities. Yet, queer individuals who lack costume-making skills may feel excluded from costume-focused queer cultural events.

This research explores the potential of a queered costume-making facilitation methodology to assist queer individuals in developing their creative expression while examining how shared creative spaces can help build new, resilient communities.

Through a workshop series, a group of queer participants designed and created costumes for a Brisbane-based dance party. The workshops were structured with triggers and activities which helped the participants discuss and analyse their lived-in experience as queer individuals and then carry out various ideation and design activities, helping them develop their final costumes.

The project’s queering of the facilitation methodology involved centring a queer experience, creating a safe space for the participants to be themselves within a community where they felt a kinship and belonging. The workshops shed light on how identity negotiation can be enhanced through culturally specific facilitation, which fosters connection and shared creativity.

The methodology utilised in this project has already been carried out in two workshop series under the umbrella of the Brisbane festival, working with local queer and allied communities to create fabulous costumes and enhance Brisbane-based costume making.