OWN Your Pride

On the first day of Helsinki Pride month we owned it with radical joy. 1.6.2024 brought focus to our history, the question of ownership and the liberation of our people. 

With a lineup of local and international artists as well as discussions and activities around knowing our history. We wanted to take back some ownership of the club spaces and club culture that queer people have always been at the forefront of creating. Especially a space for those individuals, who can’t find their space or representation from the mainstream queer spaces.

DJ line up included: BRAVA (ES), BANJEE (NO), THE CONNECT (SWE), As well as home base influense: Yeboyah, post êxistance, Kudelma, Lulu, Wekesa, trabelsi, suinner.

Performances, workshops and appearances included: Out of Sync, Crush[ing], Lina Jarallah, Lesbo Erotics, FRIENDS OF QUEER HISTORY, QSeduction 101, Quiz: WDYK 'BOUT QUEER S*IT, Queer Hiphop w/ Dj Shy Grl.

OWN your pride was born from the passion for club culture and from the need for an optional pride space: A pride space that works from and for the communities themselves.

OWN club nights

PART 1 // OWN - The Reception

OWN: The Reception was born and it was held as the official afterparty for the Love Ain’t Fair Kikiball by Kiia Mowalola and Angel Mowalola. The kiki was a celebration of tragedy in love, cause Love is Love, but Love Ain’t Fair and hence we wanted to create an evening for the esteemed wedding guests to come and continue their night.

A new, temporary community space with a bar and terrace had just opened. R4, in Teurastamo, gave us the opportunity to test how the space works for us and our community.

Night's lineup included familiar faces from the minifestival year prior, Yeboyah and Banjee as well as suinner + trabelsi and a historic club debut at OWN by ESPRNC. The vibe was celebratory and elated. People dressed in their best wedding attires and danced hardd on the tables, behind the DJ booth and on the floor.

PART 2 // OWN - Good Communication

The bodies want to talk and pride never ends, so we went for the second time to get that good communication going for our summer flings. R4 provided the space to let our bodies do the talking, whether you came alone or together with someone the dance floor was open for some consensual grinding and collective dancing. The theme called for some good communication, connecting with our desires and communicating through our bodies, minds and spirits. 

Lineup included dj cute cumber, one of the most influential doers on the cultural field with magical performance skills known also as Kiia Beilinson or Peter Cunt’dre, alongside suinner + trabelsi. 

To help people get better in touch with their needs, wants and boundaries and to help communicate them to each other,  we came up with a question game that was available for everyone to use during the night with questions to talk in relation as well as to answer yourself. There was a doodle book for the ones who don’t want to talk and ribbons were provided to tell where you stand about being in relation to other people.

OWN: Good Communication was the first OWN that worked on pay what you can model, a factor we work on to keep as an option also in the future. The atmosphere was thicc from the hot summer night and sweaty bodies grinding close to each other, connecting, conversing, singing, swaying, communicating through movement. The dance floor was full all night.

Part 3 // OWN - The trouble

As all good things come in three (do they?)
We wanted to end the summer of OWN, with a third party. Closing up the summer fling and saying our goodbyes to R4 that had treated us so sweetly.

As a completion to the trilogy we wanted to give space for all the difficult feelings that come up during our relationships to yourself, to people around you and the surrounding world -, the trouble. How does it feel to sing so sick to your ex safely or stomp to your revenge song together, this night was a space for you to feel and connect - moving always with consent and respect. 

Lineup included dj Craftybitch and dj Wekesa alongside yours truly. We also had the pleasure of having the sweet presence of our safer spaces host Genesis, helping and holding us with the possible overwhelm, for the night. 

This time the dance floor felt intimate, regulars were dancing from the moment we opened the doors. We did a little singalong to Cheechynas Peggy and made space for screaming out our needs. We shared the date with a lot of parties around town, weddings, birthday parties, summer endings, but our community found their way to us regardless. Thankful of you and hopeful for so many stories!

DETAILS

FORMAT:
performance, event, talks, workshop

DURATION:
320:00 min

LANGUAGE:
ENGLISH / FINNISH

CONTENT NOTES

identity politics, sexual content, club culture

SPECIAL THANKS

PHOTO DOCUMENTATION:

Patricia Carlitos, Suinner

MADE POSSIBLE BY: R4 Space, Ääniwalli