Blvck Queer Block is not an independent festival. It is organised under the umbrella of Blvck Queer Initiative, an entertainment company in Johannesburg focused on LGBTQIA+ POC representation. Like its parent organisation, Blvck Queer Block [BQB, for short] is a new South African creative, sophisticated, collaborative, authentic performance forum that represents black and queer women on Instagram, YouTube, & Facebook.
Banzii Mavuso, the founder of the Blvck Queer initiative, is a singer and filmmaker working to change perceptions of black, queer women. Her movie, Gang 888, which tells the story of 5 women who start a gang to fight toxic masculinity, is about to be released.
The Blvck Queer Block is organising its first festival, a virtual two-day celebration of Queer live performances, short films, and interviews. It is scheduled to hold from Friday, October 30 to Saturday, October 31st at 5pm – 6pm (South Africa Standard Tim) daily on Youtube via this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMsONID3O-_bYtCKKYzbRHg.
Performers at the festival include Jocelyn Hudson a.k.a DJ JSmooth, a Chicago based, open format DJ; Banzii Mavuso aka Kanii Axtro, a musician, creative industries practitioner, visual artist, event coordinator, photographer, performance artist, filmmaker and all-round creative; Shaun Lunga, an artist in learning, freelance writer, and poet; Carrie Hawks, a filmmaker and artist, Actresses from Gang 888.
https://twitter.com/BLVCK_QUEER_/status/1319549209092173824?s=20
Tickets are priced at R100 and can be secured on the link here. Funds raised go towards supporting all
artists involved in the festival, volunteers, as well as company facilitation and admin: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/119519-blvck-queer-block/?preview=t#/
Alternatively, donations of $6 can be made to Blvck Queer Initiative’s PayPal account to support their future programs, artists and volunteers on the link below: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-
xclick&hosted_button_id=TAY4JMF34Z3TG
More information can be received by sending an email to blvckqueer@gmail.com.
