Often people think artists are only privileged people
or that you can only be an artist if you are privileged.
CoG is the polemic against this.
or that you can only be an artist if you are privileged.
CoG is the polemic against this.
Welcome to April!
CoG is going to be busy this month. We have many opportunities for you to get involved! Click on one of the underlined links to go to that section or read on to find out about our Call to Artists, our upcoming events, (1st Thursday, Social Justice Workshop, Acrobatic classes in Seattle, Tranny Roadshow, Screenprinting, Puppets at Earth Day and a save the date for Queers heart Geeks!) and a CoG Progress report. To find out more about anything you can go to our website http://collectiveofgeniuses.org or you can always send us an email at cog.pdx@gmail.com
CALL TO ARTISTS:
Visual Art for the Tranny Roadshow: Got a piece about Gender, send us a picture; it's that easy! Limited Wall Space so get us your submissions soon! Deadline: April 12thPerformers for the May Day Edition of Queers Heart Geeks: for this cabaret already has some great acts but we are currently looking for people who want to work ensemble style on some pieces. Also if you have an act that is directly related to May Day or Beltaine we might be able to find some room in the line up for you. Bring your piece for the show or just a piece to show us your work to the auditions. Auditions will be April 6th from 6-8pm. Email us to sign up for an audition slot.
In Partnership with Gender Free For All: We are organizing some art events for the first week of August so all you transgender, gender queer, gendernaunts who make stuff, organize stuff, and/or do stuff contact us!
First Thursdays! CoG will be selling our wares at First Thursday Art Walk Starting this Thursday April 1st and going to November. Stop by and see our new designs. In April we are featuring "housewares." Come find us on in NW Portland between Everett and Johnson on 13th street from 5 to 10 p.m.
Social Justice League Workshop! This Saturday April 3rd from 3-6pm we will be hosting our first interactive social justice workshop: class and privilege. We will be exploring class and privilege through facilitated discussion, games, and theatre of the oppressed. RSVP required to get location. Note current location is not ADA compliant. we tried to find a place that would be compliant but with no luck. If you have a location please let us know! send RSVP to cog.pdx@gmail.com
Climbing on your friends at the Clown Dojo! This is for all you Seattle Based Folks. In this class we will explore the basics of partner acrobatics, including counterbalances, partner rolls, stacking, pyramids, and more! We will begin with a thorough warm-up, move into basic two person tricks and pyramids and tumbling, moving partner tricks, and group movement exercises. We will also explore ways to include partner acro in your clown routines with fun exercises. The class will end in an entire class pyramid. All Levels. You do not need to bring a partner to participate in this class. Come dressed to move! 2 Sessions - April 11 10:00AM-12:30PM + 2:00-4:30PM. In advance - $30 Regular, $24 TPS, $50 for two students when you sing up with a friend. To purchase ticket click here or copy and paste this link:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/105812
Tranny Roadshow! April 16th at 7pm at 109 SE Salmon, join us in welcoming the Tranny Roadshow! Please come enjoy an evening of performance and artwork by Trans folk. Event is All Ages, and tickets are $10 at the door. More information about the acts can be found at http://trannyroadshow.com
Photo Emulsion Screenprinting! April 18 and 19th, Smitty will be teaching a two part photoemulsion (screen burning) class. Prior experience is suggested. Possiblity of another intro class on the 17th as well for those who don't have any experience. You must sign up and pay in advance for this class as we have to buy supplies. Please e-mail cog.pdx @gmail.com for more information, and to sign up.
Puppets on the loose at Earth Day! April 24th is the National Day of Puppetry and Earth Day! CoG is teaming up with City Repair and the Columbia Association of Puppeteers (CAP), a chartered guild of the Puppeteers of America, as well as SCRAP and a Master Recycler to bring National Day of Puppetry to you! We are going to have crafts for kids, mini puppet shows, and of course the CoG booth, all at the City Repair Earth Day Celebration. If you are interseted in volunteering drop us a line at cog.pdx@gmail.com!
Queers <3 Geeks: May Day Addition! May 1st, save the date! This coming May Day we are pulling out all the stops to bring you a fabulous show that rock your world. Our talented line up is through the roof featuring CoG's Acrobats as well as Shireen Press and many more! We are also bringing you some brand new ensemble works (see above call to artist.)
We raised a bunch of money for hiring a lawyer and now we are waiting. The lawyer we are working with works through a non-profit which helps non-profits by reducing lawyer fees, and we are now hacking through the red tape and application process. We hope to have more info for you about this process soon.
But in the mean time we have made some commitments to some organizations in the community. We are now not only selling our wares through In Other Words we are in process of becoming fiscally sponsored by them as well. We are also meeting with Siren Nation on Friday to talk about how we can co-organize more. So exciting!!!
We are still looking for some community members who are interested in participating in a mission-ing and goals forum. If you would like to be involved send us a brief email telling us why you think you would be a good person to sit on this forum.
Also you will see we are doing more fundraisers now. This is mostly because Smitty (the person who has been funding CoG for the last two years) was laid off and we are doing fundraisers now to help pay for the studio and for entrance fees to events we do, as Smitty's unemployment barely pays for his rent. We hope in the future CoG will be more self-sustainable but any organization or business takes a while to get its feet on the ground. Currently all the money COG earns goes directly back into CoG, currently this also includes all the money from crafts and performances that Smitty and Jack do. The rest goes back to the artists we work with.
We need your help!!! It takes a lot of time to do all the work we do. So please come to our events, almost all our events are $0 + sliding scale and just having you there means so much to us. We'll love you even more if you bring a friend. But if you do have some money to chip in it is always helpful. You can donate online through our New York fiscal sponsor (if you would like a tax write off): https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/1682 We are also looking for some dynamite volunteers/interns to help with some event/fundraiser planning as well as our list-serve/marketing.
Finally we just wanted to say Thanks!!! for all your support over these last two years. CoG has grown exponentially and we could never have done it without all of your support. Now in this year of change we are growing up to play with the big boys. Officially becoming a non-profit, getting our projects off the ground, starting to teach classes. Our heads are in the clouds thanks to you!
Sincerely,
The Collective of Geniuses
The Collective of Geniuses
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