Learning Guide
Key Themes
The key themes are thematic focal points that anchor the conversations around care for each dispatch. They can be used by educators and facilitators to prepare for learning, drive and structure conversations, and plan for connections to media/art/current events/personal contexts.
1.
Creating unmitigated cultural spaces
The second essential practice of OBI’s cultural strategy for belonging refers to the importance of amplifying and creating platforms for cultural expression on its own terms. In many ways, the practice is a push back against the expectation of translation in order to “fit in.” In a drag culture where Black performers are often tokenized or asked to play the one Black role, Reparations created a space that cultivated a thriving complication of identity, as shown by the many different styles and forms of performance it presented.
2.
Creating alternative spaces for connection in the context of othering
In the queer community in particular, the social spaces of bars and clubs function as essential gathering spaces and home. They support superficial and deep relationships that are essential to mental health. During the start of the pandemic, the spaces traditionally used for gathering were no longer available. Nicki’s show created an alternative communal space that was supportive of queer community gathering and expression.
3.
Accessibility is for everyone
Centering accessibility was a key takeaway for Nicki during Reparations. As the shows continued, she began to realize that the online show spread accessibility while keeping people safe. This included accessibility in the form of physical access at bars and clubs, the cost of attending, and risk exposure due to Covid-19 for immuno-compromised people.
Video Guide
Joining a Movement
1
Nicki speaks of feeling a responsibility to situate Reparations within the broader socio-political context of the time. George Floyd and Breonna Taylor had just been murdered, and the uprisings were happening. Although Nicki names she has never considered herself an activist, how do you see Reparations playing a role in bringing about socio-political change? Is directly naming something or approaching something as activism required for it to bring about social and political change? Why or why not?
2
What are some other works of art that you can think of that catalyzed or contributed to socio-political movements towards liberation that were not explicit in their naming or intention?
Supplemental resources:
Othering and Belonging Institute, "Notes on a Cultural Strategy for Belonging"
Reparations + Drag
1
What comes up for you when you hear the title Reparations Drag?
2
Merriam-Webster defines reparations as the act of making amends, offering expiation, or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury. How does Reparations the drag show relate with this definition of the word? How does the meaning of the word make you think about the show differently?
Many Wigs
1
Nicki speaks to the many jobs she does to produce a drag show. Without this conversation or a deep inquiry into drag, these jobs are not seen.
After seeing this video, list some of the jobs required to produce Reparations. How does a deeper understanding of the work that goes into the production of the show change your idea of drag, if at all? Can you think of other art or cultural practices where some of the work that goes into it is invisible?
Connection During the Panoramic Panasonic Pepperoni Pizza Roll Pandemic
1
Nicki speaks to the foundations of connection that are part of the queer community, highlighting that while there are challenges, finding ways to connect under difficult circumstances is something familiar to Queer communities.
What were some examples you witnessed or experienced of a community gathering to celebrate, affirm or uplift during the pandemic? What factors contribute to the formation of these innovative ways people find to connect in times of collective challenge? What makes these kinds of ways of connecting special?
Lessons in Accessibility
1
In Not Over it, Not fixed, and Living a Life Worth Living, disability rights activist, writer, and cultural worker Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha articulates the following on ableism:
Ableism believes that when there’s something “wrong” with a body/mind, the only desirable outcome to that wrongness is cure. It also believes that you can either be fixed or broken—there’s nothing in between. It certainly believes that there is nothing valuable in inhabiting a body/ mind that’s disabled.
2
In the interview with Nicki, she articulates how the pivot to digital platforms during the pandemic pushed her to think about how ableism shows up in the design of spaces—looking at the ways the bar has not been an accessible space.
3
Identify a place or event you frequent (cafe, school home, park, class, etc) and evaluate it through the lens of Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha’s statement on ableism. How do the design of spaces, events, or programs devalue a disabled body/mind? How would the design of this space evolve if it valued disabled minds and bodies?
Extended Learning
Spacemaking
Work with a partner to create a cafe or lounge where you both feel you belong.
1
Describe the elements and descriptors of the space for you, while your partner writes down what you say. Then do the same for your partner.
2
Review your shared lists. What stands out for each of you?
3
Together, answer the following questions:
- What happens at this cafe/lounge?
- What needs to be included for it to feel safe for the both of you and your needs?
- Give it a title: Why did you choose this name?
- What things in the space make you both feel like you belong there?
- Who else would feel like they belong here?
- Who might not feel like they belong here?
