Is it any Wonder?

When it comes to an eye for the dramatic, Mark Durkop certainly has it.  Owner and creative mind behind The Event Dynamic Durkop is the most recent draft into The Saloon’s desire to keep fresh and bring amazing new energy into a club scene that has a lot of competition.  Ever since Facebook and the overnight development of every aspiring event organizer having a virtually free promotion pass, the day of driving the cattle to an event has been a bit more challenging.  Enter Durkop with a fresh approach of not simply staging an event – but transforming a space and bringing attendees to a different world entirely.  A few months back The Saloon hired Durkop to transform the entire bar complex into a Big Top with circus acts and raucous fun.  Tonight the same complex will be brought to life as Wonder – a sort of adult spin on the Lewis Carroll  favorite of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. … Continue Reading

Free CeCe

On Tuesday June 28, 2011 at the Hennepin County Government Center a small group assembled to demonstrate support for Chrishaun (CeCe) McDonald, a young trans woman of color.  The rally was scheduled to begin immediately following the sentencing in the courtroom that was packed as the call to action requested.  There were, in fact so many supporters that the entrance to the courtroom had a volunteer posted to politely ask people to stop flooding the gates. … Continue Reading

Positive Leadership

On Thursday June 9,2011 The Minnesota AIDS Project hosted an event at Open Book in Minneapolis, MN.  The event debuted a short film project and follow up panel presentation aimed at increasing public awareness around the importance of continued funding to persons living with HIV and AIDS. … Continue Reading

Weekend Preview Plus 5/6 Special Edition

Muffins, I do apologize for having dropped the ball for the past several weeks.  Between illness and injury I have had a bit of a rough go of it.  I am back on the treadmill with you and bringing you my best picks of upcoming events.  I am grateful that the weather does seem to finally be improving somewhat so get out and enjoy! … Continue Reading

20 Years of Indisputable Leadership

If the city named a day after you, how would you celebrate? By playing croquet?

On Friday, July 23, 2010 the City of Minneapolis declared Lorraine Teel Day in honor of her twenty year tenure as the Executive Director of the Minnesota AIDS Project.  Board, Staff (both former and current), friends and family were present on the grounds of MAP to surprise her with the proclamation.  Billed as Lorraine the Teel 20^th Anniversary Celebration, the activities included a brief program followed by the second-ever MAP croquet invitational.  The crowd mixed and mingled on a delightful summer afternoon to bask in Teel’s 20-year story of success.  Regaling guests with memories of her time at MAP, Teel told a story about her first AIDS Walk after-party.  Walking up the stairs to the party, she was surprised to be a tall beauty in a red dress with shoes to match. Unbeknownst to Teel, it was then-board member and well-known AIDS community activist Dick Voss.  Teel remembers telling him “I don’t know who you are – but clearly, I need you as my fashion consultant!”

Teel’s advocacy skills have not dulled over the decades – based on a conversation with a recent former staff member of the agency, it may have become sharper!  The former employee is in a domestic partnership and his partner was covered under MAP’s policy, but his new employer does not have the same coverage.  His partner was covered by MAP’s policy under COBRA benefits when he left.  After qualifying for the benefits at his new job, he learned that the COBRA benefits may not be extended to his partner (currently unemployed).  In response, Teel took the reins and is currently trying to help the employee find a solution to his partner’s healthcare crisis. It’s just a day in the life for Teel as she tries to ensure that MAP is capable of continuing its long history of progressive and inclusive support of the LGBT community and our needs.

Lorraine Teel is one tough cookie and a force to be reckoned with.  Congratulations Lorraine, on many jobs well done!

Ride, Drink, Pee

They’re back from the ride.  Yesterday the tired but safe Red Ribbon Riders returned from their 4 day, 300 mile journey.  The Red Ribbon Ride (RRR) is now in it’s 8th year and going strong.  Created in 2002 by numerous Minnesota AIDS service organizations who joined together to form the Minnesota Fighting AIDS on Bikes (MN-FAB) non-profit organization which produces the RRR. The RRR was designed to continue what was begun by the Minneapolis to Chicago ride.  MN-FAB includes eight HIV/AIDS service organizations:  African American AIDS Task Force, The Aliveness Project, Clare Housing, Hope House of St. Croix Valley, Minnesota AIDS Project, One Heartland, Park House, and Rural AIDS Action Network.

This year’s ride concluded yesterday on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol.  At times, the tearful remembrances of those friends and family we’ve lost to HIV and AIDS became palpable.  The weather cooperated and allowed riders, crew and supporters alike an opportunity to be thankful for another successful year of raising funds and awareness about the ongoing fight against HIV.  With numbers continuing to rise and on the heels of the announcement last week from the White House about the release of the National HIV Prevention Strategy – the ride occurred at a very opportune moment.

TheColu.mn has been following Minnesota’s HIV situation virtually since our beginning and yesterday was a reminder that we need to continue.  The attendance and ridership were both down from previous years, suggesting that there may be truth to the assumption that the average US citizen does not perceive HIV and AIDS to be the critical health threat it continues to be.  Despite the lower number of participating riders the goal of $400,000.00 was nearly met.  Theresa Fetsch, Executive Director for the RRR announced at the closing that nearly $350,000.00 had already come in.  In past years money has continued to come in even after the ride concludes so the final count is not yet available.  The eight benefiting agencies will no doubt put the funds raised to good use and the ride will be back again next year.  Thanks in part to the riders mantra of Ride, Drink (referring to plenty of Gatorade and water), Pee – all riders made it through the entire trek safely.  There was one minor health concern on Saturday with a rider being pulled for dehydration but they were later able to resume the course.  For more pictures of the opening and closing ceremonies click on the image above.  Congratulations to all of the riders, crew and supporters for a ride well done!

Young, gay filmmakers tackle gay life in 1968

Two local young gay talents, Wesley Meirick and Elijah Chhum, are on the fast track to creating a film about what it was like to be gay and coming of age in 1968. The “Gay Filmmakers,” as they like to be recognized, are both attending the film school at the Metropolitan Community and Technical College (MCTC). Chhum told TheColu.mn: “our parents would like it if this (our being gay) was just a phase.”  It certainly does not seem as though this is how others will perceive their dedication to the topic of being gay in an era that existed over a decade and a half before either was born.

Chhum is the older of the two and is the cameraman of the project.  Meirick is making his directorial debut but is quick to assert that they are really co-mingling roles and responsibilities to where he considers them both to be co-producers and co-everything.  The filming will take place locally in Minneapolis at an artist studio downtown.  The talent consists of five lead actors and somewhere around 20 stand-ins.  Meirick is originally from Iowa and Chhum from Rochester, Minnesota.  Both are gay men who are out at MCTC and cited that it is sometimes a difficult thing to deal with at school.  Yet this did not dissuade them from setting out on this courageous endeavor to portray a young gay man in his coming of age.

Loosely based on their own experiences, they have shared the script and it is a powerful story with all of the drama one might expect from being identified as LGBT in the late 1960’s.

Chhum currently works for Vision Management Group where he has managed Meirick as a model.  This is their first collaboration as filmmakers although they have worked together in such local runway shows as Voltage and the recent Vita.mn poolside fashion show held at the Calhoun Beach Club.

The leads in the upcoming film are Faith Udeh, originally from Nigeria and a singer in a Christian Hip Hop group, Valarie Falken, Shawn Maguire (the main character), Elliot Graber (his love interest) and D.C. Diltz who plays a homophobic fifty-something cop.  Diltz is himself a retired ex-cop who was shot in the line of duty.  The main character and his love interest are, themselves, not gay but the Editor is gay and the Assistant Director asserts that she is queer identified.

1968 is the “working title” of the production which will be entered into the Minnesota History Center film completion.  The deadline for submission is September 10 so the project is indeed ambitious.

As for what the future holds for the two talented young men who set to graduate the program at MCTC soon, Chhum says he believes he remain in Minnesota making more movies and Meirick is hoping to be accepted for Fall 2011 to the University of his choice. One thing is for sure, their stars are rising!

Homo Agenda Online!

TheColu.mn has released its second annual Homosexual Agenda sporting the most comprehensive list of Pride-related events that you can find.

Looking for a quick interactive way to grab the Homo Agenda 2010?  Click on the image above and view in at Adobe Acrobat.com.  You will need to download Adobe Acrobat viewer if you don’t already have it.

Please feel free to Tweet this to all of your friends!  Now get out there and show us some PRIDE!

No time to upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Reader?  Click here for another online version (without the bells and whistles).

Pine City Pride Brings a Rainbow of Love!

This year’s 2010 Pine City Pride was a soggy but well attended event that focused on love and the celebration of commitments. Emceed by Jessie Tebben, the day was periodically dampened by rain showers, but that was not enough to dampen the spirits of those present. Held in Voyageur Park just in the heart of Pine City, this was the sixth consecutive annual event to be held on the grounds adjacent the Pine City VFW. All ages were welcomed to the festival that had the charm of any other small town gathering, with home spun fun and goodies for everyone. Along with other representative seeking the LGBT vote, gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton addressed the wet picnickers, and pledged to end discrimination against the LGBT community and to legalize same-gender marriages should he become Minnesota’s next Governor.

Instead of the anticipated demonstration from a small, conservative Christian contingent holding a picnic on the other side of town, attendees at the Pride picnic were treated to a much more passive-aggressive attack on our community. The anti-gay group elected to slip pages of paper under the windshield wipers of many cars at Voyageur Park. The signs simply read “Gay is not that way;” with awkward phrasing like that, it seems the protesters were in too much of a hurry to communicate effectively.

This year’s event was made possible in part by the organizing and fundraising efforts of several groups including the East Central MN Men’s and the East Central MN  Women’s Circles as well as the Mora PFLAG chapter and others. Tebben reported that $500.00 was raised by a GSA drag show at the Anoka Ramsey Community College and another $550.00 raised by a garage sale. The grassroots fundraising in support of this year’s festival is certainly a testament to the dedication rural Minnesota LGBT people have in displaying their courage, strength and unity. It was well worth being a little damp to share in the joy of this celebration!

More photo and video coming soon to TheColu.mn’s Flickr pool – Stay tuned!

Too Hot To Handle: Pride drops artist’s work saying it’s too erotic

Is the 2010 Twin Cities Pride Art Show pandering to the conservatives? Last week, well known local erotic artist Marc Debauch was notified by the director of the upcoming Pride Art Show and Grand Marshal Reception that his work was “too erotic” to be displayed. The image above titles “Mansweat” is one of those paintings in question. Two others have been rejected, one of a nude man in a pool of water with his back to the audience and another nude man facing forward, not unlike Michelangelo’s David.

I wonder what standard the committee or individual making this determination followed?  Debauch’s work is well known to many people around the world and much of it is explicitly sexual in nature.  Had there been portrayal of intercourse, naked erections, ejaculation, etc., I could see why the image would be deemed inappropriate for the venue in which is currently being staged.  The Art Institutes International Minnesota (Ai Minnesota) is the official sponsor of the show. 

However, Ai Minnesota is located downtown Minneapolis - just a short walk away from The Saloon where similarly attired (or not) images of young gay men loom 10 times larger than life on the corner of 9th and Hennepin in clear public view to all.   The Ai Minnesota call for submissions does not specifically address artistic standards.  They simply identify what is required in terms of how the art is to be delivered and the cost of entry.  Earlier this month there was a notice that the deadline had been extended, presumably related to the low response to the call.  A call between Debauch and Rob Anderson – the director of the show – failed to provide the artist with clear specifics on why his work was being rejected.  Debauch wrote a response to the call challenging the decision.

In his email he states:

“Dear Robert, I have had time to think about our conversation today  and bounced it off of many people, including  several gay and lesbian artists in our community. The jury for the 2010 Pride Art Show has set a dangerous precedent in rejecting my art, because they deemed it too erotic for the venue. Why was nothing mentioned in the 2010 Pride Art Show Guidelines about erotic, nude or semi-nude artwork being ineligible for the show?”

A flurry of communication has been coming in to both the artist and the show’s officials expressing concern about the decision.  Although the jury may still be out on this topic and whether the piece will be displayed at the show, the bigger question is whether Pride is continuing to support increased censorship in order to draw lucrative corporate sponsorships and huge numbers year after year. 

Many GLBT community members have become increasingly concerned that Pride seems less and less Queer friendly and more driven by the almighty buck.  Jennifer Pritchett, owner of The Smitten Kitten, states “When you let money make decisions for you, you run the risk of those decisions being antithetical to your mission.”

Debauch has been contacted via email by Dot Belstler, the current Executive Director of this year’s Twin Cities Pride.  Belstler writes “I am so sorry this has caused you and your colleagues such pain. It was certainly not the intent – nor was censorship. In the future, we will attempt to be more clear in the call for Art, but please understand that sexually explicit content must be handled with sensitivity.”  She also addressed the issue of censorship in the following statement “In this particular case, I believe “Mansweat” may have been confused with the full frontal nudity pictured in “Morning on the Balcony.”  Of course “Mansweat” is not too erotic, it is a beautiful painting and we would be proud to display it in the show.”

These comments have left many wondering what constitutes erotica in a digital age.  Any search engine will pull up a flaccid penis photograph while searching for information about syphilis.  As for art and nudes – sculptures of male nudes grace the entries of some of our most noted institutions including Westminster Presbyterian Church.   In this age, why should an oil painting of a male nude without an erection be considered too hot to handle?

What do you think?