“Queer in the City” Dossier by Gustavo Rigon

As part of a research internship for the MA program in Arts, Culture and Society at Utrecht University, Gustavo Rigon wrote a dossier on the topic of Queer in the City. It is is published in parts on the [urban interfaces] blog.

Enjoy reading!

Part 1 Introduction  >>

Part 2 Queer temporalities in the urban landscape: challenging normative time structures >>

Part 3 Let’s go out? queer dancefloors and the “outside world” >>

Part 4 Leaning on each other: queer-feminist approaches to urban catastrophes >>

You can also download the whole dossier as a single booklet >> (pdf, 14MB)

by Gustavo Rigon

Note for the reader
The dossier Queer in the city is an open-ended dossier proposal produced within the context of an academic internship with the “Urban Interfaces” research group. As a research group connected to the Utrecht University, they centre a critical examination of urban contemporary socio-cultural phenomena. I seek to comprehend the uses of Queer in urban environments and situations, where the city works as a setting and stage for urban culture transformations.

On the title choice, “Queer in the city” allows me to take a positionality as a queer body living in the city. While “Queering the city” or “Queer and the City” could fit the purpose of this document, I could not resist the promise that queerness approaches a subversion of the city as space and discourse, as well I did not want to see queer and the city as two separate bodies. As such, I invite you to look around, hold my hand, and let me guide you through the encounters I had in this exploration.

Have a good read.

Acknowledgments

This study and exploration were only possible thanks to the inspirations I encountered along the way. Hartelijk dank to Sigrid Merx for your valuable guidance and for sharing your expertise. My gratitude also extends to Nanna and Michiel for the support and patience. Continue feeding minds and bending walls. To Gustavo Nogueira, Sune Kjeldsen, and Julide Sezar, thank you for your insights and stories. The world needs you. To the academics, queer artists, and authors featured in this dossier, your lifetime of hard work and dedication is hugely appreciated. I am fortunate to access this knowledge and to continue planting the seeds of critical and creative thinking.

Author bio

Gustavo Rigon is an alumnus from the MA in Arts, Culture and Society at Utrecht University. His research interests are within socio-cultural phenomena comprehending gender, sexuality, the arts and spatial politics.

Gustavo Rigon