As queer kids there weren’t many examples, or cinema, accessible to us youngin’s, especially in Baltimore when you barely left your zipcode. As a young girl, I remember vividly searching for queer and gay life on the television screen, and never really finding the spectrum in which I was a part of. I especially want this series to prioritize a multiplicity of queer and gay narratives. - SHAN Wallace
Baltimore Living Archives Artist in Residence SHAN Wallace is a nomadic award-winning visual artist, photographer, and educator from East Baltimore. She is inspired by the nuances of day-to-day life of her surroundings in Baltimore, not as fixed narratives but a multiplicity of experiences. She uses her lens, collage and one site installations as the basis of her work, demonstrating the cultural and political narratives of black life, confronting oppressive politics and histories within communities of the African diaspora, and challenging ideas surrounding existing collections, culture and archives of Blackness. During the month of September, Wallace curates a series of films called The Queer Agenda featuring some of her favorite queer classics.
The Aggressives Synopsis
A pioneering documentary filmed in NYC from 1997-2004 follows a group of "Aggressives," or "AG's" - masculine presenting and/or identifying - queer POC who were assigned female at birth. An insightful look inside the subculture of trans men, lesbian “butches” and their “femme” counterparts who tow the line between gender definitions. and the dreams, secrets and deepest fears they share.
"I really love this film. I feel like it is a must-see. The nuances of the subcutlures of lesbians, femme’s, fashion, transness, sex, NY, still seem so relavant to then and now." - SHAN Wallace
Baltimore Living Archives is a collective place keeping project that builds community and civic engagement, centered around the sharing of stories through film and media co-produced by The SNF Parkway Theatre and the Enoch Pratt Library. Baltimore Living Archives is an artist residency that invites Baltimoreans to craft and showcase media-based stories alongside two Baltimore artists with archiving practices, SHAN Wallace and Lawrence Burney. SHAN and Lawrence will develop their own work and work with the community, sharing skills and stories through a number of participatory programs. Members of the community will be invited to share their stories, explore and contextualize archives, and enjoy the findings of SHAN and Lawrence.
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Anonymous Foundation. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
COVID-19 POLICIES
- Face masks are required at all times in the SNF Parkway except when consuming concessions in your seat.
- Patrons are strongly encouraged to avoid the theater if they are feeling unwell or have had a recent unmasked exposure to someone who tested positive. Email info@mdfilmfest.com with any questions.