Kickstarter

Up Against The Wall: Sex Workers in Public Spaces

Song "Decriminalize Me" by Mariko Passion

Sex workers bring our films to the street, projecting stories about our work on walls throughout our city. The concept of this outdoor cinema event was developed by Erica Fabulous. Fabulous wanted to develop cultural events which would reach out to sex workers and others who are not usually represented in the sex worker arts communities, so she conceived of this guerrilla art event. Curated by Laure McElroy, Race, Poverty and Disability Scholar at Poor magazine, welfareQueens performer and writer/editor of System Bitch, the event will take place in late May 2011 during a week long series of sex worker sponsored events in San Francisco.

On the occasion of Up Against The Wall, Erica Fabulous, Scarlot Harlot and a bevy of other sex workers, artists and friends will be driving a movie van with films, sundries, gifts and safer sex materials out to the streets and alleyways throughout San Francisco projecting sex worker made movies Up Against the Walls.

We will be screening short films by and about sex workers, about our lives, visions and rights, encouraging diverse participation and diverse perspectives.  The event is structured as a night of community building, as we share resources, make connections, and exchange the latest info about sex workers around the world. Participants include Sex Workers’ Outreach Project (San Francisco); Center for Sex and Culture’s Sex Worker Media Library, the 7th Biennial San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival and many more.

Erica and Scarlot have been working together for many years to bring diverse sex worker events to San Francisco, through The San Francisco Sex Worker Festival, Whore College, Waste Management Productions, and much more which we will tell you about on our blog. For us, Up Against The Wall is an adventure in community building. We welcome this opportunity from Kickstarter to spread the word about this project. We will be very grateful to our donors. If you have ideas, questions, or anything else, we very much welcome your response!

Our budget, based on contributions, will go to:

1000-1500 Stipends for our event crew for tech jobs, admin, outreach and design

500-1000 Advertising

500-1000 Screening fees

800-1000 Equipment and vehicle rental

200-1000 Supplies and gifts for street distribution

We set our sites on a minimal budget, but with additional funds we hope to raise, we would be able to advertise the event further, afford more supplies and gifts for street distribution, have more funds compensate designers and assistants, and include a wider range of movies.