Abstract
Theorising the roles of affect and activism in contemporary queer performance this chapter analyses the performance art of one of the most visible contemporary black, queer, trans artists in the UK, London-based Travis Alabanza. Applying queer, feminist affect-based ethnographic and archival methods to Alabanza’s use of poetry, spoken word performance, performative storytelling, soundscape and lip-syncing, this chapter deconstructs their performed response to the Queer British Art (1861–1967) exhibition at Tate Britain in June 2017, entitled Left Outside Alone. Through a mixed-method approach, this chapter provides insight into how the interplay of queer trans black and cis-white embodiment affects experiences of activist art, and how, through activating audience members’ negative affect, performance can be productive and political.
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Acknowledgements
With thanks to Travis Alabanza for creating their powerful work which inspired this research, for their graciousness and time, and for consenting to and collaborating with this analysis.
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Tadman, B. (2021). Activating Cis-White Fragility: The Oppositional Gaze in Travis Alabanza’s Left Outside Alone. In: Rosenberg, T., D'Urso, S., Winget, A.R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Queer and Trans Feminisms in Contemporary Performance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69555-2_10
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