About QRR

Queer Renaissance is creating virtual and physical community for people of color, queer people, and the allies within our communities. We recognize the myriad ways in which we are all at all times Queer, of Color, and Allies and seek to create a world where our identities and expressions are celebrated in there multiplicity.

Our Identity is unique and nuanced as a queer and renaissance organization, hence the name Queer Renaissance. When I use the term Queer I am speaking not only of people who identify as Transgender, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Gender Queer, Same or Both Gender Loving, MSM (Men who have Sex with Men), etc. but also to all people for whom the rigid binary gender and sexuality constructs are not life giving. My use of queer extends to heterosexuals, all ages and every individual that fits the second clause of the former sentence.

When I use the term Renaissance I am talking about a myriad of ways that I envision the reconnection of people to themselves and the gifts of life, love, and creation that are seemingly stripped at birth, gifts that I see being recovered. This return includes but is not limited to:  

1. The revival of sexuality that is non-normative and/or fluid; revived for the full expression and exploration of a responsible, accountable and life giving boundless human sexuality.

2. The reawakening of the ability to and reality that people exist in all kinds of romantic and familial relationships from monogamous to polyamorous, from co-parenting to surrogate family creations, from single individuals to serial monogamists; and so on.

3. The resurrection of the fact that people are born with a range of genitalia, physiology, chromosomes, biology, spirits, body parts, and abilities. We want to affirm that all bodies are right, good, and normal. We want to assert that all bodies should be appreciated and allowed to participate and flourish in freedom, love and live responsibly in the world.

Queer Renaissance seeks to recognize & revitalize these realities in our society, local communities, and artistic and cultural products through the creation and sharing of community, products, services, media and information.

The Methods for success are direct. Queer Renaissance is a physical and virtual city consisting of four primary divisions – Media Arts & Entertainment, News & Education, Community & Event Promotion, and the Marketplace. Each area is fully integrated with the other. For example, characters or stories introduced on the site may be expanded and/or consolidated for the Marketplace. Access to the website including the online community is accessible online and free. However, access to the online community will require free registration. More than an online media network; more than an online community; more than an event promoter Queer Renaissance will share and facilitate meaning making in a community dissatisfied with what they are currently being served, that is when they are not being ignored.

The Media Arts & Entertainment section will feature a range of media products including but not limited to text, audio, and video in the form of: fiction stories and other content for children and parents; original short films, webisodes, performance poetry; music; short stories, prose and poetry; video and graphic art; video reporting; and e-greeting cards. The content, concepts, and brands of this division will provide the source and inspiration of much of the merchandise in the Marketplace.

The News & Education and Community & Event Promotion section are particularly linked through a simple but infinitely meaningful web of connections that consist of providing information and promoting events and the use of public space. The News & Education section of the business will be just that. It will feature news, articles, educational and informational content, lectures, and upcoming events in the form of text and video. The Community organizations whose expertise lies outside of multimedia and marketing will benefit from this area of the organization where Queer Renaissance seeks not to replicate their services but to enhance their access and effectiveness.

The Community & Event Promotion section of Queer Renaissance seeks to create a physical and virtual community by utilizing the resource of virtual (i.e. the internet through social networking, media, and the marketplace) and public space. Ideally 24 hours a day and 7 days a week there will be a physical space that the Queer Renaissance community are inhabiting and queering. There will be 2 calendars - one that highlights and details community events and another that identifies the HOT SPOT - a public space where Queer Renaissance people will be out and proud.

Before a location is chosen it will first have to be identified or certified as QOCA (pronounced ko•kuh), which stands for Queer, Of Color, and Allies. It is the acronym and recognition given to businesses and organizations that we consider to be safe space for queer people, people of color and allies. We seek to promote and support the success of these organizations exclusively and as much as possible with our personal and professional resources.