British art and cultural activism project
Chew Disco was a queer feminist art and cultural activism project founded in Liverpool, England, in 2009 by Emma Obong and Khalil West. Initially a series of club nights and house parties, it was known for its DIY ethos and aesthetics, the diversity of its performers and programmes, and political advocacy. Owing to the sexual flexibility and playfulness of its atmosphere, "large-scale art installations and live performance art", and emphasis on dancing, its live events and parties garnered comparisons to The Factory and DUMBA. Bringing together both "queer icons" and a range of underground artists to raise money for grassroots initiatives for women, girls, and sexual minorities worldwide, the flagship party expanded into multiple forms and sites of live performance, curatorial work, exhibition, clubbing, and community activism, cementing its legacy "as one of Britain's most important queer projects".
History.
West and Obong met shortly after's West's relocation from New Jersey to Liverpool in 2006. In early 2009, the duo conceived Chew Disco as an alternative to both the city's gay quarter and its DIY and punk music scenes, directing their explicit focus to political partying, sexual and racial inclusivity, and musical diversity.
The club night was launched on 7 August 2009. From 2009 to 2016, the live event hosted performances by more than 40 bands, musicians, DJs, and multidisciplinary artists, including Vaginal Davis, Trash Kit, Mykki Blanco, Cakes da Killa, Shopping, Joey Fourr, MR TC, Queer'd Science, and Optimo Music acts Golden Teacher and Shift Work. Funds raised through many of the events were donated to various LGBTQ+ and women's and girl's rights organisations, including Iraqi LGBT, the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organization (IKWRO), Icebreakers Uganda (part of Sexual Minorities Uganda), International Railroad for Queer Refugees, Panzi Hospital, and Coming Out (Russia).
By 2011, the project had begun to collaborate as stage and film curators with more formal arts institutions, collectives and festivals, including Islington Mill, Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), Cheryl, Homotopia, Abandon Normal Devices, and Sounds From The Other City.
The party has been described as the “best alternative night in town” and was heavily influenced by Obong's Black feminist politics, West's formative years in the queer and punk club spaces of New Jersey and New York City's East Village, as well as their shared interests in hip hop, queercore, house, and post-punk music, scenes and movements. The project's general design aesthetic drew equally heavily on American b-movies, underground or “cult” cinema, and vintage pulp paperbacks, and elements of its flagship events included free mix tapes, go-go dance performances (often incorporating fake blood and found objects), and “secret” afterparties.
Hiatus.
Following the relocation of Obong to Berlin in 2015, the project entered hiatus. Between 2015 and 2019, the two continued to sporadically collaborate and DJ both as a duo and independently in the UK and Berlin.
In 2015, West began an Arts Council funded multimedia collaboration with British artist Ajamu X. The project, "I Am For You Can Enjoy", combines West's video oral history interviews with Ajamu's portraits to explore the lived experiences of queer, Black, male and masculine-identified sex workers.
References.
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