Sex work is work, an evening of performance and video by sex workers or on the theme of sex workers rights.

On Saturday night, in the beautiful new space linked to the Arcola Theatre, The Tent, we invite you to be part of a night of performances and videos made by sex workers or on subject of sex workers' rights and hosted by Audacia Ray, creator of the Red Umbrella Sessions ( NY )!
Time : Saturday 15th of October 2011
Venue: The Tent, Arcola theatre.


Performances

Darling Nancy "This is not a performance."
"If i can't sell it"by Liad
a queer-burlesque number about furniture, bargaining, knowing your worth, and other sassy talents needed for the self-marketing in the sex industry
Anna Peak’s "Between the Sessions"exploring the space in between clients: ‘Phone calls and cleaning - ooooh my the service industry...’
Dance performance by two members of Japanese sex-worker NGOSWASH that promises to challenge preconceptions
Presentation by The Urban Chick Supremacy Cell - ethical pornography, loosely based on female supremacist Valerie Solanas’ work (SCUM Manifesto) "Deafeating patriarchy at its own game." www.uc-sc.com
"Naked for the revolution!"by Mademoiselle. Minimal transvestite sings and strips and read poetry from Griselidis Real, the most inspirational swiss revolutionary whore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EclDtIZexmY
"Out of the brothel, into the streets" by Melissa. A reflection on repressive power, sexual freedom and moral crusade.
THE BEAST PRODUCTION in "SHE DID NOT RUN" hommage to cult movies of the 50's where the cliches of the woman as victim is turned around with a hint of humour and surprise.

Videos and documentaries:

• COMMON LIFE (UK 2011) Dir. Clare Havell, 13m,30s - Premiere of new short film looking at sex work in Istanbul, against the broader political context
• ALL THAT SHELTERING EMPTINESS (USA 2010) Dirs. Gina Carducci and Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, 7m, 16mm - A meditation on elevators, hotel lobbies, hundred dollar bills, the bathroom, a cab, chandeliers, cocktails, the receptionist, arousal, and other routines in the life of a New York City callboy. Explodes the typical narratives of desire, escape and intimacy to evoke something more honest
• PROSTITUTION FREE ZONE (USA 2009) Dir. PJ Starr, 14m -  In 2006 the city council of Washington DC passed new laws that allowed the Police Chief to call any part of the city a 'prostitution free zone' for up to 10 days. This short documentary describes how sex workers, trans people and other communities have organised to oppose the new policy that violates basic civil and human rights
• A DAY IN HER LIFE (Netherlands 2010) Voices of women in media, 18m - Compilation of 6 short movies made by sex workers in Amsterdam’s Red Light District through the Voices project, whose goal is to use media to create a more humanised and multi-faceted picture of the sex industry. They say: “We want to show this industry as a complex fabric, composed both of women workers who are entitled to demand their rights as workers and women who have been forced into the industry. Many people looking in from the outside have quite a polarised view. Women are either victims, or they are making choices. But as in any other area of life, there are many grey zones”