Monday 6th November 2017, 6pm – 7.45pm
The Workstation, Paternoster Row, Sheffield
Free to attend and all welcome (but please register here)
Facebook event here
This film screening and discussion explores the experiences of queer, transgender, and disabled people living in a society which hasn’t been built for their ease, comfort and safety. How does the design and use of public space teach us who’s welcome and in what form? What are the consequences of pushing some bodies and identities to the margins of society? How would a different society look, and are you ready to join us in the fight for change?
We will show a series of lively short films, including an exclusive Sheffield premiere of a new animation from the Around the Toilet project, which weaves together personal accounts from transgender, disabled and Muslim people. The film illustrates the trials and tribulations of accessing and using public toilets in a society where some are made to feel welcome and others are not. This will be screened alongside films from local and international projects about the discrimination and inequalities faced by a range of people and bodies.
Following the screening we will host a discussion, where you will be invited to share your own stories if you wish to, participate on Twitter, and consider how we can join together to inspire social and spatial change.
A range of non-alcoholic drinks and snacks will be served at the event.
We are pleased to present the following short films:
The Toilet. (5m)
This quirky animation weaves together personal accounts from trans, disabled and Muslim people, who share the trials and tribulations of accessing and using public toilets in a society where some are made to feel welcome and others are not.
Skeleton in a Beret (7m)
Two trans people talk about how they have actively used videogames as part of how they explore not just their gender, but their skills, self-confidence, and self-expression.
Flying While Fat (6m)
This animation presents the voices of fat passengers as they explain the challenges of fitting into spaces that exclude them both socially and materially. The animation encourages people to empathise with fat people as fellow passengers and human beings, and to think about the political and economic relations that contribute to this exclusion.
Jes Sache – Body Language (3m) and Mel G. Campbell (3m)
Two films produced as part of Poject Re•Vision, which uses disability arts to disrupt the stereotypical understandings of disability and difference that can create barriers to healthcare. Their stories wrestle with ways of representing disability in a culture in which disabled bodies are on display or hidden away; and how film-making allows disabled artists to explore possibilities of ‘looking back’ at ableist gazes.
This event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, which takes place across the UK from 4-11 November 2017.
Accessibility Info (please get in touch with any queries)
– The event will be on one flat level and all heavy doors will be propped open for ease of use
– Films will be subtitled and BSL interpreters will be present
– No alcohol will be served at the event, and vegan, vegetarian and gluten free diets will be catered for
– Gender neutral and accessible toilets will be available in the venue
– The nearest Changing Places toilets are located at Sheffield Crucible and Ponds Forge (the Arundel Building toilet is currently out of use)
– Venue is approximately five minutes’ walk from Sheffield train station
– Venue is a short distance from the M1 parkway and Sheffield city centre. The sat nav postcode is S1 2BX.
– There’s a double blue badge parking bay which has space for three cars just outside on Paternoster Row, in-between Workstation and the Showroom cinema. It gives blue badge holders free parking all day.
– There is limited non blue-badge parking on Paternoster Row but there are several car parks in the area. Visitors receive 50% discount for Q Park located on Charles Street, S1 2NJ with an exit voucher at the Box Office or Workstation Reception.
Contact us on aroundthetoilet@shu.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Around the Toilet 