thisisnotasafespace

thisisnotasafespace was an experimental performance series created and curated by Laura Bardsley and Andrew Jamieson.  The pop-up variety shows would take place in public locations such as the mountainside, an abandoned warehouse, the parking lot of the SPVM.  The single mandate that Andrew and Laura set for the series was that the shows were to never take place in someone’s home, nor anything that qualifies as a venue.  The location would be texted anonymously on the day of the show to anyone who had the number.  All advertising, as well as the passing of the phone number, were done through word of mouth only, thisisnotasafespace did not have a social media presence.  The name of the series was chosen specifically to convey that the organizers of the event could not guarantee a “safe space”, as the shows took place in public settings, with no barriers or boundaries like walls and doors.  Andrew and Laura discovered that in the environments chosen for the series, at each event the audience would inevitably form, with no verbal communication, a “safer space” for both themselves and the performers.

After each show, Laura and Andrew would rendezvous with the performers to have a discussion on a specific topic.  These conversations were compiled into two zines (unfortunately the third edition was lost to time).  The first two were titled WUSS and HAQ.