Coded Language: QueerWordPlay

Presented by Faculty Carlos Motta
With Peter Sigal, Noelle Deleon, and Rebecca Teich

CTHQ in collaboration with Pratt Institute’s, Fine Arts: Project Third

“Did you understand what they just said?” Language is heard and resonates differently depending on who is communicating, with certain meanings masked in public space and deciphered only by those in the know. Queer communities have long used coded forms of communication to remain discreet in plain sight, express desire and affirm relationships. QueerWordPlay brings together scholar Peter Sigal, archivist and artist Noelle Deleon, and writer Rebecca Teich, to discuss modes of communication used in different queer communities, from the pre-hispanic Náhuatl Florentine Codex to the House and Ballroom scene.

Alongside the conversation, the poster QueerWordPlay, highlighting languages, dialects, slang and coded gestures used by queer communities across geographies, edited by artist Carlos Motta, a Creative Time R&D fellow, along with his collaborator Justin Linds, PhD, will be released.

The Research & Develop Fellowship works with five acclaimed socially engaged artists to support the development of each artist’s exciting project in the public realm. CTHQ is Creative Time’s gathering space for art and political engagement.

Pratt Institute’s, Fine Arts: Project Third sponsors Duke Professor Peter Sigal’s presentation on the Náhuatl Florentine Codex as part of its “Decolonial Art and Design Pedagogies,” an ongoing program that seeks to introduce decolonial approaches to art and art education based on Indigenous knowledges.

This event is open to the public.