My Good Judy Residency

my·good·judy

(noun, often attributive) Gay street slang to describe the very best person you know.

The My Good Judy residency serves the community through literary, critical, educational and live performance programs; to support artists and academics seeking to make a contribution in the area of liberatory cultural studies; and to honor the work and legacy of pioneering poet/activist/thinker Judy Grahn.

My Good Judy offers a three to six week immersive urban residency for artists, critical writers, poets, playwrights, thinkers, and performers. The residency makes space for participants to work on specific projects of limited scope that address one or more of the following:

GLBTQ cultural history, etymology, folklore and the queer collective unconscious
Queer performance including spoken poetry, drag, live music and the theater arts
The life and work of Judy Grahn
Application and analysis utilizing Grahn’s concepts such as commonality, metaforms, braided evolution, and decoding the centrality of blood rituals in human development
Collaborations between queer and non-queer artists

Participants conclude their My Good Judy residency with an exhibition, live performance, project presentation, reading or another form of public community event.

MGJ Residency Details

LOCATION

Residents are provided a suite of rooms in an 1820’s urban Creole cottage, adjacent to Tennessee Williams’ final home in the French Quarter – the oldest historically queer neighborhood in the Americas. The building is directly across from the sacred site of Congo Square. The building also houses a dance studio, the New Orleans Drag Workshop, and The New Orleans School of Burlesque. Located on the Rampart Street streetcar line, it is easy walking and biking distance to most attractions and institutions in New Orleans.

PARTNERSHIPS

Access to performance rehearsal space, exhibition space, a printing studio and more is available and can be arranged prior to the residency. Collaboration with other local arts organizations is encouraged and we will work with residents to build those relationships. We collaborate with the Tennessee Williams Festival, Red Bull Foundation, Greater New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, New Orleans Healing Center and others. Our live performance presenting partners are the Twilight Room and Three Keys at Ace Hotel.