The Seattle Erotic Art Festival encourages you to not only view art, but to embody art through conversation, education, and action. Over the course of three days, we’ll offer numerous conversations and lectures on a range of topics related to art, sexuality, identity, and/or eroticism. Take a gander at our options; all of these wonderful classes are included in the price of your festival ticket.
Dr. Bettina Judd and Briq House
Join author and academic Dr. Bettina Judd and special guest, burlesque sensation Briq House, for a lecture on the Main stage, Saturday, April 28 starting at 6:15pm until 7:15pm. They will discuss Black Feminism, Black Women in Sex work, and dimensions of Black Female Pleasure.
Bettina Judd is an interdisciplinary writer, artist and performer whose research focus is on Black women’s creative production and our use of visual art, literature, and music to develop feminist thought. Her current book manuscript argues that Black women’s creative production is feminist knowledge production produced by registers of affect she calls “feelin.” She is currently Assistant Professor of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington.
She has received fellowships from the Five Colleges, The Vermont Studio Center and the University of Maryland. She is a Cave Canem Fellow and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in poetry.
Her poems and essays have appeared in Torch, Mythium, Meridians and other journals and anthologies. Her collection of poems titled patient. which tackles the history of medical experimentation on and display of Black women won the Black Lawrence Press Hudson Book Prize and was released in November of 2014. As a performer she has been invited to perform for audiences within the United States and internationally.
Kamari Bright
Join published poet and 2018 Jack Straw Writer, Kamari Bright, as she enlists the help of special guest, Chef Tarik Abdullah, to delve into the intimacy of food. Kamari will be reading from her book, “Emergence,” as well as performing new poems written to complement Abdullah’s sultry surprise dish which will be composed live. Join them in the Literary Lair for spoken word and more on Saturday, April 28 starting at 7:30pm for an hour.
Driven by the desire to chronicle history-in-the-making through the innovative use of poetry, comics, books, film, and occasionally fashion; the work produced by Kamari Bright aims to inspire all creative souls, from young to seasoned. She often pulls inspiration from introspection and observation, examining history and current events. An opus of creativity, Kamari produces a relatable experience through the arts.
Fantastic Flirts
Learn about the novelty of hand fan signals used for courtship from Madame Umbra. Create your own flirting accessory to keep cool while in the heat of playful romance. This is a drop-in educational and creative experience that is available to you over the course of the weekend. Check the festival schedule for when you can enjoy a quick tutorial.
Madame Umbra is a visual artist who uses watercolors to show her whimsical views from her personal experiences of eroticism and will be participating for her third year with SEAF.
Love & Lust in the Jade Pavilion
Expand your cultural perceptions and indulge your wanderlust. Madam Mings returns to SEAF this year with tantalizing Asian erotic pleasures and curiosities: Romantic Indian & Persian paintings, explicit & humorous Japanese woodblock prints, provocative Chinese Pillow Books, erotic calligraphy and original jewelry creations from antique & vintage erotic objects will be featured.
An exhibition of fine erotic art for collectors, the curious and the uninhibited. Capturing the cultural ambiguity and allure of Asia, the insights if this exhibit provide a format where aesthetics overrides the subject matter.
Ranging from the suggestive to the blatantly obvious, the theme of harmonious relations is explored. Whether contemplating the new moon, or the graceful curves of a courtesan, the touch of veiled eroticism can be rendered with sumptuous detail, sensuality or enormous humor.
This fascinating reflection of history and art reveals that love, indeed, knows no boundaries. Dating from the 18th through the 20th century, antique woodblock prints, pillow books, silk paintings, porcelains, netsuke & snuff bottles, along with one-of-a kind jade and amber jewelry will be featured. Enjoy this lecture in the Festival Store on Sunday, April 28 at 2:30pm.
Doreen Russell is an accredited Asian Art Historian and member of the Royal Asiatic Society. She has curated private collections, and assisted national & international museums, auction houses and leading exhibition venues. Her personal passion is creating jewelry from antique & vintage objects, which she markets under the “Madam Ming’s” label.
Visual Art Jury Discussion Panel
Join Festival Director, Sophia Iannicelli and the SEAF 2018 Visual Art Jury to discuss the art selection process. Jurors will share thoughts on a few works of art that brought up interesting conversations. Bring your questions for the jurors about the exhibition. Discussion panel will start at 1pm on Sunday, April 29. The jurors will continue the discussion on an art tour at 2pm.
If these lectures whet your appetite for different perspectives, check out the list of art tours!