Hosted by Co—Conspirator Press & Printed Matter
Thursday, October 26, 6–8PM
Printed Matter:
231 11th Avenue
New York, NY 10001
Free event
Books available for purchase, $20
We’re coming to New York this October, and you’re invited to join us at Printed Matter for the second edition launch of Tenderness: A Black Queer Meditation on Softness and Rage by Annika Hansteen-Izora.
The book provides readers with a critical inquiry on the meanings and uses of tenderness, and unfolds the potentials of tenderness as a tool, a healing agent, and source of radical change. In the second edition, the author has returned with an updated title to the work, and a new preface that further emphasizes the importance of tenderness, in the face of many on-going struggles since it was first written in the early pandemic.
This special evening will feature Annika Hansteen-Izora in conversation with Niki Franco, a Caribbean abolitionist community organizer and writer. Look forward to an interactive event with readings from the book, prompt engagement between audience and text, and a mini-workshop exploring themes of critical softness, Black queer imagination, and love as an action through collaborative conversation.
“To choose tenderness is to insist on our infinite capacity to love. This book was created as remembrance of that insistence. We must remember because systems of capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy work hard to make us forget this.”
Please gather with us to celebrate the second release of this beautiful work and participate in a thoughtful workshop on tenderness, softness, and rage!
Space Accessibility: There are 3 stairs at the Printed Matter entry with a motorized lift for wheelchair access. Interpretation is unavailable and the event will be in American English. Seating will be in armless folding chairs.
Covid Safety: We ask all attendees, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask when attending this event. Masks will be required for all attendees except while actively eating or drinking, as there will be light provisions provided. If you are not feeling well prior to the event, we ask that you stay home in care for yourself and other attendees.
About the artists
Annika Hansteen-Izora is a multimodal writer, designer, and artist. Their work explores the radical potential of communal dreaming, tenderness, and care in conversation with queer Black futurity. Through threads of writing, collectivity, and technology, Annika facilitates gathering as a tool for pulling the futures we dream of into the present. Their debut work Tenderness, published by Co-Conspirator press, calls upon tenderness as a radical for both joy and rage through a queer Black lens. You can find them by your nearest body of water.
Niki Franco is a Caribbean abolitionist community organizer, writer, podcast host, and facilitator of spaces for collective study.