An invitation from AHK Professional Doctorate candidate Taka Taka:

A few months ago, I invited three drag houses from abroad (Poland and Turkey) to take part in a drag competition in the Netherlands. Together, we navigated adversity and the insecurity of political stigma based on personal identity, a sense of drag trust was formed. From this experience, questions focusing on collectivity and how we mother each other in different contexts emerged. This curiosity now partially shapes the trajectory of my doctoral research and once more makes me realize the socio-economic privilege I operate from. 

While this gathering is part of my study, I am convinced the knowledge created in this room is worth sharing with others. This public event will carry those questions forward through oral transmission, a practice drag bodies have long cultivated in backstage spaces. It will not be a performance for spectacle, but a collective reflection. 

Drag mothering is a method of survival that we carry every day, not a garment we will wear for others in this event. For this reason, no cameras or recording devices are allowed. Times are shifting, and fascism once again tries on its not-so-well fitted suit of tradition, order, binarization, and the refusal to name genocides for what they are. Let us remain attentive to how knowledge circulates, to what is shared, and to whom it belongs.

That evening will be for us, and for those who know that drag collectivity is a quality we carry internally every day, beyond external validation, within the context of political demonization, and in some cases, criminalization.

Without the contributions of Jennifer Hopelezz, Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca, and the Foundation Erwin Olaf, this event would not have been possible. 

When: 22 September 2025, 19:00 (please arrive 15 minutes earlier)
Where: ATD Grootlab, DAS Master Programmes and ATD Lectorate, Overhoeksplein 2, 1031 KS Amsterdam-Noord, the Netherlands
Register here