Queers crash the beat
Queers Crash the Beat is a rag-tag collective of activists, artists, lawyers, harm reduction workers, sex workers, academics and other sex-positive rabblerousers who oppose state violence against queer people and sex in public space. Formed in 2016 in response to the Toronto Police's undercover sting operation in Marie Curtis Park, beloved cruising area. We fundamentally reject the racist and homophobic institution of police, based in our central values of queer pleasure, liberation, and harm reduction.
Fagdemic
Fagdemic is an ongoing digital and material art intervention by queer power sisters Jonathan Valelly and Mikiki. It is a slutty, drug-positive harm reduction resource for queer men who party. It is also a vandalism campaign, a perpetually shadow-banned Instagram account, an erstwhile stimulant fix, and a collection of late night conversations. First created in the early days of COVID-19, the project continues doing "hot work in hard times," acting as a voice of critique and defiance in the HIV sector and as a practical tool for partyfags. Book us for game changing workshops about coalition building in queer activism, trainings in harm reduction & ethical frameworks, gentle talkings-to about how to reach the PNP scene, or for your niece's' quinceañera.
The village ops
For World AIDS Day 2018, Queers Crash the Beat and the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society teamed up to open a pop-up overdose prevention site at Barbara Hall Park in Toronto's Queer Village. Activists distributed harm reduction kits, naloxone, and information about safe consumption. The Village OPS showed how easy it is to have a safe injection site in the Church-Wellesley Neighbourhood, calling out the hypocrisy and inaction of handsomely funded agencies like the AIDS Committee of Toronto and The 519.
