Oral History
We’re making a YallaPunk documentary, and we want you to be in it!
2017 will mark 10 years since the first YallaPunk fest happened in Philadelphia and there’s no better time than now to revisit our history. With a lot of early YallaPunk history being documented on social media as an archive, this has put a lot of our memory keeping at risk as it’s becoming more and more clear that these methods of memorykeeping are no longer viable or sustainable for our community. This is what makes the YallaPunk oral history so necessary.
For some, YallaPunk was the first place they were able to meet trans and queer people of the same background. For others, it was the first time they were able to share their gender expression publicly with fellow SWANA and MENA people. After the first YallaPunk fest took place, many other collectives and events popped up, as we showed evidence of a potential future whether we as a community are able to self-actualize and experience joy as our truest selves. I know I met some of my best friends through YallaPunk and I’d like to hear from you what YallaPunk has meant to you.
The point is: As narratives and histories have been and are currently being erroneously rewritten, it’s important for us to write and assert our own narratives. If we do not tell our own histories, someone else will tell them for us, and they might not be as honest or as kind as we would be to ourselves.
Have you vended or performed at YallaPunk in the past? Have you attended any events in any capacity? Do you remember how you found out about YallaPunk? Did you meet a friend or partner through YallaPunk? Did you volunteer at YallaPunk? Are you somehow connected to YallaPunk but are not Arab, SWANA, or trans but feel a specific connection to the organization? Your contributions and experiences deserve to be recognized.
Please register your interest here and we will be in touch over the next couple of weeks.
