Some last-minute screenings of David Wojnarowicz’s A Fire in My Belly have been scheduled on Friday night as part of a national protest of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's removal of the video from their Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture exhibit last week because it was declared “hate speech” by Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League, incoming House Speaker John Boehner, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
SF Camerawork and the Queer Cultural Center present a 7 p.m. screening of the 13-minute video, followed by a presentation by art historian, writer, and activist Robert Atkins. Atkins will also lead a panel discussion that will include queer activists, scholars, and artists. Jonathan D. Katz, curator of Hide/Seek, who was not consulted by the Smithsonian before the video was censored, will join in from New York via Skype. Space is limited, so RSVP at [email protected] or 415.512.2020 x 102.
Later, starting at 11 p.m. until 2 a.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will screen the video on a continuous loop during their Noël Noir event, which will run in place of the original midnight surprise movie. (Stay tuned for more info on this event coming in our "Week in Holiday Events" post.)