Tag Archives: queer berlin

IRL drawings from the Queerberg/House of Royals Poke House takeover!

Prenz Emrah by Suzanne Forbes April 2020One of the last IRL drag shows I went to was Poke House/House of Presents at Monster Ronsons.

Gieza’s Poke House was having a takeover by House of Royals and the regal Mother of that House, Prens Emrah. It was the first time I drew and met Prenz Emrah, and that seems hard to imagine now, when their inspiration and creative power has become so precious to me.

House of Royals is the drag family of Queerberg Soli-party, a Soli Party with Refugee/ Migrant-PoC Queer performers. The folx of this house are so talented I can’t even begin to describe them. You gotta see for yourself.

You gotta watch Queerberg’s Don’t Rush brush drop. Some of the most beautiful, amazing and creative transformations I’ve ever seen.

Bubu Sababa at Monster Ronsons by Suzanne Forbes April 10 2020That January night was also the first time I drew Buba Sababa!

How it is possible that there was a time before I knew and helplessly stanned Buba? I can’t even imagine. Buba Sababa is the future of cool, the future of gender. More Buba here!

Learn about Prens’ online NOW IRL! incredibly special, fully accessible, QT*I*BIPOC! (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour who are also Queer, Trans and/or Intersex ) bellydance workshop !!

Learn how to keep your oranges fresh here. Such a joy to watch and so happy that Prens holds a space for those of us who have limited mobility and dance from our chairs!

Keil Li Divõn at Monster Ronsons March 31 2020 finished Sept 9 2020 by Suzanne ForbesUpdated Sept 10 with this drawing of the beautiful Keil Li Divõn !

Follow this pastel doll here :), listen here!

It’s so crucial to help Queerberg keep going in this time when the performers have lost their income from shows. Even small amounts matter. Most of the House/crew are refugees and asylum seekers, some of them folx who can’t safely express their true gender in the refugee housing where they live.

Here are all the Instagram accounts from the House of Royals Don’t Rush video; every one is a delightful follow.

@prince_emrah_1203
@kldivon
@thedarvishofficial
@madness_in_abyss
@zizi.zinabln
@buba__sababa
Julie Dancer
@mudialshami
@patricia_ofelija_
@dalaa.alsham.1848
@caddydomplex
@nana_glam95
@kasha_be94
@katanasix
@theonlyshayma
@dancingqueerofficial
Song by @haifamagick
Video by @kldivon

Like they say here,

“As refugees, we know exactly what “show must go on” means. And corona is no exception. We are blessed to have each other and the friends who are part of the crew. We cannot wait to come back more resilient, and more beautiful 😘 ”

كلاجئين، نعرف تماما ماذا يعني “العرض لازم يستمر”. والكورونا ليس استثناء. نحن محظوظين لانه لدينا بعضنا البعض والاصدقاء الذي شاركوا معنا. وبانتظار للرجوع كيف كنا واحسن.😘 !!

Mülteciler olarak, “şovun devam etmesi gerektiğini” tam olarak biliyoruz. Korona da buna dahil.
Birbirimize ve ekibin bir parçası olan arkadaşlara sahip olduğumuz için cok sansliyiz.
Daha güclü ve daha güzel geri dönmek için sabırsızlanıyoruz 😘

 

Drawing Hungry, redux!

Hungry from livestream by Suzanne Forbes April 15 2020Is she Hungry?

She IS Hungry! I drew Hungry last summer when I was a guest of Bushwig Berlin, and I got to meet her and see her incredible beauty up close. A total thrill! Working on the drawing afterward, trying to get her face right underneath the makeup and appliance, I really studied her facial structure; I had a lot of mental information stored.

Hungry from livestream start by Suzanne Forbes April 15 2020So when she went on livestream to do a makeup tutorial last night, I felt confident I could do a meaningful drawing.

I finished the drawing at the top, from the stream, when her makeup was only half done, to focus on her features. The one above is the first one I did, like a warm-up. Hungry has a mullet now! A wonderful spiky feathery mullet, it’s an absolutely terrific cut. She said who cut it but I missed it. An unfortunate artifact of drawing from the screen is that her face came out slightly assymmetrical, when in life she is perfectly symmetrical. I haven’t learned yet how to hold my sketchbook and position my body when drawing from the screen. But I still like the drawings!

The livestream was so fun to watch, to see such complex makeup come to life. Hungry has a Patreon now, since she hasn’t been able to work and won’t be able to for who knows how long, and this kind of mesmerizing watching will be part of it.

And for me, I was able to spend two hours on the livestream drawing and documenting this unique Queer Berlin artist because of my Patreon Patrons. Thank you, so much!

Here’s the drawing from last summer!Hungry at Bushwig Berlin Sept 4 2019 by Suzanne Forbes