Unleashing the Transformative Power of the Dirty Green City.

What if the key to greener city living doesn’t lie in greenwashed, bygone ideals? Can we take tools from queer thought and practice to aid our survival? Let’s re-imagine the green city as a space for dirt and dirtiness in all its forms and connotations.

In this live exploration, Queer Screen Production Practices in Australia (QSPPA) challenge conventional notions of urban greening. The green city, long seen as a means to overcome technological alienation, is re-imagined— dirtier. These filmmakers embrace the city as an intense and intimate mode of human belonging. Inspired by Wendy Steele, Aidan Davidson and Aviva Reed’s concept of ‘dirt thinking,’ QSPPA venture into the untidy but fertile ground of the dirty green city, where creativity and connection thrive.

Through a captivating blend of audiovisual clips, live screenwriting, and thought-provoking discussions, explore the power of these four filmmakers. Witness as each practitioner responds to the others’ material, creating a dynamic and spontaneous hybrid screen object. Together, they will unravel the alchemical relationships that occur when beings and materials engage in collaborative dialogue about dirt and water.

Following the immersive screening, we invite you to join us in an engaging discussion about queer creative practices as methods for survival. Contribute your insights, share your experiences, and be part of a transformative conversation that celebrates resilience and empowerment.

This event is part of Wild Hope: Conversations for a Planetary Commons, an exhibition calling for a radical shift to ‘planetary thinking’ as vital to the survival of human and non-human life on Earth, at Design Hub Gallery 15 August–30 September.