While Pride events around the globe have either been cancelled or postponed, Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI) has announced that MOBIfest, its annual free wellness festival for queer communities of colour, will gather audiences virtually on Thursday, June 4 at 6pm ET / 11pm BST with live DJ sets, comedy segments, and performances from dancers, musicians, and the house and ballroom community.
Now in its third year of programming, MOBI has opted to curate a lineup of queer-only talent such as trans pop activist, Mila Jam; POSE choreographer and ballroom icon, Twiggy Pucci Garcon; Miami sensation, Saucy Santana; and Chicago’s rising 17-year old rapper, Kidd Kenn.
In the wake of coronavirus, MOBIfest will be live-streamed on the MOBI website – Despite the challenges faced by organisers, a few things remain the same: MOBI is peer-led and powered by a team of black gay and queer men eager to carve out spaces for their community, and all the festival events are free for viewers.
DaShawn Usher, MOBI founder and GLAAD’s Programme Officer, said: ‘The goal for MOBI has always been to link our community with various health and wellness activities while celebrating contributions to the arts, entertainment, and culture.
‘The pandemic has negatively impacted the world, especially queer people of colour, so it was even more important for us to be resilient and continue to build community because there just aren’t that many options for us. Many Pride events already exclude black and brown bodies. MOBIfest seeks to centre the most marginalised and showcase our continued resilience.’
The initiative is funded by a grant from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) with support from community partners including GLAAD, Gilead, Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the New Group, Out in Tech, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), New York Blood Center, SOULE, Bisi Alimi Foundation, and more.
MOBIfest will also curate MOBIflix, a queer film festival on Saturday, June 6, featuring works from known directors and upcoming creators from public submissions.
For more info and to tune into MOBIfest on Thursday, June 4, visit: www.mobifest.live
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