Envisioning a culture of consent
I was thrilled when the late University of Chicago Prof. Lauren Berlant sent me an email in late 2020 with the subject line: “one more thing: from my book bibliography :-).” The email contained an alphabetical list of publications by authors whose last names began with “B” including several by me! Their book, On the … Continue reading On Being in the Footnotes of Famous Feminist Scholars
Jam with Roland: Just Say "No" © 2019 Michele Beaulieux Oil Pastel on Paper Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics famously sang: "Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves." Widely hailed as a feminist anthem of empowerment, I'm now wondering why sisters ended up resorting to doin' it for themselves. Out of necessity, victim-survivors … Continue reading Victim-Survivors Are Doin’ It for Themselves, and That’s a Problem
Michele Beaulieux stands with her oil pastel triptych, "Jam Series," at the Side Street Studio Arts Gallery in Elgin, Illinois Photo by Ivette De Santiago My triptych, "Jam Series," looked great at the Going Dutch Festival at Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin, Illinois. It was very well lit and had good company with the … Continue reading Art about Safer Brave Space at Going Dutch Festival
Going Dutch Festival, Elgin, Illinois, 2022 Art about dance at a festival of dance and art! I will be showing my triptych, "Jam Series," and leading a workshop at the 12th annual Going Dutch Festival in Elgin Illinois, June 3-25, 2022. Produced by Side Street Studio Arts, the festival is a celebration of the female … Continue reading Creating and Showing Counterstories in Elgin, Illinois
The Future of CI 3-Day International Online Conference April 23-25, 2021 I am happy to announce that I'm presenting "A Call for Contact Improvisation Citizens” at The Future of CI international online conference this coming Friday, April 23, 8PM CDT Chicago time. Conference registration is sliding scale, and presentations will be available online for a … Continue reading A Call for Contact Improvisation Citizens
Me, Michele Beaulieux, reading “What First Rule of CI?” (at 1:10) at the Reading Jam for Nancy Stark Smith. Behind me is the oil pastel series called "Jam Series" that I drew to illustrate my CQ CI Newsletter articles about the First Rule. We're at an inflection point, asking fundamental questions about who we are. … Continue reading When Reform Doesn’t Work
Alternatives © 2020 Michele Beaulieux Oil pastel on paper How might Contact Improvisation (CI) groups respond to teachers who are known to troll? And by that I mean teachers who consciously and systematically search for sexual partners among students. I wrote two counterstories—stories with alternative outcomes that represent a moral shift away from the dominant cultural narrative—that imagine how … Continue reading Just Say “No” to Teachers Who Troll : Counterstory #2: Alternatives
Jam with Maria: Listening for "Yes" #3 of 3 in Jam Series; Oil Pastel on Paper © 2019 Michele Beaulieux This post provides links to my writing published in Contact Quarterly and the CQ Contact Improvisation Newsletter on preventing sexual violence and creating what I call "safer brave spaces"—places where being brave is as safe … Continue reading Published Articles on Safer Brave Space
This chart, “The Shift from Rape Culture to Consent Culture," lays out five possible states that groups might exhibit in how they handle sexual violence and other types of harm. The chart depicts two phases of rape culture and three phases of consent culture. The phases of rape culture—ignoring and reacting— support individual freedom, and … Continue reading The Shift from Rape Culture to Consent Culture
Help in finding and creating safer brave spaces for contact improvisation jams and other voluntary group gatherings Campfire Circle Ready for Us © 2021 Michele Beaulieux On this page, I provide tools for answering the question: Is a group gathering in which people are voluntarily participating a “safer brave space,"—a place where being brave is … Continue reading The Beaulieu Tools for Creating Safer Brave Spaces
Reservoir of Hope 
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