TurkxTaylor Initiative and Jo Kreiter are collaborating on a dance-based public art project in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district that joins transgender visibility with prison systems change. DOWN ON THE CORNER is a multi-media, site-specific dance that supports the transformation of 101-121 Taylor Street from a halfway house and carceral stronghold owned by GEO Group into a queer-positive, trans-centric space that honors the building’s legacy of resistance from its roots as the Compton Cafeteria. With advising from Dr. Susan Stryker, free performances, public conversations, listening circles with formerly incarcerated residents, and casting a mix of trans, nonbinary, queer, and female dancers to reflect the stakeholders of the project, DOWN ON THE CORNER includes an opening ceremony on the 59th anniversary of Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, led by composer Melanie DeMore, projections by Leila Weefur, and community engagement determine the vision for the site.
