Bring your blanket and relax for an evening of immersive lit experiences. Hear live readings from local writers and poets exploring the thematic threads of connection and body autonomy, plus music stylings by local DJs. In collaboration with the creative powerhouse Public Functionary, the evening includes readings from Taiwana Shambley, b ferguson, Chavah Gabrielle, and Amalia Tenuta.
For this edition of Green Roof Poetry, Public Functionary invites in-house curator Sati Varghese Mac and guest curator Taiwana Shambley to shape the evening’s call to action: “This Green Roof Poetry event is about trans liberation, body sovereignty, and staying dangerous—a reminder that we are active agents in our fight for liberation who do not have to sit idle as our access to our bodies and happiness is tampered with and restricted through anti-trans legislation and anti-trans violence. Each of these four writers & artists, preluded and epilogued by the euphoric and somatic DJ BYZARRA, will bring their own take on the phrase ‘stay dangerous,’ taking risks in their sets and exploring themes of trans liberation and body sovereignty. We invite you to close out your Pride month with an unforgettable show of poetry, music, and resistance, sure to coax the fire already burning inside of you.”
During the event, visitors can board the Body Freedom for Every(Body) Truck, an exhibition on wheels celebrating the intersections of the bodily autonomy. The truck has traveled over 10,000 miles around the U.S. and will be making its Twin Cities stop at the Walker. With over 200 artworks on board, this campaign addresses the importance of agency, autonomy, and choice when it comes to healthcare and individual identity, and sheds light on reproductive justice, queer liberation, and trans joy.
Enjoy curated snacks and libations from Cardamom, available for purchase on the hillside. Menus available upon request.
Gallery admission is free on Thursday nights, 5–9 pm. Save time and reserve your gallery admission tickets online.
Accessibility
This program will have ASL interpretation.
For more information about accessibility at the Walker, visit our Access page.
For more information or to request additional accommodations, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
Bios
Public Functionary is an artist-led space to dream and live in a world where our multifaceted identities are celebrated and centered. A place where creative production is reparative and generous. Supporting the expression of art and culture through studios, galleries, and performance space, Public Functionary pours into an abundant community of practice, where possibility is seen in relationship to each other. In 2019 Public Functionary launched PF STUDIOS in the Northrup King Building to empower young artists to grow their practice + community. The program centers early career artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, trans, and gender fluid. The studios are a multidisciplinary exploration and collaboration. The PF galleries present curated exhibition and event programming by our artist-led team as well as collaborations with our broader creative community.
b ferguson is a queer Bahamian poet, essayist, and educator. By the luck of friends, collaborators, and institutions, their poems and essays have been published and featured in places like the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Metropolitan Museum, Vice News, and the Kenyon Review. They’re interested in engaging creative writing, literature, and poetics as a form of political study and practice, and have led such courses and workshops at NYC elementary schools, New York University, and the New School. They’re currently working on writing and teaching tools about the effects of climate change and how centuries of far-flung injustices—such as colonization, slavery, and numerous inequalities at local and global scales—have come to cause the climate crisis.
Chavah Gabrielle is a literary & performance artist, astrological scholar, and community organizer. They are the author of Bodies I Am Willing to Worship and the 2018–2019 St. Paul Youth Poet Laureate. They leverage their writing & community presence with the intention of drawing attention to the nuances of intersectionality. With a playfulness in relationships, rhythm, and syntax, their work showcases thematic elements of the natural world, Black liberation, bodies, feminist ideology, abolition, anti-capitalism, and their own experience. They envision a world free of the brutalities of oppression and believe the only way to build it is together.
A Black trans woman with disabilities, Taiwana Shambley is a speculative fiction writer and award-winning teaching artist from St. Paul, Minnesota’s North End neighborhood. Guided by political anger and black radical tradition, Taiwana’s mission is to empower queer, trans, and disabled youth voices, through both her writing and by facilitating storytelling skills for others. She is a master fiction writer (Antioch University Los Angeles, 2025) and represented by agent Riley Jay Davis. She invites you to sign up for her mailing list at taiwanashambley.com to be the first to hear about her debut novel and fiction & poetry collection.
Amalia Tenuta is a poet currently based in St. Paul. She is the author of the chapbook The Primitive Accumulation of Realness (Dead Mall Press, 2023).
Weather Info for Outdoor Programs
In the event of rain or extreme weather, Green Roof Poetry will move to the Cargill Lounge with limited capacity. For light to moderate weather conditions, the Every (BODY) truck will be available outside. Call 612-375-7600 or email info@walkerart.org for weather updates.
Before Your Visit
Paid underground parking is available on-site. Enter the ramp on Vineland Place at Bryant Avenue. Biking or taking Metro Transit? Learn more.
Visiting the galleries? Enhance your experience by joining a public tour or with self-guided resources accessible for free on Bloomberg Connects.
Personal photography is permitted throughout the Walker and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, but please turn off the flash when visiting the galleries.
To help us promote future events and programs, this event may be photographed or recorded. By attending, you consent to appear in this documentation and its future use by the museum. Please let staff know upon arrival if you prefer not to be photographed.
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