Dunst (queer network in Copenhagen)
Encyclopedia
Dunst is a queer
performance art
and activist
group in Copenhagen
, Denmark
. The group began in 2001 as an informal human network, but since 2004 it formally works as an association. Among its projects are art shows, dinner nights, performances, film nights, parties and political manifestations, as well as tv and radio shows. The name means odour or reek in Danish
.
. Events and parties in the revived Gay House were popular among Copenhagen's gays, but Dunst allegedly received complaints and threats from Christiania residents and subsequently moved out of Christiania.
During 2003 Dunst broadcast six episodes of its own TV show on Kanal København
, a local Copenhagen television network
. The network, however, declined to air an episode showing one artist eating excrement and subsequently banned Dunst from its facilities. Dunst currently broadcasts a weekly radio show on the local cable network.
Dunst has made events in neighbouring countries and has gained some international attention, notably in Berlin
.
personalities (including such names as Ramona Macho, Miss Fish, Puta and Tove Hansen). Having decidedly anti-establishment
aims, the group has a humorous approach with a drag
-punk
flavour. Public appearances have been referred in several mainstream media which would otherwise often ignore gay events.
The attitude of Dunst appears more sarcastic and less militant than radical queer punk
formations in other countries. It could be claimed that Dunst combines a postmodern appearance with a Danish tradition of humorous political activism
. During the 1970s and 1980s, the theatre group Solvognen (Sun Chariot, linked with Christiania), singers Troels Trier and Rebecca Brüel, and the squatter performance network Kulørte Klat ("Coloured Blob") made imaginative and ironic performances, as well as feminist groups of rødstrømper (literally "Redstockings
").
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
and activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
group in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The group began in 2001 as an informal human network, but since 2004 it formally works as an association. Among its projects are art shows, dinner nights, performances, film nights, parties and political manifestations, as well as tv and radio shows. The name means odour or reek in Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
.
Activities
During 2003, Dunst handled the Gay House at ChristianiaFreetown Christiania
Not to be confused with Christiania, Norway, another name for Oslo.Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen...
. Events and parties in the revived Gay House were popular among Copenhagen's gays, but Dunst allegedly received complaints and threats from Christiania residents and subsequently moved out of Christiania.
During 2003 Dunst broadcast six episodes of its own TV show on Kanal København
Kanal København
Kanal København is a Danish commercial television channel, which can be seen in most parts of Denmark. It is Pay-TV and Cable TV delivered by providers like Stofa, Waoo!, Dansk Bredbaand and others...
, a local Copenhagen television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. The network, however, declined to air an episode showing one artist eating excrement and subsequently banned Dunst from its facilities. Dunst currently broadcasts a weekly radio show on the local cable network.
Dunst has made events in neighbouring countries and has gained some international attention, notably in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Style and context
Dunst is known for its bizarre and ironic drag queenDrag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
personalities (including such names as Ramona Macho, Miss Fish, Puta and Tove Hansen). Having decidedly anti-establishment
The Establishment
The Establishment is a term used to refer to a visible dominant group or elite that holds power or authority in a nation. The term suggests a closed social group which selects its own members...
aims, the group has a humorous approach with a drag
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
-punk
Punk fashion
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
flavour. Public appearances have been referred in several mainstream media which would otherwise often ignore gay events.
The attitude of Dunst appears more sarcastic and less militant than radical queer punk
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
formations in other countries. It could be claimed that Dunst combines a postmodern appearance with a Danish tradition of humorous political activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
. During the 1970s and 1980s, the theatre group Solvognen (Sun Chariot, linked with Christiania), singers Troels Trier and Rebecca Brüel, and the squatter performance network Kulørte Klat ("Coloured Blob") made imaginative and ironic performances, as well as feminist groups of rødstrømper (literally "Redstockings
Redstockings
Redstockings, also known as Redstockings of the Women's Liberation Movement, is a radical feminist group that was founded in January of 1969...
").
Manifesto
The Dunst website proclaims its "Manifesto" as follows:1. dunst is for all the cute ones.
2. dunst is the culture bearing layer of our gender political confusement.
3. dunst has provocation as a work tool and not as a goal in itself.
4. dunst makes contrasts strong.
5. dunst is for all who in a self performance will go beyond their own modesty.
6. dunst is the low life that others won't have an opinion about.
7. dunst is the sanctuary for those who come from a male or female chauvinist upbringing.
8. dunst crosses the gender specific habits and limits you keep in your everyday life.
9. dunst is for those who think they and others should be culturally carpet bombed.
10. dunst is always in change.