The Bay Area is home to one of the world's largest and most dynamic transgender communities. As our community grew significantly in size in the 90's, so too did our community's hunger to see ourselves reflected in art and culture. We began to see more out transgender artists developing their work - but with little organizational support. Driven by the rapidly-growing transgender community, the inspiring emergence of transgender artists, and the multiple barriers that make it difficult or impossible for transgender artists to create and stage original work, transgender choreographer Sean Dorsey founded Fresh Meat Productions in 2001. Fresh Meat Productions was founded to provide a professional venue for transgender artists, empower transgender artists and audiences, expand the repertoire of original work authentically exploring transgender experiences, bring visibility to trans communities, connect transgender artists with diverse audiences, promote the artistic development of emerging and established transgender artists, and create new dialogue and build community. Fresh Meat aspired to overcome the many barriers facing transgender artists: limited organizational infrastructure serving the transgender community; the lack of professional performing opportunities; censorship by public arts funding agencies and foundations; and the absence of affordable professional venues and of individual and community donors. Our first multidisciplinary performance event at ODC Theater (Fresh Meat 2002) was praised as "outstanding, joyful, irreverent" (Critical Dance) and "history in the making" (Bay Area Reporter). Even more important than the positive critical reception was the overwhelming enthusiasm of our sold-to-capacity LGBT audiences, which made clear the community's hunger for authentic and positive transgender artistic expression. Never before had audiences had the opportunity to see transgender lives reflected onstage so powerfully and at such a scale - the event was heralded as inspiring, transformative and healing. Since 2002, Fresh Meat has annually staged our June Festival ("Fresh Meat") featuring transgender and queer performers. These annual concerts (and all of our events) continue to play to full-capacity houses, are featured presentations of the National Queer Arts Festival and generate substantial media coverage and critical and audience praise. The success of our annual concerts buoyed the rapid growth of our other programs: a resident dance company that stages the Artistic Director's choreography locally and tours internationally; the annual Fresh Meat in the Gallery international transgender visual arts exhibition; other local transgender visual arts exhibitions; transgender media arts events; community programs and events; and touring. In the past 9 years, Fresh Meat Productions has rapidly grown from a single annual event into a multi-disciplinary arts organization with year-round programs, and is now one of the world's strongest transgender arts organizations. This year over 18,000 people will attend events and programs created, presented or co-sponsored by Fresh Meat Productions. |
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