Submissions by New Zealanders are being sought for a conference on Queer Cultural Production, to be held in Adelaide this November. The regional conference will “explore queer cultural practice and production”, covering a “wide range of interdisciplinary approaches” including “performative and visual presentations,” say organisers. The conference is being jointly hosted by Feast (Adelaide Lesbian and Gay Cultural Festival) and the Cultures of the Body Research Group of the University of South Australia. Phillip Patston, performer and Managing Director of Auckland-based production company DiversityWorks, has attended Feast a number of times, and encourages queer New Zealanders to take advantage of this unique conference. “It'd be great to see a contingent of queer Kiwis at this international event, both to promote our uniquely diverse brand and to benefit from witnessing what's going on elsewhere in the world,” he says. Those interested in presenting at the conference are asked to forward a 250-300-word abstract, or a proposal for a panel presentation or performance piece. Patston says New Zealand's limited population presents unique challenges for queer cultural production. “We need to be constantly innovative and original because we experience overexposure and market saturation quicker than countries with larger audiences. There's also a strange parochialism in New Zealand, which is great because it creates uniquely Kiwi products, but it can also cause a certain narrowness in focus and range, in both queer and mainstream production worlds.” “The queer Kiwi gaze is a vital expression of diversity and reality that needs to have its rightful and valuable place in the media, on stage and on screen – for everyone,” Patston adds. For information on the Adelaide conference, scheduled for November 9 and 10, contact Vicki Crowley by email: vicki.crowley@unisa.edu.au. Ref: GayNZ.com (d)