What: Interact with our exhibit, We Live On: Stories of Radical Connection, at its final location in Minneapolis. Celebrate the stories shared, community connections made, and the people that helped make Telling Queer History possible for 12 years. We will premiere the TQH documentary film, co-directed by Alexandra Jabbarpour and Ruben Schneiderman, there will be two storytellers, a ritual of gratitude & release led by the Ladies of the Lake, post-event snacks, and other activities.

We Live On: Stories of Radical Connection invites you into how queer people around the state have fostered community and connection over time. Learn about queer communities across Minnesota history with stories of Two Spirit and Indigequeer, intersex, and incarcerated queer and trans folks, HIV/AIDS history, sex work, and more. Interact with historically-contextualized archival video, audio, story transcripts, letters, art, poems, an ancestral altar, and queer ephemera as you learn about Telling Queer History’s community-based work.

Why: Telling Queer History has been hosting gatherings that connect 2SLGBTQIA+ people across generations and identities to foster healing, compassion, and empathy for 12 years. Our organization is coming to a close at the end of June 2025. Before we go, we want to gather with our amazing community, share what we have learned and built together, and dream up the possibilities of our collective future.

Where/When/Who: Queermunity, 3036 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408 on Sunday, June 8th, 2025 from 2-5 pm. This is a substance-free event, and all ages & identities are welcome. Please RSVP here! TQH Sunset is now sold-out!

This event is free, donations are optional but encouraged. Can’t make the event? The exhibit will stay up at Queermunity for viewing from 8 am-8 pm daily, June 9th through June 22nd.

Costume/Optional Dress Code: Sunset - Bust out the vibrant colors, sparkles, or dusky muted tones. Embody the time of day when the sun sinks to the horizon.

There is no fee for this event, but donations are welcome, as are gifts of cash and flowers for staff! We’re excited to celebrate TQH with you.

RSVP is required and space is limited https://tellingqueerhistory-bloom.kindful.com/e/tqh-sunset-celebration

Our Storytellers

Storyteller: Taiwana Shambley

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. Taiwana is a master’s student in fiction, a Loft and PEN/Faulkner award-winning teaching artist, 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 chapbook.

Storyteller: Zhi Kai Vanderford

I'm 58 years old and this is my 39th year of incarceration - ironic how time marches on.

Zhi Kai H. Vanderford is a 58-year-old trans male, life prisoner. He was 19 and pregnant when he killed his fiancé. He has been incarcerated 39 consecutive years between California, Oklahoma and Minnesota women and men's prison on this charge. He is a modern day, Mulan, the 1st female-born to be housed in male prisons without surgical accommodation.

Zhi Kai is working on his MBA and seeks parole support at free zhikai.org.

Accessibility: Queermunity is on the second floor, accessed by an elevator or full flight of stairs. There is an ADA door paddle & ramp at entry. Please let us know if you need childcare or transportation support!

  • KN95+ masks required and provided.

  • Air purifiers and far UVC lights will be operating throughout. - There will be 2 ASL interpreters. - There will be chairs of many sizes and styles. - Sound absorption system in use.

  • Parenting, prayer, and sensory rooms available.

  • ADA accessible gender-neutral restrooms.

Street Parking: Park on or south of 31st St., on Holmes, Humboldt, or Irving Ave. There’s usually ample free or metered street parking within a block of Queermunity. Meters are $2/hour.

Ramp Parking: We offer discounted parking validation for 7 Points ramp at Hennepin and 31st, behind the mall across from Queermunity. Enter from Lake Street or 31st, about a 400 ft/2 block walk from the front door. Validation stickers are 2 hours for $3, and anything over 2 hours is $6. Park in the lot and purchase your sticker at the cafe.

ADA Parking: Vehicles with disability plates or certificates can park for free in the surface lot next to 7 Points Ramp (entrance off 31st St.) as well as most meters on 31st St. These spots are about 100 ft. from the Queermunity front door.

Public Transportation: We are just a few blocks south of the Uptown Transit Station, which is serviced by these routes: 6, 12, 17, 21, 23, 53, 114, 115, & 612. In particular, the 6 and 23 stop just feet from our door, on the corner of 31st

RSVP here https://tellingqueerhistory-bloom.kindful.com/e/tqh-sunset-celebration