Venom

2023 NYFA Mertz Gilmore Foundation Dancer Award and 2021-22 YoungArts Fellow Awardee and Roderick George | kNoname Artist presents Venom, a new work inspired by the lasting impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic and the present events of the erasure of the LGBTQIA+ community. Venom exposes how the queer community faced silencing, isolation, being forced into hiding, and death through fear, media, and ‘God’s reckoning.’ As a queer Black man from Houston, Texas, George recognizes that his existence lies on the backs of these individuals and pays homage to his community in its ability to uplift each other using the underground nightlife as a sanctuary.