When she was in her twenties, Kingston, Jamaica–based performance and visual artist Simone Harris felt like she was the only lesbian in the world. “When I found a partner, I felt like we were the only two lesbians in Kingston,” says Harris, now in her 40s.
In 2015, Harris became involved in LGBTQ+ activism in Jamaica and that year was named “The Face of Pride” at the country’s first public Pride event, which was just the beginning of her journey as an out and proud activist. In her most recent creative endeavour, Harris has conceived a character—a world-building experiment in colonial criticism, really—named Lady Blake Ophelia Stratum, who she channels on stage. The fictional royal was an heir to the throne of the Caribbean empire of MaKroMa when, in the fateful year of 1492, her spirit was thrown through time and space, arriving in present-day Jamaica to find herself confused with all that’s changed since her own pre-colonial era.
Lady Blake made her public debut last summer as part of Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt queer event series, “Desire Lines.” “The audience was in shock,” says Harris. “I saw that it was a very moving experience for me and for them.” Harris has plans to perform Lady Blake in Jamaica and around the world.
With Harris having spent time in Belfast, Northern Ireland (where she’s been a repeat performer at Outburst Queer Arts Festival, usually held in November); São Paulo, Brazil; Toronto, Canada; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Berlin, Germany, we had to ask her about some of her favourite places. Needless to say, arts spaces top her list.
Berlin, Germany
The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, Berlin, Germany) is a big deal as a cultural arts institution, and it felt like a big deal being there for “Desire Lines” [a long-term public artwork which foregrounds issues around queer love in the Caribbean, Pan-Caribbean, diasporas and beyond]. As someone from a small island, where our creative industries are in development mode, having the opportunity to be in this space—where there is film, fine art, performance art by people from all over the world, surrounded by people all over the world—was incredible.
I also wanted to pay a visit to SAVVY Contemporary: The Laboratory of Form-Ideas (Reinickendorfer Straße 17, Berlin, Germany; their slogan is “Practicing radical conviviality, unlearning and sharing.”) They have an exhibition space, a library resource space. They host talks and workshops with Jamaicans who are highly respected in their field, writers, poets, academics, performers. When I go back, I’d love to have some sort of exhibition or residency there. Also when I go back I want to go to one of those popular nightclubs which go from Friday to Monday morning.
Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.
Belfast feels like home. I’ve been there three times for Outburst. There is this mountain that you can see from the city, they call it the Sleeping Giant [also known as Cave Hill]. And I had seen that in my dreams before. So I literally felt like I’d been to Belfast before. People are very, very friendly. The city doesn’t feel spread out, everything’s pretty close. And the place is full of history like the Titanic museum (1 Olympic Way, Queen’s Road, Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland). In the shipyard [around where the Titanic ocean liner was built] there are these towering machines, and you could almost see it as it was back in the early 1900s, the 1800s and before.
One of the venues for Outburst is the performing arts space The Black Box (18-22 Hill St., Belfast, Northern Ireland). Anyone visiting Belfast should check out what’s on offer there. It also has the Green Room Bar. I love the pubs in Belfast, even though I’m not a fan of Guinness. It’s different from the Guinness that we have here in the Caribbean.
Portland Parish, Jamaica
Montego Bay, on the western side, is the tourism capital. But I’ve been on a mission for some time now as a descendant of Maroons [enslaved Africans in Jamaica under colonialism who freed themselves and established independent communities, primarily in eastern Jamaica, as early as the 1600s] to bring people, particularly queer people, into Maroon communities. There is a perception that Maroons are mostly Rastafarian or anti-gay and anti-queer. I’m trying to disrupt that notion. Visitors can go on hikes, visit waterfalls, tour 18th-century coffee estates [visits to two of the largest, Clifton Mount Estate and Craighton Estate, need to be booked in advance or through a tour operator like Kromanti Experience]. In the Charles Town Maroon community, there’s the Charles Town Museum and Asafu Culture Yard (south of town, just along Buff Bay River) where you can experience the Maroon songs, dance and drumming. This is all in the Blue Mountains—which is where Blue Mountain coffee comes from. I also love to go camping in Holywell Park there.
Kingston, Jamaica
For queer community-specific and community-friendly events, there are no fixed locations, like a nightclub where events take place. If you’re lucky enough to be on-island when something’s happening, go for it. I’d suggest a tour around the Downtown Kingston Art District, which has all kinds of murals, and a visit to the National Gallery of Jamaica (Block 3, Kingston Mall, 12 Ocean Blvd., Kingston) that’s also downtown. For food, there is this really cool Jamaican-Mexican restaurant, Chilitos (88 Hope Rd., Kingston), which is 100 percent queer-friendly. They have things like burritos with jerk chicken, with ackee and plantain. They do Cinco de Mayo and different events.
On Thursday, there’s a live music spot called The Jam, with professional musicians or people who just do it for fun, who will play everything from jazz to reggae to dub. It’s held at 22 Jerk (22 Barbican Rd., Kingston).
Beaches beyond The Blue Mountains, Jamaica
When I want to relax, I leave the city. My favourite is Frenchman’s Cove in Portland Parish [just east of parish capital Port Antonio]. It has a river that runs into the sea, so you get both saltwater and freshwater all at the same time. It’s absolutely beautiful. There’s a restaurant that can bring you food on the beach. If I want to spend the whole weekend, they have villas at Frenchman’s Cove Resort (Drapers, Jamaica). You wake up hearing the sound of the sea, the waves crashing and you just walk down to the beach.
