My art and words are in a book !
” Queere Geschichte(n)Erinnerungen und Visionen im Anschluss an Leslie Feinbergs »Stone Butch Blues« “
(“ Queer histories, memories and visions following Leslie Feinberg’s “Stone Butch Blues” )
A super 🌈 and 🏳️⚧️ book! This has been one of my dreams since I was very small and I am so grateful for the opportunity and thank Jara Schmidt and Clara Rosa Schwarz for including me!
Two years ago I facilitated a workshop on Queer Trans Jewish Futures for the conference honoring the 30th anniversary of Stone Butch Blue’s publication. Afterwards I was asked to contribute something to this book alongside other conference presentors, and I asked if I could include my art! I created this work and my artist statment thinking about the occasion of the conference, about trancestors like Leslie Feinberg, and the wonderful experience of meeting online and discussing future dreams with other queer and trans jews during the workshop. The ebook is available online for free ✨, to get your digital or physical copy, click here
My entry is written about in this way :
“The third section on (future) spaces (online and offline) begins with an artistic
contribution by Hani Esther Indictor Portner. Portner uses an artwork to reflect on
the “Queer Trans Jewish Futures” workshop held at the conference and explains in
a short statement the numerous symbols of the visual language as well as the significance of such a workshop as a safer space for people who find themselves at the
intersection of a Jewish-queer/trans marginalisation.”
If you want a print of this painting, or pdf to print yourself, message me
There will be a book launch online and in Hamburg on May 6!
From the organizers:
“We are celebrating the publication of the anthology “Queere Geschichte(n). Erinnerungen und Visionen im Anschluss an Leslie Feinbergs ‘Stone Butch Blues” (Queer Histories/Stories. Memories and Visions following Leslie Feinberg’s “Stone Butch Blues”). Following on from Feinberg’s novel, the volume brings together contributions on the past, present and future of trans, lesbian and queer literature. At the book launch, chair Lara Ledwa will talk to the editors and contributors, provide insights into the anthology and discuss it with them and with you. The event will be held in German and English. We look forward to seeing you!
May 6, 2025, 6:00 pm CEST, Center for Gender & Diversity (Monetastraße 4, 20146 Hamburg) and online via Zoom; register at the link in bio of @zgd.hamburg and @spinnbodenlesbenarchiv “
Photos taken by my lovely and talented wife Mara
This is the link to the ebook:
https://www.transcript-verlag.de/detail/index/sArticle/7175?number=978-3-8376-7335-7
You can register for the zoom event here
https://www.zgd-hamburg.de/veranstaltungen/bookings.htmL,
My entry:
Artist Statement: Queer Trans Jewish Futures
Hani Esther Indictor Portner
In the workshop on “Queer Trans Jewish Futures” that I hosted at the conference in May 2023, a group of queer and transgender Jewish people gathered in cyberspace to discuss what our lives and current realities are like in this time and place. It was a community-centered space of reflection, validation, and learning. We came together to form connections across multiple countries and voice our experiences
when we are the only Jewish queer/trans person in the room. After facilitating this space it really made me understand how deeply necessary these identity-based spaces are for multiply-marginalized people so that we can relax in each other’s presence.
In the painting I created to process this conversation,I satwith symbols oftransgender pride and joy and Leslie Feinberg’s words and activism to create a collage of plants, mushrooms, quotes, and portraits, all in a very magical, perhaps futuristic landscape.In the bottom right you can see two questions that we explored together: How will we show each other kindness? What shall we create together? In community, we talked about what Feinberg’s work and presence can teach us as the next generation of Jewish queer and trans community builders.We discussed Jewish queer futures in terms of spaces of oasis, daily language shifts, and broader
queer and Jewish community education. I wanted to center conversations and exchanges with other Jewish people involved in the conference, as I have found there are not enough spaces to embrace and celebrate being Jewish and queer and trans, and be honest about our struggles in academia, in the broader LGBTQ+ movement, or in the cisgender-heterosexual Jewish world. For many people, it is difficult to exist in our multiplicities and intersectional identities,facing questions like “How can you be queer/transgenderif you are Jewish?”, as well as being forced to be educators on antisemitism or transphobia when you just want to be present like everyone else
in the room.
Leslie Feinberg’s writing and activism allow for revolutionary dreaming and creating a betterworld by providing us contemporary queer peoplewith a visionofwhat can be possible if we speak on ourtruths and build community with other marginalized groups. For the painting, I used dark blue ink to bring attention to the occasion of the conference being the 30th anniversary of the publishing of Stone Butch Blues. I created a rainbow from the word ‘Queer’with bright colors–red, orange, yellow, green,
blue, and purple. Next to the rainbow is a butterfly, a symbol of transformation and freedom with hearts and peace signs on the wings. Over one of the wings drapes a tallit. Mushrooms are growing from the top of the page, surrounding the message “we have a right to thrive.” A portrait of Feinberg is drawn in the right corner of the page from the cover of Stone Butch Blues. A garden of flowers grows to hirleft and below on rolling hills. A halved pomegranate with its many seeds floats above the word ‘Jewish’ with a hanukkiah over the letter‘i’.On the bottom left corner, a smiling sunshine emerges from a grassy mountainous landscape – with ‘FUTURES,’ written in
capital letters,resting below two fluffy clouds and more butterflies.On a plant with a large and geometric root grows Dioscorea mexicana, one of the first plants synthesized into progesterone. It reaches up to touch the rainbow.
Throughout the piece, I’ve hidden treasures for the delight of those who know. It was a joy to create this painting and continue to think more deeply about this workshop – a very special moment in queer/trans Jewish spacetime.
Mycelium Memory 