Dan Savage will bring his wit to Art Explosion on Feb. 26.
Sex advice columnist, author, journalist, pundit, and political humorist Dan Savage will entertain at ArtExplosion 2011 on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. at Broward Center. The event is the grand finale of ArtUnited’s GLBT Arts Festival, which offers two weeks of art, film, music, dance, theatre, literature, comedy and cabaret by GLBT artists and performers. In its 11th year, the annual event has had performers like Lily Tomlin, The Kinsey Sicks, Cashetta and Lea DeLaria in the past. This is the first appearance by the extremely popular Dan Savage.
Dan Savage will bring his wit to Art Explosion on Feb. 26.
Sex advice columnist, author, journalist, pundit, and political humorist Dan Savage will entertain at ArtExplosion 2011 on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. at Broward Center. The event is the grand finale of ArtUnited’s GLBT Arts Festival, which offers two weeks of art, film, music, dance, theatre, literature, comedy and cabaret by GLBT artists and performers. In its 11th year, the annual event has had performers like Lily Tomlin, The Kinsey Sicks, Cashetta and Lea DeLaria in the past. This is the first appearance by the extremely popular Dan Savage.
The cultural icon is the force behind the It Gets Better Project. Savage and his partner Terry Miller created the first “It Gets Better” video on Sept. 21, 2010 in response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied for their sexual orientation. The couple encouraged others to create their own video to let gay teenagers know that it does “get better”. So far, over 5,000 videos have been created.
Savage got his start writing his popular column “Savage Love” in 1991, which can now be read in alternative weekly newspapers throughout the United States. In his column, he has touched on topics of sex, culture and politics. His dead-on humor earned him a place as a contributor to “This American Life,” as a contributor to Out magazine and a “Real Time Real Reporter” on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. He has also appeared several times on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” and “Anderson Cooper 360” speaking on same-sex marriage and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. The popular sex guru also has a weekly pod cast called “Savage Lovecast”.
The talented writer has written several books, including “The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family”; “Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins And The Pursuit Of Happiness In America”; “Savage Love: Straight Answers from America’s Most Popular Sex Columnist”; and “The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant”.
Savage is known for his brutally honest advice which he gives from the former desk of Ann Landers, an item he purchased after her death in the early 2000s. He has frequently referred to himself as the “gay Ann Landers”. He got his start as a columnist when his friend, Tim Keck, co-founder of The Onion, started an alternative paper in Seattle called The Stranger. Savage mentioned that all papers should have an advice column and wrote up a sample column. Keck was impressed and a star was born.
Savage has said that he was inspired by advice columns where straight columnists gave clueless advice to gay people and wanted to do a similar column with a gay man offering straight people such advice.
Through the years, many popular sexual terms have been created through Savage and his readers of Savage Love, including “Cornerstone”, “Saddlebacking”, “Diamondbacking”, “Pegging”, “Fear the Turtle”, and inspired by former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum “Santorum” (the definitions are hilarious, look them up). This has cemented his status as a cultural icon and he continues to shock and awe many with his straight up opinions.
The controversial writer/speaker has been the subject of a lot of controversy, both with traditional conservatives and even the “gay establishment”.
Savage, a big supporter of gay marriage, married his partner of many years, Terry Miller, in 2005 in Vancouver. The two have an adopted son and live in Seattle Washington where, in addition to his weekly column, television appearances, books and podcasts, he is the editorial director of the weekly Seattle newspaper where he got his start, The Stranger.
Tickets to see Savage at ArtExplosion are $25-$35 and are available by calling a 954-462-0222 or visiting www.browardcenter.org.
ART EXPLOSION HIGHLIGHTS
ArtUnited’s ArtExplosion has something for lovers of literature, art and theater. Below are some upcoming events to look out for:
Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
Distinguished Authors Lecture Series
Justin Spring, author of Secret Historian
www.stonewall-library.org
Friday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m.
Grey Gardens
Rising Action Theatre
www.risingactiontheatre.com
Now through February 26
“One Fine Line: Illustrations from America’s Pioneering Homosexual Magazine”
Gallery Show
George Hester Gallery at Stonewall Library
www.stonewall-library.org
For a full schedule of ArtExplosion events, visit http://artsunitedonline.org
