The night belongs to women and queer people too
Our experience after dark is not an individual issue.
It's collective, systemic, and designable.
WHAT'S CONNEXXA?
Connexxa is a lab that explore the experiences of women and queer people in the night-time.
We operate for us, from us, placing value on community-based knowledge.
Transport, public space, culture, care practices.
THE MISSION
Connexxa exists to enable policies and the design of night spaces and services that work for women and queer people too.
A lab where research meets practice.
A place where not yet considered needs are made visible.
dataset. database. platform. organisation.
"I have never gone out alone at night - never thought I could. I only go where my friends are."
person, 20yo
"Every time I go to a night event, I bring loose clothes to wear when I walk in the street, a powerbank so my phone never dies, and I try to walk where the streets are lit."
person, 27yo
"I always share my location with a friend and text when I get home. We all do it for each other, because every day we have news about violence in the street against someone who could be any of us."
person, 36yo
THESE ARE NOT EXCEPTIONAL STORIES
ON GOING PROJECTS
NightFlows
NightFlows is a research project by Connexxa on:
lived experience of flinta+ people in the nighttime
- focus on MOBILITY/TRANSPORT (a), in the act of MOVING THROUGH THE PUBLIC SPACE (c), and at ELECTRONIC MUSIC EVENTS (b) -
and
community-based CARE PRACTICES developed from them, in explicit response to their needs (et. safety).
Two main phases:
1. Scoping review [diagnostic], collecting and making available the existing knowledge, from academia and grey literature (informal groups, collectives, NGO);
2. On-field research, with surveys supplied at FLINTA+ people in the nighttime at (b), possibly (a) and (c).
Output: Open Dataset, DB, Toolkits, Policy-oriented articles, and more.
The goal is to make knowledge on the nightime as a FLINTA+ person visible, valuable, and usable by policy makers, designers, and nighttime operators.
NightFlows is open for collaborations with organisations working on nightlife&nighttime, data feminism, and feminist transport and mobility.
MANIFESTO
How do we move through the night?
What do we face and doing what?
These are not logistical questions.
They are questions of rights, of justice, and of design.
| We affirm that We stand by | We believe that We believe in |
The following have signed the manifesto (2024)
| Ritmo PLUG APS BLEND ASSOCIATION Neural Connection Bassdicted | Breakin Alchemy Brulica Play For Today Camera del Tempo Tree Music | Link Academy Mentalita Synth-o-Matic SUMO Music BDR Collective |
WHO IS IN THE BACKSTAGE
Mariaelena BusaniIndependent researcher, educator, and designer for social justice.Throughout a journey started in 2022, every professional choice was deliberate: research, education, teaching, consulting, field practice, and European project work, each building experiences Connexxa needs.Trained as an architect for sustainability, she/they specialized in digital technologies for the public good, community engagement, and shared transportation research. Educator as a form of activism for the social responsibility of organizations.
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY
Connexxa writes about the night
research, field notes, reflections on care practices, and updates on NightFlows.
GET IN TOUCH
We are searching for:
funding opportunities
policy bodies
researchers
music events organisers and care practitioners
Woman and/or queer person willing to share their night-time stories