Avril Stormy Unger

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA under Arts Platforms will create a queer-centered arts platform that will foster community and skill-building through a series of workshops, performances, and discussions in Goa. Avril Stormy Unger is the Coordinator for this project. 

Avril Stormy Unger, also known as Chutney Mary, is a Goa-based drag, stand-up, and DJ performer. Since 2023, she has been running Qrave which is a club night centering queer, trans and women DJs, producers, and visual artists, and she has been the co-founder of a queer trans collective called The Audacity! and she has been co-produced three editions of Mix Fruit Juice at Barefoot Goa in Goa. In 2024, they operated a queer bar, BS bar, which hosted four editions of Jadibooty Nights. They have performed at numerous events in India, including Maya Bazar in Bengaluru and the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa. They have also performed internationally at events such as the Balance Club Culture Festival in Leipzig, Germany, and Word on the Street in Berlin, Germany. Additionally, they have led workshops, including Community Building as an Act of Resistance at the Balance Club Culture Festival and Drag Up with Chutney Mary at the Uru Festival, Wayanad, Kerala. They are also the creator, producer, and distributor of a self-published card game called Chutney Mary's Queer Charades. Given Avril’s experience, they are best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

The project titled Flower Tools under Qrave is a series of queer-centered gatherings designed to create a vibrant and empowering space for queer, trans, and gender-diverse people in Goa. The project blends music, community, and shared learning to foster collective flourishing through DJ sets, live performances, workshops, and discussions. The goal is to empower, educate, and celebrate marginalised artists and community members. The project under the Arts Platform category of IFA’s Arts Practice programme, will unfold across three distinct editions over the course of eight months, with each edition focusing on a different aspect of queer artistry and community building. The project will begin with the first sensitisation workshop in September 2025 and it will culminate with the final edition in March 2026. 

The first edition, set for September at Storiculture or Barefoot Goa, features an intimate performance and conversation titled Ramakka and I. This unscripted piece brings together Shilpa Mudbi, a city-bred theatre practitioner, and Ramavva Jogathi, a transwoman folk artist from rural Karnataka. Their dialogue, interwoven with Jogathi songs and personal stories, will explore how their divergent realities, shaped by caste, class, gender, and the rural-urban divide, form a basis for deep listening and companionship. The 90-minute performance will be followed by a 30-minute interaction, offering a moving archive of survival, artistic labour, and everyday resilience. This event aims to highlight the power of conversation as a radical act and a site of connection. 

For the second edition, the project will shift its focus to music production with a free two-day workshop led by acclaimed producer Echologue at BudXLoft. Aimed at beginners, this workshop will guide eight queer, trans, and women-identifying participants through the fundamentals of music-making on Ableton Live 12. From crafting beats and melodies to composition, arrangement, and mixing, the sessions are designed to make music production accessible to everyone. By the end, participants will have collaboratively produced a finished track and have a work-in-progress individual track. This hands-on experience aims to build both technical skills and creative confidence, guided by an educator dedicated to empowering marginalised individuals in music. The project will conclude with a Guided Discussion and Producer Showcase, which will serve as a vital sharing space for emerging and established queer and women artists in Goa. Following the music production workshop, this event will feature four producers, including Skulk, Fursat.FM, Zequenx, and Hakimetc., who will present their original music. Artists will have the opportunity to delve into the technical, contextual, and emotional aspects of their tracks, offering the audience a deeper insight into their creative processes. This final gathering celebrates the artistic journeys of the participants and creates a platform for community dialogue, solidifying the project's mission to foster connection, education, and celebration within the queer and arts communities.

The third edition of Flower Tools, hosted at BudXLoft, will focus on empowering aspiring queer, trans, and women-identifying DJs through a free, beginner-level workshop. This three-day intensive will provide hands-on training and technical skills, alongside honest discussions about navigating the music industry as a marginalised artist. Participants, selected through an open call, will receive professional mentorship from experienced community DJs, professional headshots, and guidance on creating press kits. The workshop will conclude with a celebratory Selector Showcase at a mainstream venue, giving the new DJs their first opportunity to perform for a live audience. This edition is designed to build technical skills while fostering a lasting peer support network.

The outcomes of the project will be a series of queer-centered gatherings, including workshops, conversations, and performances. The Project Coordinator's deliverables to IFA, along with the final report, will be photographic and audio-visual documentation of the gatherings and work-in-progress tracks. 

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice programme in the manner in which it attempts to create a platform for marginalised queer, trans, and gender-diverse artists by offering workshops, performances, and community discussions, that will foster skill development and provide safe spaces for expression, aligning with the goal of building an inclusive arts platform.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.