Queer choreographies of care: a guided tour of an arts and social welfare initiative in Manchester

This article presents a guided tour of the Men's Room, an arts and social welfare project that works with young men with experiences of homelessness, sex work and the criminal justice system. Focusing on three 'dwelling moments' that capture how the project occupies space and time, the article describes how a queer spatial practice supports the regular appearance of encounter, attachment and relationship in the lives of some of the most disaffected young men in the city. These appearances are challenging for project staff to maintain, and help to generate networks of support that cannot be measured against conventional modes of social care. The project provides a provocative terrain for exploring a queer future for arts projects that engage those living in spaces and times of crisis. Drawing on a concept of 'queer choreography', primarily informed by the work of Shannon Jackson, the article privileges description of moments of practice over extended explication or analysis; it adopts a methodological approach that aims to present and describe rather than deconstruct the complexities of the project. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.