GUIDE to PRIDE
FROM TOP LEFT : Small Format ’ s co-runners Luna , Tripp Hopkins , Atlas Alvarado Estrada , Tameka Eastman-Coburn and Eli Kauffman .
All in One : A Small ( Re ) Format
We chatted with Tameka Eastman-Coburn , founder and co-owner of Small Format , to learn about the multifaceted LGBTQ + safe haven on Wickenden Street and what its newest iteration has in store .
How did Small Format come about ? I signed the lease in 2020 , pre-pandemic , and the idea was to create a multigenerational space that was for and by queer folks that was not centered around alcohol consumption , and that allowed for us to evolve past what I like to think of as a ‘ second closet ’ that we ’ re stuck in . We don ' t have a lot of spaces where we can come during the day ; all of our spaces exist at night .
How is Small Format evolving ? It was always meant to be a collective space . Right now , we ’ re doing the biggest push for change , which involves me stepping down , or really stepping over , to create the opportunity for Small Format to be a worker-owned business .
We ’ ll create the programming together , be responsible for the highs and lows together , and so on .
Will you still host queer events ? Yes , we just restarted our monthly queer book club in May , and our queer knitting circle meets every Sunday from 3 – 5 p . m .
In June , we ’ re hosting Dykes , Dogs and Daddies . There will also be boot buffing , a leather workshop and a rope tying workshop . And we always host the Dyke March afterparty here .
We ’ re going to start expanding to doing outside parties , and markets and things like that . So there ’ s definitely some cool stuff coming up ! — K . M .
66 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l JUNE 2024