Talk Art, Ultraviolet & More Book Events
It’s been an incredibly busy start to the summer!
Talk Art x Queer art
My episode of Talk Art, the podcast hosted by Russell Tovey and Robert Diament went live last week. Thanks for all the lovely messages from everyone who’s listened so far, including my mum who said it made her cry 🥹 (once I’d helped her figure out how to listen to a podcast). We recorded the show live at the Turner Contemporary in Margate, and discussed my book Queer Art: From Canvas To Club and the Spaces Between, what it means for art to be queer and all sorts of personal stuff, like where ‘Rolls-Bentley’ really came from. You can listen to the episode here.
Ultraviolet
This month saw the group exhibition Ultraviolet open in Soho, London. Myself and Ell Pennick from Guts Gallery curated the show for Kkweer Arts, a new platform supporting LGBTQIA+ artists. Our opening night alone saw hundreds and hundreds of people filling the street in support of queer art and hundreds more showed up across the ten days the exhibition was open - it was wild!
It was an absolute joy to curate the exhibition which included works by 18 amazing artists: Maggi Hambling, Ajamu X, Lulu Bennett, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Olivia Sterling, Shadi Al-Atallah, Elsa Rouy, Zach Toppin, Kevin Kane, Sarah Jane Moon, Sadie Lee, Dale Lewis, Ebun Sodipo, Sola Olulode, Eva Dixon, Whiskey Chow, Sarah-Joy Ford and SHARP.
We were also immensely privileged to have performances on opening night by Lulu Bennett and Rhian! and to round out the show with a finale night starring Campbell King, Travis Alabanza, Danielle Wilde and Whiskey Chow.
All works in this exhibition are available for sale, with 25% of the profits going towards the UK’s LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity, akt. We’ve raised a lot of money for this important charity so far and there are still a few great works left - let me know you’re interested in taking a look at the catalogue.
Upcoming Events
This summer I will be heading up to Edinburgh for both the Art Festival and the Book Festival.
On the 17th of August I’ll be at the Edinburgh Arts Festival as part of the JUPITER RISING x EAF takeover, which aims to to explore, discover and celebrate underrepresented artistic voices, championing queer and QTIPOC experimental practice. You can book tickets here.
Then, a week later, I’ll be at the Edinburgh Book Festival on the 23rd of August in conversation with globally-renowned ecologist Brigitte Baptise. You can book tickets for that here.
A Date For Your Diary.
I’ve got a new exhibition opening in Margate on the 28th of September. More details soon but, in the meantime, save the date and plan a day trip - it’s going to be magical.