Queer/in/g Nature, curated by the Socially Engaged Art Salon is a group exhibition of LGBTQ+ artists, depicts provocative negotiations with the natural world, with the Western and heteronormative concepts of “nature” or “the natural”, and the environmental crisis. The exhibition, at the Ledward Centre is part of Brighton Festival.
The exhibition includes photography, short films, digital art, documentation of queer interventions in the countryside and a large-scale immersive room installation.
The participating artists do not subscribe to the dichotomy of Nature/Artificial and shy away from heteronormative ideas of LGBTQ+ identities as artificial and alien to the natural world. Some of the work in the exhibition critiques the Western quantification and standardization of bodies which historically has led to commodification and even to genocides.
The countryside is used by some of the artists as a place to escape prescribed identities and acceptable codes of behavior. Other artists use bodies, rituals and other physical interventions to queer nature.
Be prepared to be challenged and tantalized. The exhibition was curated by Seas Brighton in collaboration with the research of co-curator Simon Olmetti who produced an essay about the themes behind exhibition.
The Socially Engaged Art Salon is an LGBTQ+, BPOC artists’ led organization that curates exhibitions and art events at the Ledward Centre and the BMECP.
Participating artists: Amber Akaunu & Elliss Thomposn, Brody Mace-Hopkins & Raechel Teitelbaum, Gil Mualem-Doron (with Lya Abdou Issa (AKA BlkDimondDance) & Liam King [AKA 7kid] & Soma Taylor-Patel (AKA 8SZN), Luc(e) Raesmith, Ludo Foster, Omer Ga’ash, Sarah Connell, Simon Olmetti, Tayo Adekunle.
The Queer/in/g Nature exhibition and can be viewed in The Ledward Centre from Saturday 7th May 3-7pm and in the online exhibition. Find out more about the artists here
The exhibition opening will include a free live dance performance by Lya Abdou Issa (AKA BlkDimondDance) in “Interweaving Spaces', a large-scale immersive installation by the artist Gil Mualem-Doron. The performance will commence at 5pm.
Find out more about tickets and the events associated with this exhibition here
The exhibition is part of Brighton Festival and has been supported by Art Council England and Brighton & Hove Communities Fund.