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Tate Britain Talk

Lesbian and Queer Art/Action in 1980s Britain

29 February 2024 at 19.00–20.30
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Two punk women one leaning against a window wit a broken fragment of mirror on the winder. One woman is blonde and the other has dark hair which is spiked up and they are wearing heavy make up, denim and metal jewellery.

Del LaGrace Volcano (Della Grace) Snake and Linda, London, 1983. Courtesy of the artist.

Join Women in Revolt! artists for a panel discussion on the histories and legacies of lesbian and queer art and activism in Britain during the 1980s

The 1980s were a critical decade in the struggle for lesbian rights and visibility in Britain. Society’s attitudes towards lesbians and queer individuals were largely shaped by stigma and ignorance, and media representation of lesbians was largely absent or concentrated on the perpetuation of narrow stereotypes. Despite facing widespread prejudice and homophobic policies such as the passing of Section 28, the LGBTQ+ community found ways to create spaces for liberation and solidarity.

Featuring Women in Revolt! artists, this panel discussion takes their diverse bodies of work as a starting point to explore the nuanced ways in which art-making was used as a means of resistance and radical self-expression, fostered communities, and helped establish lesbian rights as part of the public discourse.

Moderated by Dr Maggie Matić, the event aims to explore the historical resonance of 1980s lesbian and queer art in Britain and how it continues to inform art and activism today.

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Del Lagrace Volcano

Del LaGrace Volcano (they/them) (b. California 1957) is considered to be one of instigators of queer LGBTQI culture with a working practice that not only documents a ‘queer time and place’ but are also iconic testaments to the love, lust, and burning desire to defy the forces that seek to destroy, disrespect and deactivate us. They have been making work about the queer cultural moments they have both lived and been part of created for nearly 50 years. Volcano has produced five photographic monographs: Love Bites (1991), The Drag King Book with Jack Halberstam (1999), Sublime Mutations (2000), Sex Works with Paul (B)eatriz Preciado (2005) and Femmes of Power: Exploding Queer Femininities with Ulrika Dahl (2008). Their work has also been included in numerous exhibitions, books, journals and films, on art, gender, photography and the body for the past 40 years. They are currently artist in residence at Künstlerhaus Bethanian, Berlin.

Dr Maggie Matić

Dr Maggie Matić (they/them) is a curator, writer and researcher with a specialism in contemporary feminist, crip and queer theory and visual culture. Their doctoral thesis presented a cross-section of contemporary feminist culture through an examination of feminist art, zines and uses of social media, with a specific focus on the body as a site of resistance. Maggie is currently Programme Manager and Artist Development Curator at Somerset House Studios and is a trustee of The Feminist Library. They have previously worked at Studio Voltaire, Tate, FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), The University of Liverpool and The Royal Standard.

Rosy Martin

Rosy Martin (born London 1946) is an artist-photographer, psychological-therapist, workshop leader, lecturer and writer. She explores the relationships between photography, memory, identities and unconscious processes using self-portraiture, still life photography and video. From 1983, in collaboration with the late Jo Spence, she evolved and developed a new photographic practice - phototherapy - incorporating re-enactments. Through embodiment, they explored the psychic and social construction of identities within the drama of the everyday. Exhibiting internationally and publishing widely since 1985, she has investigated issues including gender, sexualities, ageing, class, location, shame, loss, grief and reparation. In ‘Transforming the suit: what does a lesbian look like?’ (1987) she played with different historical and contemporary stereotypes to challenge simplistic assumptions.

Poulomi Desai

Poulomi Desai is a multidisciplinary artist and curator. She is self-taught and for over 30 years, has been involved in performance, live art, sound and photography installations interrogating the politics of identity, listening and perception, inspired by her activist and DIY post punk background. Her work has been shown in institutions including Tate, Serpentine Galleries, Autograph ABP, Science Museum London, Habitat India and Baltic Gateshead. She co-founded Shakti, the first South Asian LGBTQ+ club and organisation, the NAZ HIV/AIDs project, and HAC - the punk art, Asian performance company in the 80s and runs the Usurp Art Charity, supporting outsider artists.

Tate Britain

The Clore Auditorium

Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
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Date & Time

29 February 2024 at 19.00–20.30

This event has sold out

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