In 2018 we celebrate 40 years of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The not-for-profit organisation hosts an infamous annual parade through the city which attracts a local and international audience and participants, as well as this the group promotes a number of concurrent events between 16 February and 4 March which aim to raise the visibility of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex communities. An array of art galleries will be holding exhibitions as part of this mission to promote unique perspectives, encourage conversation and education.
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Paddington will show British artist Isaac Julien’s film Looking For Langston (1989) and new large-scale silver gelatin photographic works. The pieces will collectively bring the life-story of poet Langston Hughes and his connection to Harlem Renaissance artists to attention, as well as the Black, queer experience in 1920s America, and the cinema, photography and queer culture of the 1980s. Viewers can also head over to the Art Gallery of New South Wales on the evening of 14 February to hear the artist in conversation, see the film and consider its parallels with the work of James Van der Zee, George Platt Lynes and Robert Mapplethorpe.
Isaac Julien, Looking for Langston (1989/2017). Courtesy the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
‘40 Years of Queer Art: Rebellion and Subversion’ at Comber St Studios has been curated by artists who participated in the first festival. The 78ers survey a range of practices in the 20-person show which is intergenerational and prioritises work that engages with the politics of identity, community and activism from the likes of Tina Fiveash, Kim Leutwyler and Frances Phoenix, who exhibited in the first Mardi Gras show at Watters Gallery.
Tina Fiveash, Twilight Lovers, 1994, C-Type photograph, 50.8 x 60.96cm (approx). Courtesy the artist
Works from 18 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQI artists from around the country will be on view at Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Co-operative. ‘Luscious All Sorts – LOVE WON’ considers equality, and in particular marriage equality, in Australia with Arone Meeks, Jeffrey Samuels and Jasmine Sarin participating, to name a few.
‘The Story of the Girls’ is presented by STACKS Projects. As childhood friends Ben Mercer and Tom Pender invented characters that, while born out of play, came to symbolise their artistic muses and an expression of their inner worlds. This ode to ‘the girls’ is a tribute to friendship and individuality that hopes to empower a queer audience; it is comprised of drawings, photographs, videos and handmade doll fashions.
Picking up the ‘performance thread’, the National Art School has partnered with Mardi Gras to showcase original costumes, photographs, rarely-seen footage, posters, music and artefacts for ‘Museum of Love & Protest’ which asks gallery-goers to add to the unfolding story with their own memories.
In our rundown of the program we give a platform to a fraction of the engaging events, which also include performance art, public talks and more visual art experiences – all of which are listed on the Mardi Gras website.
