Come and make a scene at the Victoria & Albert museum. On the last Friday of every month (except December), the V&A holds Late Friday, which involves a late opening of the museum – until 10pm – and comprises events, workshops and entertainment with a different theme each month.
This Friday, Making a Scene taps the surface of Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans & Queer Culture and explores the relationship between sexuality, performance and publics space. Curated in association with Tim Redfern of Pride Legacy Project, the point, as stated on the V&A website, is “to celebrate making visible what for so long has been hidden”.
The program features several performances and events, such as the Queer Interventionist Box, with a selection of artists invited to make a contemporary statement through short performance, each reflecting on Queer history, culture and life now, or “The Manifesto of a Tranny”, performed live by Brian Dawn Chalkley and exposing the harsh reality of being a transvestite in a big city late at night through humour, tragedy and pathos.
“Cruising for art” will explore the practice of cottaging and personal encounters in public spaces through a series of intimate performances. Handkerchiefs will be distributed and if you see someone with a matching handkerchief, eye contact or a smile, wink at them! Either it will be the start to a wild journey, a tender moment or an intimate conversation with some of London’s leading performers – artists include Eirini Kartsaki, Russell Harris, Mamoru Iriguchi, Liz Rosenfeld, Benjamin Sebastian, Johanna Linsley & Jan Mertens, arkem, Rachel Mars – or if not a performer, well… who knows what can happen.
You will also be able to hear curators offer alternative readings of objects, explore the histories of those who made them and look at the way sexual identity informs the way we interpret the past.
All events are free and drop-in, unless stipulated otherwise. More details and the program on the V&A website.
Making a scene – Friday 27th November, 6.30pm-10pm