We rarely hear anything from QUEER BRITAIN, the UK’s first and only LGBTQ+ museum, so we are guessing that their Madame F Queer Britain Art Award is a big thing. The Award celebrates queer creativity in artists: pride, passion, inclusivity and originality.
140 artists submitted illustrations, paintings, or drawings that celebrate the theme Queer Creativity. The three winners, Beliza Buzollo (AKA Queergarden), Oliver Freeston and Stephen Appleby-Barr received prizes of £1500, £1000 and £500 at a special reception held at the museum’s Granary Square home.
Beliza Buzollo & Jamie King FIRST PRIZE
Oliver Freeston SECOND PRIZE :
Inspired by Virgin X, a London-based queer performer, my goal was to combine classic renaissance style and tacky camp. After painting the portrait in oils, I embellished it with over 5,000 faux pearls and crystals, finishing with an ornate frame. I was blown away by the concept of this queer performer being a religious icon, taking the narrative of an institution known for excluding the LGBTQI community and twisting it to promote that same community through art.’.
Stephen Appleby-Barr: THIRD PRIZE.’
“This is a painting of Max (they/them) pouring wine into a cracked teacup. I paint my friends in oil on linen because I love looking at them. I’m Queer. My friends are Queer. I paint us so that people know we were here.”
Oliver
Sadie Lee one of the judges and also a winner from last year said: ‘Queer Britain is an important place for me. Not only does it showcase contemporary and historical Queer talent, but it documents and celebrates Queer existence. While as artists it’s vitally important that our work is included in exhibitions, museums and galleries where it is valued for its artistic and aesthetic qualities, Queer Britain also does that essential thing in that it engages in dialogue from our perspective and on our terms. It places our voices, our experiences, our very lives right at the centre of the conversation’.
