Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in southwest London houses the “largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world” Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the 27,000 taxa, while the herbarium, one of the largest in the world, has over 8.5 million preserved plant and fungal specimens.n The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. It is one of London’s top tourist attractions and is a World Heritage Site.
This October they are celebrating the diversity and beauty of plants and fungi with an inspiring new festival, Queer Nature.
New York-based artist Jeffrey Gibson will create House of Spirits, an installation fusing vibrant colors and patterns.
It will include the iconic Temperate House with a large-scale suspended artwork and a horticultural installation that explores the amazing world of plants and fungi, particularly those that challenge traditional expectations. There will be Kew scientists, horticulturists, writers, and many more leading voices on their individual perspectives on queerness and nature.
Garden designer Patrick Featherstone and the team will be working in collaboration with Kew’s Youth Forum to present Breaking the Binary. Exploring themes of plant classification and categorization, this living installation celebrates the infinite potential of nature.
Recognizing the incredible breadth and range of perspectives on Queer Nature, Kew has invited over a dozen horticulturists, scientists, authors, drag artists and activists to contribute to a film-based installation with set design by British artist and designer Adam Nathaniel Furman.
30 September to 29 October 2023 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm) 10am to 3pm on Sunday 29 October Temperate House, Kew Gardens
There is also an evening of queer entertainment amongst the foliage of the iconic Temperate House, and enjoy exclusive access to the Queer Nature exhibition.
Expect music, cabaret, comedy, drag artists and talks alongside a sprinkling of queer joy, surrounded by some of the world’s rarest and most endangered plants.
Trans Voices: The founding members of Trans Voices – Ilā (they/them/she/her) and Coda (they/them) will perform original vocal soundscapes that are utterly distinctive. With performances that can be stirring calls to action, they will fill the Temperate House with soaring musical interludes throughout the evening.
Be More Mushroom Cabaret: Welcome to Chanterelle’s, a place with no morels! In Chanterelle’s the walls are grubby, the drinks are muddy and the mushroom performers will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew.
The Queer Comedy Club
is the UK’s first permanent LGBTQ+ comedy club, and this October they’re bringing some of their best comedians to celebrate Queer Nature at Kew. Queer audiences and their friends can enjoy stand-up comedy knowing they’ll be hearing relevant, relatable, and most importantly of all, rib-ticklingly funny comedy that reflects their own lives.
Join Timberlina (they/them) as they host a series of irreverent performance rituals celebrating the healing powers of queer nature. These rituals will draw on ideas around gardening history and permaculture, inviting you to embrace your eco-anxiety, release your rage and summon your innate queer power.
Theatrical DJ and horticulturalist Auntie Maureen (they/them/she/her) will be filling the rafters of the Temperate house with Queer tuneology galore, playing songs and ditties to keep your buds-a-bloom. There is never mush-room available on the dance floor when Auntie Maureen gets out their box of records!
Catch Beau Jangles (he/him) at Queer Nature After Hours singing songs of lament, love, capitalism and…. Little Shop of Horrors. Allow yourself to be seduced by this time traveling, suave, and sultry king of the 1940s. But remember, Beau is no shrinking violet!
Bi-Curious George : Within the splendor of the Temperate House, Bi-Curious George (he/him) will broadcast immersive parody monologues, set to soaring classical scores. The audience becomes George’s parade of beautifully queer creatures and George becomes some of the animals too. Expect cabaret, parody songs, lip-syncs, dancing, and sparkly costumes.
13, 14, 20 and 21 October 2023 6.30pm to 10.30pm Kew Gardens
