Queering the Archive features a series of events which place an emphasis on queer digital presence as a method of recording, highlighting current methods of digitisation, the potentials of the archive and the role of accessibility to queer material in the navigation of the closet.
The first event in the series features a screening of Sandi Hughes’ Rewind Fast Forward, an archive of LGBTQ and BAME communities in Liverpool from 1970s to present. The selected films cast a light on often unread histories, mundane occurrences which highlight past queer experiences and raise questions as to how these might relate to a contemporary audience. Hughes is currently in the process of digitising and uploading her archive to its own dedicated website.
The screening is followed by a panel discussion with Hughes, artist Laura Hudson, curator Ryan Kearney and artist Tom Worsfold, whose solo exhibition Felt Tip at Recent Activity forms the setting of the event.
This event is presented as part of SHOUT Festival of Queer Arts and Culture, visit www.shoutfestival.co.uk for more information.
Programmed by Ryan Kearney
Programme:
Nelson, Melvin & Jason Interviewed, 6min
3 young gay men interviewed about life as a gay man in the early 90’s. Discussing trouble with the police
Frank Mason Love Bites, 7min
Filmed in 1998 featuring Lady Seanne, Paul Stevens, Dawn Holmes & Sandi Hughes in my flat with Love.
David Hoyle Interview at Miss Flesh, 3min
Interview with David Hoyle, the previous winner of Miss Flesh at the 1996 Miss Flesh Competition at the Hacienda, Manchester.
Panel discussion with Sandi Hughes, Laura Hudson, Ryan Kearney and Tom Worsfold.
Bios:
Sandi Hughes (b. 1943, Bristol) has been documenting the LGBTQ and BAME communities in Liverpool from the 1970s to present. Hughes is in the process of digitising her archive of film and photographs, uploading these to a dedicated online platform titled Rewind Fast Forward.
Laura Hudson (b. 1966, Darlington) worked through the 1990’s as a curator of expanded cinema, experimental, political, feminist, queer film and new media. What remains of her archive is largely in printed form, digital versions having been lost to changing technologies. A graduate of Glasgow School of Art’s Environmental Art department and the Artists Film & Video programme at Central St. Martins London, Hudson has recently returned to her own practice and is currently studying for an MA at City & Guilds London Art School.
Ryan Kearney (b. 1995, Birmingham) is an artist and curator whose practice explores the complexities of queer identity, representation and community. He is currently looking into the queer individual’s place in the canonical archive and how methods of digitisation might aid the navigation of the closet. He received his BA from University of the Arts London in 2016 and is currently studying an MA at the University of Birmingham.
Tom Worsfold (b. 1990, Cambridge) makes pictures of everyday life, whether in memory or imagined. Using painting and drawing, Worsfold explores how common experiences of British life can be made queer or revealed to be so. He received his BA from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2013 and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Academy Schools in 2016.