Listen to a panel discussion on collective dance as an antidote to traumatic histories. From queer lockdown throwdowns to the survival tactics and ‘tap dances’ of Brown babies in post-war Britain, hear how we have responded to, and continue to respond to, difficult times with joy and dance.
This event is British Sign Language interpreted. An interpreter will be embedded in the event stream/visible to all attendees and will interpret what is discussed into BSL for d/Deaf, hard of hearing and deafened attendees.
There will be auto-generated captions for this event.
The host and speakers will describe themselves and key visual elements they refer to. There will not be a separate audio description track.
For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call 0 2 0. 7 6 1 1. 2 2 2 2
Watcha is an activist, artist and DJ, but mainly a fringe with a human attached. Alongside Harry Gay and passer, they co-direct Queer House Party. Renowned for iconic, queer throwdowns, Queer House Party pioneered a new form of radical, accessible party that can be joined IRL or online. Parties feature drag, performers, and DJs from London and beyond. Outside of Queer House Party Watcha organises within a number of direct action-oriented groups and works in community mental health. Working at a grassroots level with an abolitionist and anti-capitalist stance, and championing the vitality of art and joy produced by and for the queer community is central to their practice.
Rene Matić is an artist currently working in London. Their work brings together themes of post-blackness, glitch feminism and subcultural theory in a meeting place they describe as rude(ness) – bringing to light (or dark) the fated conflicts and contradictions that one encounters while navigating the world in a body like their own.
Ben Walters has worked in and around queer nightlife and performance as a critic, researcher, producer, filmmaker and campaigner. Time Out London's former cabaret editor, Ben wrote the successful application to make the Royal Vauxhall Tavern the country's first queer listed building. In his academic research as "Dr Duckie", Ben champions the civic potential of queer fun and "homemade mutant hope machines".
Gaylene Gould is a creative director, broadcaster and writer who designs interactive art projects and spaces that generously connect us with ourselves, each other and the world. She explores the healing and growth potential of sharing space, stories, ideas and knowledge through her artistic, writing and consultancy practice.
Harold Offeh is a UK-based artist working in a range of media including performance, video, photography, learning and social arts practice. Offeh is interested in the space created by inhabiting or embodying histories, using humour to confront the viewer with historical narratives and contemporary culture. He has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally, including Tate Britain and Tate Modern, South London Gallery, Turf Projects (London), Kettle’s Yard, Wysing Arts Centre Studio (Cambridge), Studio Museum Harlem (New York), MAC VAL (France) Kunsthal Charlottenborg (Denmark) and Art Tower Mito (Japan). He recently completed a PhD exploring the activation of Black album covers through performance. He is a Reader in Fine Art at Leeds Beckett University and a tutor in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art.
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