In an innovative celebration of art and queerness, the BEASTIES exhibition will take over Redfern bar, The Bearded Tit, across the month of March. And for one night only, Wednesday 12 March, at the same venue, QUEERBOURHOOD X BEASTIES will perform live.
Video, sound, illustration, wearable art… you name it, BEASTIES is bringing it. The team behind the event, Deep Sea Astronauts, will pull dance, theatre, burlesque and drag to the stage in an exploration of queer histories and meanings. With the creatures of BEASTIES adorned in costumes made from repurposed scraps, this celebration of queerness will come with much more than just fun and glamour.
“These BEASTIES are made from the literal history of queer performances and parties, with each costume proudly repurposed from the scraps of countless shows before it,” says BEASTIES curator, Alli Sebastian Wolf.
Wolf says the artists use scrap pieces and discarded rubbish to create a beautiful collaboration, that “most importantly in these hard times [is] weird and joyful”.
BEASTIES comprises a nearly all-queer cast, including Sydney-based queer icon Betty Grumble and performer Izzy Ashido, who stresses the importance of creating and maintaining safe queer environments like this.
“Having queer safe spaces allows for LGBTQIA+ people to freely express themselves and connect to community members who also relate to their lived experiences as marginalised people,” Ashido says.
Rubbish and queerness, two elements once vilified and discarded, now perform together in celebration and creative rejoicing.
“At its core, BEASTIES is a celebration of queer resilience and fabulousness,” Wolf says.
