Artists, writers, musicians, performers and comedians come together to invent and challenge utopian visions for a queer future. At this storytelling event celebrating the NGV’s QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection exhibition, queer icons and emerging artists share personal stories and reflect on the unconscious optimism of dreams and the playfulness of reverie to consider what the future might hold for queer individuals and communities. Join us to hear reflections, performances and stories from Courtney Act, Claire G. Coleman, Nayuka Gorrie, Patricia Karvelas, Lee Pennefather, William Yang, Paul Yore and Nevo Zisin. Hosted by beloved diva Mama Alto, this event will also feature a special video message from none other than queer icon Jonathan van Ness.
Presented by the Wheeler Centre and National Gallery of Victoria.
Auslan Interpreted
Boy, Girl, Artist, Advocate. Courtney Act is more than just the sum of her parts. In 2003, Courtney made it to 13th place on the first season of Australian Idol and then signed to Sony/BMG. In 2014 she was top three on ...
Mama Alto is a jazz singer, cabaret artiste and gender transcendent diva. She is a transgender and queer person of colour who works with the radical potential of storytelling, strength in softness and power in vulnerability ...
Claire G. Coleman is a Noongar woman whose family have belonged to the south coast of Western Australia since long before history started being recorded. Claire writes fiction, essays, poetry and art writing while either ...
Lee Peenfather is a 15-year-old writer and poet from Melbourne. In 2021, Lee became the overall state champion of the OutLoud Slam Poetry Competition with their poem “What Would You Say,” which explored their experience as a ...
William Yang is a writer and visual artist. William Yang was born in North Queensland, Australia. He moved to Sydney in 1969 and worked as a freelance photographer documenting Sydney’s social life which included the glamorous ...
Paul Yore was born in 1987, Naarm/Melbourne, and lives and works on Gunaikurnai land in Gippsland, Australia. Yore completed studies in painting, archaeology and anthropology at Monash University in 2010, before taking up ...
Nevo Zisin (they/them) is a storyteller, esteemed educator on transgender topics, TEDx speaker, poet, workshop facilitator in schools and workplaces, and award-winning author of Finding Nevo, a memoir on gender transition ...
Jonathan Van Ness is an Emmy-nominated television personality, New York Times best-selling author, podcaster, and hairstylist to the stars. He stars on Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning reboot series Queer Eye, and he is the host ...