Zabludowicz: A Night of A.I and Drag
To mark the long weekend, and the start of Pride Month 2022, the long-running Prince Of Wales Road gallery has an evening of eclectic drag performance this coming Saturday night – and even better, it’s free. It promises to be a special bash in which Jake Elwes and Me The Drag Queen (pictured above, main pic) invite drag artists Charlie Wood, Egon Centrik, Joy Less, Bourgeoisie, and Oedipussi Rex to join them in presenting an array of performances which, they say, “probe queerness, cabaret and technology.”
Jake Elwes is the brains behind The Zizi Project (2019–ongoing), a collection of works which explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (A.I.) and drag performance. “Drag challenges gender and explores otherness,” he says, “while A.I. is often mystified as a concept and tool and is complicit in reproducing social bias. Zizi combines these themes through a deepfake, synthesised drag identity created using machine learning. The project explores what A.I. can teach us about drag and what drag can teach us about A.I.” Free tickets for the show are available now here. Follow @zabludowicz_collection. A Night of A.I and Drag, 4th June, 6–9pm
Queer Britain is now open
If you haven’t already, why not head down to King’s Cross this weekend and support this new arrival to Granary Square? Entrance is free, and a temporary display acts as an introduction to the charity and its mission before their debut exhibition proper opens this summer. With just a handful of rooms open currently, you can admire pieces from the museum’s photographic collection, artwork from the Queer Britain archive (housed at the Bishopsgate Institute) and images from the 2019 “Chosen Family” exhibition. It’s small but fascinating: pictured above are demonstrators at the Old Bailey protesting the UK’s last successful blasphemy trial in 1977. Follow @queerbritain
It’s Mighty Hoopla! Then head to NW1’s Zodiac
With a line-up that is diverse and inclusive, Brockwell Park’s annual LGBTQ+ festie sees 50,000 festival-goers (across two days) dazzled with performances from a variety of pop stars, drag artists, comedians, and DJs across seven stages. Bit names this year include Kentishtowner fave (and recent NW5 Forum headliner) Self Esteem, Katy B, Macy Gray, Haddaway, Harriet Rose, Oscar & The Wolf, London’s Gay Men’s Chorus, and headliners Steps and Sugababes, Jessie Ware, Anastacia and Agnes. And for those of you who live in NW and want to party nearer to home in the evening, new NW1 Hampstead Road LGBTQ bar Zodiac is offering revellers a free shot on Friday 3rd and Sat 4th if you show your Hoopla ticket on the door. There are some limited availability Mighty Hoopla tickets here. Follow @mightyhoopla and @zodiacbarlondon for more.
