Queer Life Drawing Conversation is an art project and event that has developed during the first lockdown as a way to encourage lgbtq individuals to be part of a community and participate in life drawing and conversations online. There is a session led every week and focus is given to developing conversations about nudity, sexuality and queer theory in relation to queer bodies and sexual health. The event attracts between 15-20 participants on a weekly basis, with a number of participants who have attended regularly since the first event.
There is a focus each week to introduce a new topic and to develop conversations with the participants and life models. The first topic introduced was queer domesticity and the queer home. Since then a range of topics have developed. There is a diverse group of life models, artists and creatives attending and posing. The structure of the events is open to discussion: with the aim to curate a life model for the main part of the event or a guest model and then open the session up to participants who may wish to pose. The project welcomes collaborations with participants. This year there is an overarching focus on the environment and queer cooperatives.
As the project has developed, a queer life drawing art gallery has been setup online to exhibit and sell participants artworks, with a percentage of the sale commission donated to the project. Last year, queer life drawing conversation also participated in a yard sale at a London gallery to sell artworks created by participants.
Miles Coote directs and leads Queer Life Drawing Conversation and is the founder of the event. He is a visual artist and researcher within the field of queer life drawing and socially engaged practice. In 2015-2019, Miles led the Bareback Museum art project, which explored the use of queer methodologies, life drawing and live art performance, with the aim to open up conversations about sexual health in relation to LGBTQ communities and the introduction of PrEP and (improvements of) PEP.
There are multiple aims for Queer life drawing:
To bring together lgbtq individuals who feel isolated in lockdown
To eliminate stigma associated with nudity, sexuality, gender
To support the creatives and artists attending the events through the sale and promotion of their artworks
To share and develop greater understanding and knowledge about queer bodies
And more broadly to benefit society by:
(a)the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, disability , sexual orientation or religion;
(b) advancing education and raising awareness in equality and diversity;
(c) promoting activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds;
(d) conducting or commissioning research on equality and diversity issues and publishing the results to the public;
Key areas of work
- Education
- Equal Opportunities/Discrimination
- Events
- Gender
- Infrastructure/Community Development
- Mental Health
- Networks
- Research
- Sexual Health
- Volunteering