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EPISODE:
INTERVIEW with curators Gemma Rolls-Bentley and E-J Scott around their exhibition "Talisman", presented by Cardion Arts in Collaboration with The Museum of Transology. It’s a group exhibition of LGBTQIA+ artists from all over the UK, focusing on objects whose symbolic and energetic force infuse a sense of safety and protection, but also of resistance in queer lives.
https://cardionarts.org/2025-exhibition-talisman
The exhibition features Karina Akopyan, Niya B, Jonathan Baldock, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Claye Bowler, KV Duong, Eva Dixon, Jesse Darling, Dudley Dream Walsh, Luke Edward Hall, Lubaina Himid, Erin Holly, Kasra Jalilipour, Wayne Lucas, Richard Maguire, Emily Pope, Prem Sahib, Zach Toppin, Emily Witham, Ajamu X, Osman Yousefzada, alongside objects from the Museum of Transology.
Most of the artworks in the exhibition are for sale, and provide funds for AKT, the UK’s only charity dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ young people facing homelessness (contact@cardionarts.org).
Episode Takeaway
The podcast examines LBGTQIA+ curating:
Joana asks her guests about their first connection with art.
Gemma and E-J explain how artists, communities and trans experiences were key to fall in love with art.
Why is it important to represent queer communities and how do you do it?
Why do museums and heritage need trans guidance?
Inclusivity and non-hierarchical structures as essential trans, queer, lesbian and feminist values.
How does an LBTQIA+ angle affect curating and vice-versa?
What do museums bring to queer representation?
Are museums safe spaces?
Why are talismanic objects akin to art work?
What does queering the gallery and museum bring to audiences?
Key Themes:
The importance of inclusivity. Trans rights. Trans guidance. LGBTQIA+ art and artists. Queering the museum. Curating as an LBBTQIA+ person. Recentering female queer and trans narratives.
Major Themes: Curating, Queer art, Museum Communication Strategies and Failures, Queer narratives, LGBTQIA+ art visibility, Lesbian histories, Trans histories, Audience Engagement, How to Engage with inclusivity. Art and activist. Non profit art organisations. Curating. Museums and heritage. New forms of curating.
Exhibitions as safe spaces explores the importance of contemporary art spaces, museums and galeries for the LGBTQIA+ community. We discuss several exhibitions curated by Gemma Rolls Bentley and E-J Scott and how they bring a new perspective on old themes or new themes to traditional spaces.
Perfect for: Art students, gallery visitors, anyone curious about art discourse and critique, and fans of philosophy of art, contemporary art audience engagement strategies, podcasters and more specifically art podcasters.
For behind the scenes clips, links to the artists and guests we cover, and visuals of the exhibitions we discuss follow us on Instagram: @exhibitionistas_podcastBluesky: @exhibitionistas.bsky.socialexhibitionistaspod@gmail.com
About us: Exhibitionistas is an independent podcast created and hosted by contemporary art curator and writer Joana P. R. Neves.
Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:02:23 - Introducing Gemma Rolls-Bentley
0:07:52 - Introducing E-J Scott
0:09:11 - Trans Inclusive Culture Guidance for Galleries, Museums, Archives and Heritage
0:15:52 - Cardion Arts, the non-profit behind the exhibition
0:22:18 - The Museum of Transology
0:28:11 - When did art click for Gemma?
0:35:42 - Trans experience through the lens of heritage and curating
0:41:09 - How does queerness reframe curating?
0:53:35 - Trans values recenter all all marginalised narratives
01:01:00 - Exhibition Talisman
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