'New Queers on the Block' coming to Blackpool art scene just in time for Pride month

Artists Estabrak, Rowdy SS, Tammy Reynolds and Whiskey Chow will be welcomed to the the Art B&B on Blackpool seafront this Pride month (June 2022) as part of a national art programme, New Queers on the Block, led by Brighton’s Marlborough Productions and funded by Arts Council England, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Tina Redford, the artistic director of local arts programme LeftCoast, said: “In previous years, several venues in the town have hosted New Queers’ work that has already been produced and toured around the country. This is the first time, for artists outside of Blackpool, that the catalyst for new work starts here.

“The town is rich with progressive queer work from local creatives such as Bellez, Harry Clayton-Wright, Garth Gratrix and Catlow, so, we think there will be plenty of local places and communities of interest to provide fresh ideas and inspire new performances.”

The four visiting artists intend to produce work embracing seafront entertainment, comedy, cabaret, dance and martial arts.

Estabrak, an award-winning visual artist and film-maker, will be creating a backgammon set with an underlying theme about scattered populations. Whiskey Chow, who curated and performed in the Chinese Arts Now Festival ‘Queering Now’, will produce a Bruce Lee-inspired fight scene. Tammy Reynolds, who also performs as their drag alter-ego Midgitte Bardot, will explore circus and ‘freak show’ heritage, and Rowdy SS will focus on dance, sound and visual performance.

An art show comprising their Blackpool-inspired work is expected to take place this autumn.

Mykey Young, local associate producer for New Queers on the Block, said: "Through New Queers on the Block activity across the last few years, we have been able to bring world-class, queer artists and their work to Blackpool. In doing so it has given us the opportunity to allow our strong, passionate and vibrant residential LGBTQIA+ community the opportunity to see incredible, high quality work they may normally only have access to if and when visiting major cities.

"As we continue to develop our relationship with New Queers on the Block here in Blackpool, it is a really exciting time for us to be able to host these exceptional artists during a pivotal moment in their own development.

“Blackpool is my hometown and a place that has influenced much of my own work throughout my career to date. I can't wait to share its fascinating heritage and inspiring places and spaces with Rowdy SS, Tammy, Estabrak and Whiskey when they come to visit. It will be interesting to see how Blackpool might stimulate new ideas that they might take forward when creating future artistic works."

As part of the New Queers on the Block project, LeftCoast has also commissioned local artist Catlow, who is curating the show ‘Do Not Read’ is based on her teenage diaries.

She said: “As a young queer person, for New Queers on the Block to exist now is a really nice thing, because when we were younger, there potentially wasn’t that help out there to expand and develop these ideas.”