The Rainbow Project : SAM'S EDEN
Back in April, we told you about SAM'S EDEN, a collaborative project with one of our associate partners, The Rainbow Project, which invited you to be part of producing the 2nd edition of this new queer arts publication.
Artist Thomas Wells created and curated the first edition of SAM'S EDEN in 2020, featuring contemporary visual art, writing and activism. SAM’S main ambition is to highlight emerging creative individuals and groups within the LGBTQIA+ community. The 2nd edition's theme is 'Sensory Overload' and there are lots of upcoming workshops exploring this theme.
Whether you want to be part of the publication or just want to enjoy some queer culture, come along to our upcoming SAM's EDEN workshops. They are open to anybody who feels they'll get something out of these sessions. You can dip into one or you can attend them all - it's up to you. And they're all free.
For more info and to register for these workshops, contact [email protected]
Late Night Art | 4 August 2022, The MAC
As a pre-event before Late Night Art, we will be gathering in the MAC at 6pm for an interim update on SAM’S EDEN : Sensory Overload. This will be an opportunity for people to see some of the results of the past event and to ask questions to the artists and Thomas about the project. Refreshments will be provided. You'll also get to explore the Ron Mueck exhibition in all 3 galleries at the MAC.
HAIRSTORY | 7 August 2022, The MAC
Featured Artist: Charlie Beare and High Society Barbers
Charlie Beare is a Belfast-based artist whose work focuses on themes of queerness, gender, and sexuality through portraiture. This session of SAM’S EDEN will work with Charlie in exploring the idea of queer masculinity through the gaze of the lens, and how queer people express their gender.
With the help of classic barbers from High Society Hannah and Johnny, we will offer free classic haircuts followed by a portrait session with Charlie, these portraits will be featured in SAM’S EDEN. High Society are classic barbers, who deliver classic cuts with precision and excellence. Through this session we are wanting to assist in exploring and realising identity.
Alongside this, we will be screening a series of films exploring trans and non-binary experiences throughout the day. This will allow those taking part to be in a social space before and after.
Those interested in exploring photography as a medium for documentary will be given an opportunity to explore Queer Joy through their own eyes. These images will then be compiled into a new Queer Map of Belfast with a focus on sites of Queer Joy. More details to follow.
‘Read my Lips’ part 2 | 16 August 2022, virtual event
A new writing programme, this session invites participants to take an hour of their time to write. This exercise will be done in private but participants will be comforted by the idea that everyone is doing it at the same time.
Participants are welcome to continue writing after the hour and work on their writing.
There is no theme to this session, participants are welcome to work on preexisting work, create automatic writing poems, write a letter to someone or write a true story.
All pieces submitted will be published in the SAM’S EDEN 2 publication.
‘Read my Lips’ part 3 | 6 September 2022, virtual event
To round off the Read my Lips series, we will invite all to attend an online reading session. If participants do not want to read their own work we can arrange for another reader to.
We will create a formal programme run for this nearer the time.
All work submitted will be featured in SAM’S EDEN 2.
More sessions will be announced in August.
