By exploring modes of cultural production through archival materials, ephemera and objects the session will begin by examining the construction of twentieth century film stars and stardoms and how they were assimilated and adapted by queer audiences. By situating a visual iconography, the veneration and admiration that queer audiences have constructed through key celebrity personas and lifestyles will be considered. 

This will then open a space where we will focus on the construction, image, and influence of the ‘queer body’ and the ‘celebrity body’ as a key paradigm of desire and anxiety in culture. Referring to both historical and contemporary celebrity figures through a range of archival materials it will explore how gender and sexuality inflect and affect our understanding of celebrity and the tensions between heterosexual / normative celebrity bodies as well as their gay and/or queer counterparts. 

By addressing the sexualisation of the body via our fascination with the public persona and private lives of the celebrity we will also consider how sexual counter-publics and subversively political forms of visibility and representation created a division between normative / mass celebrity and queer / niche celebrity. It will use archival materials to explore how and why the fields of pornography and political activism emerged as key factors allied to this shift and how this happened. 

We will then address how the complex legacies of key celebrity figures have been curated and performed through HIV & AIDS and nostalgia in the queer archive. It will develop some key ideas around experiences of trauma and loss by using primary archival materials connected to HIV & AIDS to critically position how we navigate death and loss in celebrity and queer culture and how the archive becomes a key space for our understanding of this.

Practical information

• We will have free drinking water, tea, and coffee available throughout the event. You're also welcome to bring your own soft drinks, provided they have a secure lid.
• If you claim a concessionary rate, you may be asked for proof of eligibility (e.g. student card, or proof of age). Find out more about our concessionary rates.
• If you have any accessibility needs or concerns, please email enquiries@bishopsgate.org.uk.