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Details

Username

QueeringCulture
Profile Type

Art Curator
First Name and Last Name

Cas Bradbeer
City

London

Biography

Current Role

History of Art Student at the Courtauld Institute of Art
About

I live to fight for political change, especially in terms of gender, sexuality, and ecology, but also in all other aspects of our intersectional society. In my work, I aim to unite this political passion with my other love – art. To this end, I focus on harnessing the power of culture as a catalyst for change. Contact me if you would like to get me involved in something. I’m particularly interested in performing as my drag persona, guesting on podcasts, and curating exhibitions.

Exhibitions

Featured Exhibitions

Last year I curated…
Exhibition History

I’ve assisted with…

My art has been featured in

  • Queer/disrupt: Queering the Quarantine (in progress, University of Warwick – going in Museum of Coventry archive and might be featured in future exhibitions) – Queer Heritage Forum Pride Parade 2020 Finale + 2,500 Year International Timeline of Queer Protest (2020) [NB: the later was held in particularly high regard by the judges]
  • Grown Up In Britain: Setting the Record Straight (2021, Youth Club Archive https://museumofyouthculture.com/eleanor-affleck/ and might be featured in future exhibitions) [convenors of the project also discussed my submissions specifically in events dedicated to the project]
  • QB Lockdown Hunt (July 2020, Queer Britain) [featured on their website]
  • Extinction Rebellion: Winds of Change (May 2020, 7 public parks in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham)
Special Projects

I’m a drag artist known as Hosanna Bender. I’ve performed in drag since 2015, and in my shows I sing a lot, dance a bit and generally have a good time. My favourite songs to perform are: Enough is Enough, No More Tears’ by Barbara Streisand; ‘Nails’ by Alaska Thunderfuck 5000; and ‘Hieee’ also by Alaska. I’ve performed at:

  • The Vault, Strand, London
  • Cellar Door, Strand, London
  • Littlebourne Farm, Uxbridge

PrideOnline2020 – In May last year, queer heritage practitioners like me produced an unfunded grassroots project for Pride. In a time when physical gatherings were challenging, we aimed to connect individuals through activities like Queering the Quarantine and Queerstory from Home. I was personally responsible for producing, promoting and hosting the Virtual Pride March and the International Timeline of Queer Protest. An article about the project was published in the Group for Education in Museums’ ‘Case Studies’ vol. 26 (January 2021) pp. 30-31 – https://gem.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GM160-Gem-Case-Studies-26_AW-SP.pdf

 

Uncanny Genders: Radical Representations of Gender in Twentieth-Century Visual Culture – In February last year I co-wrote this paper with a fellow Courtauld student, Alia Tsagkari. It was on the theme of deconstructing binaries through art. Through case studies, we discussed the impact of subversive sensory experiences on problematic norms. Our examples were Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’ (1917), Bourgeois’s ‘Fillette’ (1968) and Livingston’s ‘Paris is Burning’ (1985-92). We presented the paper at CHASE Feminist Network’s Sharing Research and Practice Conference in February, as part of the Feminist Art and Aesthetics Panel. https://chasefeministnetwork.wordpress.com/2020/01/11/chase-feminist-network-sharing-research-practice-conference-2020/ From this work, I produced my own paper on Paris is Burning that I presented at the Latymer Upper School History of Art Society and published in Hysteria Aberdeen’s ‘Unsung: LGBTQI History Month’ zine this year (‘Using Balls to Understand Gender: Fluidity and Subjectivity in Paris is Burning’, in Unsung: LGBTQI History Month See publication)

 

Education

Education History

2008-2019 Latymer Upper School, London

  • Qualifications: 9 iGCSE A*s & 1 A (including French, Maths and English); FSMQ Additional Maths (A); Pre-U Art History D2 (A*), History D3 (A) and Philosophy & Theology M1 (B)
  • Short Courses + Music Grades: World Perspectives (2015-17, Distinction); Sociology Short Course (2017, Distinction); Business Studies Short Course (2018, Distinction); Psychology Short Course (2018, Distinction); ABRSM Theory Grade 5 (Merit, 2017); ABRSM Recorder Grade 7 (2018); ABRSM Grade 8 Singing (Distinction, 2019)
  • Activities and Societies: Senior Peer Mentor (2015-19); School Council Year Representative (2015-19); Senior Prefect (2017-19); LGBT+ Society (Core Member, 2016-19); Academic Mentor (Maths and Chemistry, 2016-18); Sixth Form Committee Member (2017-19); Piazza Landscaping Consultant (2017-19);  Vegan Society; Art History Society

2019-2020 London School of Economics

  • Non-Degree Language Course (CEFR B1 Level) – French (with Art Historical focus)
  • Grade – 77%
  • I’ve learned to: speak about simple and familiar topics; understand items of both personal and professional written communication; understand heard phrases in areas of most personal relevance, as well as culture and art; write in areas of interest relating to art; and produce talks on simple topics relating to art.

2019-2022 The Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London

  • Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art
    • 1st Year specialisms – Neoclassicism & Medieval Manuscripts.
    • 2nd Year specialisms – Cold War Cultures & Multiculturalism in Medieval Iberia.
  • I’ve also produced short talks at the Courtauld that I presented next to the artworks in question at the V&A and the British Library.
    • I chair the LGBTQ+ Society – I manage our finances, social media, as well as organising our bi-monthly events.
      • Queer events that I’ve organised:
        • Queering the Art World: Curators in Conversation
        • Non-Normative Representation In Art Spaces: Panel with Curator and Sociologist
        • Queer Art Journalism: Writers in Conversation
        • Lesbian Legacies in Art History: Workshop with a Curator
        • Queer Art Show & Tell
        • Trans* Revolutions: Screening + Discussion

Employment History

History

Curator and Exhibitions Assistant at Grand Junction at St Mary Magdalene’s, London. 2019-present.

  • I am the curator of the virtual exhibition, ‘Building Grand Junction: Back to the Centre of Our Community’. It features a series of photographs, audio recordings, and short videos documenting the detailed conservation of St Mary Magdalene Church and the intricate construction of our new heritage wing. Structured as a timeline of the building’s complete transformation, the exhibition explores how the project developed and how our local community has benefited from it.
  • I’m also working on a series of queer connections and happenings. I’m first attempting to signpost more local services on the website such as The Outside Project. In 2021 and 2022, I’m aiming to support activist workshops, educational talks and maybe a Queer Takeover Festival. I’m also looking to facilitate an exhibition of queer memorabilia and oral histories temporarily donated by a diverse range local people. It would also be online, but the month-long in situ version would be accompanied by queer cultural happenings, from choirs to poets to puppeteers!
  • I also wrote a brief exhibition review of the Architecture Foundation’s exhibition at Grand Junction, ‘Congregation’. I was part of the front of house team for this exhibition, invigilating it and welcoming visitors to the associated events.
  • Additionally, I’ve just become part of Grand Junction’s Youth Advisory Committee.

Contributing Writer at WhatsOnUK. 2019-2020. I wrote an article about protesting with Extinction Rebellion that was published here, among other publications. Subsequently, I was asked to attend Extinction Underground at VAULT Festival on February 22nd and to put together a write-up with the aim of raising awareness of environmental issues, the activist movement, and the variety of artistic responses to the emergency.

 

Exhibition and Retail Assistant at Elephant West Gallery, London. 2019. I worked with several artists, assembling their installations. I invigilated these installations, including on the opening night of the exhibition – Welcome Home: A Speculation on Living Spaces. Also, I gained visual merchandising experience when I was tasked, on my own, to organise art supplies into a presentable display, forming a new shop.

 

Hammersmith & Fulham Council Deputy Youth Mayor. 2017-2018.

  • I was elected by 1609 young people from my borough.
  • I campaigned for diversity and accessibility. In particular, I lobbied for improvements in youth work around queerness and mental health, as well as organising events on those themes.
  • I chaired fortnightly meetings of the Youth Council and took minutes.
  • After consultation with young people, I made my own educational video for young people on the subject of queerness, which provided information and encouraged activism. The video was shared by authorities such as the Council and our local MP, as well as being reported by the likes of Pink News.
  • I also took on a number of additional roles and projects associated with the Council, such as Youth Takeover Day.
  • Among further additional projects I was involved with beyond the council, at this time I was one of the Youth Parliament’s Top Make Your Mark Champions in 2017, encouraging 1,030 voters to have their say in the content of the annual UK Youth Parliament House of Commons sitting: among the top five chosen was Protecting LGBTQ+ People, as well as Education on Sex, Relationships + Politics.

Research Interests

Interests
  • Artivism
  • Queer heritage
  • Drag performance
  • Curatorial activism
  • Activism in the archives
  • Guerrilla gardening
  • Histories of queer protest

Associations

Member of
  • The Courtauld Institute of Art (2019-present)
  • Grand Junction at Saint Mary Magdalene’s (2019-present)
  • Extinction Rebellion (2019-present)
  • University of London Chamber Choir (2019-present)
  • Queer Heritage Forum (2020-present)
  • OUTing The Past Festival (2021)

Awards

Awards and Trophies

The Swayne Prize for History of Art – Latymer Upper School, 2019

Contact Details

Website

courtauld.academia.edu/CasBradbeer

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