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MA thesis project:
Rishi-Mehra-QueerNightTribes.pdf'Being Seen' - UAL Showcase Collection
'Being Seen' - UAL Showcase Collection
Queer Night Tribes was selected for 'Being Seen', a UAL Showcase Collection in 2025. Curated Mark King, Head of Design and Special Projects at Queer Britain, the UK's first and only LGBTQ+ museum for all. Visit the website: https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/collection/queer-britain-being-seen
“I've lived in London since the late 1980s. I walk through the city now, past lost LGBTQ+ venues and it really, really hurts me that they weren’t documented. It's a shame. There used to be scene magazines, with portraits of people in bars, but they've mainly disappeared too. Queer Night Tribes does two important things: it records the venues that exist currently (and are probably under threat) and it also presents interviews, photographs and illustrations of people and what the venues mean to them, doing the job that scene magazines did once. It really resonated with me.”
Protecting the vibrancy of London's Queer nightlife infrastructure
Protecting the vibrancy of London's Queer nightlife infrastructure
Nightlife venues have played a unique and historically significant role in LGBTQ+ culture, akin to places of worship for religious communities. They have been vital for community development and political action, providing a haven for many who had been cast out to the fringes of society, to the shadows - often underground, and often under the cover of nightfall.
Whilst the numbers of these night venues in London have been in sharp decline in recent years, 'Queer Night Tribes' is not about reversing this worrying trend. Rather, it aims to develop a deeper understanding of the impact venue closure has on the different groups within the community. This insight becomes a valuable resource for venues, local councils, and the Queer community as a whole to better respond to change, and to nurture a vibrant, inclusive and resilient nightlife scene.
By using 'identity performance' - or more specifically, the relationship between what we wear and where we go out - patterns can be identified and archived over time. The way we dress is a powerful form of non-verbal communication. It helps us to express how we see ourselves, and which social groups we feel affiliated to. The way we dress can transcend other identity markers such as age, race, religion, social or economic class. This is what makes it an interesting and worthwhile way to explore social groupings, especially as these are more self-determined than many other markers.
Visit website: queernighttribes.org
Course overview: arts.ac.uk/.../ma-cities-csm
Visit UAL website: ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk
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