19:00

Join researcher Joe Jukes and artist and researcher Simon Olmetti for a conversation about queerness, land, spirituality and rurality. The session will begin with a screening of video works before delving into a discussion exploring if the ‘wild’ could be the site for a queer commons to ground itself. Questions surrounding the queering of nature and the reclaiming of land will be tackled by Olmetti and Jukes from a neo-materialist and queer rural perspective. This two-way journey will be followed by an open discussion with the audience.

This session has been organised by artist, researcher and A/WA member Simon Olmetti. The session is free to attend and will be held on Zoom. Please register by emailing info (at) artworkassociation.org. Registered attendees will receive the link 10 minutes in advance of the discussion.

Joe Jukes (they, them) is an interdisciplinary researcher at the University of Brighton, specialising in queer theory and geography. Joe grew up and lives in rural Somerset, where they research queer communities and cultures across the West Country. Joe curated Queer Constellations at the Museum of English Rural Life in 2021, has writing forthcoming in The Geographical Journal and lambda nordica and is the co-founder of ‘Viva Vada’, a monthly queer film night for rural LGBTQ+ people in Somerset.

Simon Olmetti (he, him/they, them) is an Italian artist living in London and a PhD candidate in Fine Arts at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham. Their practice-based research focuses on the intersection between Land art, Queer Spirit and Neo-materialism. Simon’s work has currently been selected for Visions in The Nunnery 2022, Bow Arts, and has been shown at various exhibitions including the Brighton Photo Fringe and the Ledward Centre.