Join us for a lecture series that unpicks the clothes we wear and the styles we inhabit, in everyday life, as performance, and to reveal our innermost selves. From street cred to bed head, queer style is as diverse, colourful and reflective as queer people. Dress to impress? Why not! Thursday 3, 24 and 31 May, 6-7.30pm.

Thursday 3 May – Rebecca Evans

Hiding In The Spotlight
Irish LGBTI activist, Panti Bliss describes the contemporary drag queen as ‘a court jester, whose role is to say the un-sayable’. Through costume and performance the LGBTI community have long critiqued cultural norms, advocated for political change and challenged mainstream definitions of gender and identity.

Since 1979, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has been at the forefront of LGBTI costume and performance in Australia. Rebecca Evans, Curator at the Art Gallery of South Australia, will explore work by key designers and performers of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival including work by Peter Tully and Ron Muncaster.

Thursday 24 May – Dr Gertrude Glossip 

Hats, Gloves and Parasols!
Created in 1993 to lead a gay history tour of Urania, Gertrude Glossip, now Queen of the Walk PhD (Formal Drapery) Curtain University, is renowned for queer history and wild sex walking tours. From Opportunity Emporia to Lord Mayor’s wardrobe, Gertrude expounds gaily on matching frock choice with tour theme.
**Please note: the venue for this talk has changed. It will now be held at the History Trust of South Australia, Torrens Parade Ground, Victoria Drive, Adelaide.

Thursday 31 May – Dr Nikki Sullivan
What Will Men Wear When Women Wear Pants?
What do a clay pipe and a monocle have in common? Besides being in the Migration Museum’s collection, these accessories enable an exploration of the relationship between costume and gender, and the ways in which norms around style have been queered in different historical and cultural contexts.