07/05/2026
Discover the q***r story of forgotten nineteenth-century artist Emma Aloysia Novello (1814-1902) with Dr RJ Wade & Kit Heyam!
Drawing on newly examined archival materials, this talk reconsiders Novello’s artistic practice, her resistance to gendered constraints and the intimate networks of women who shaped her world.
From her convent education and self‑directed training in defiance of Royal Academy exclusion, to her close relationships with women artists and her later institutionalisation under patriarchal authority, Novello’s story invites q***r readings that illuminate how nonconformity, chosen affinities and gender‑noncompliance were policed (and how they persisted nonetheless).
Through q***r methods of interpretation, we’ll trace the silences, tensions and possibilities in Novello’s letters, travels and artistic collaborations, revealing a life that unsettles Victorian norms and opens space for LGBTQ+ historical imagination. Using Emma’s artwork, we’ll move into a reparative art/writing workshop, using Emma’s own paintings to imagine an alternative, better future for her, and thinking about how we can use creative practice and q***r community to look after our own mental health.
Date: Wednesday 3rd June 2026
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: The Bookish Type, 77a Great George Street, LS1 3BR
More info & тiскетs available on wебsiте / in бiо :)
