Queer Art Projects Launches Online Platform Dedicated to LGBTQ+ Artists

Queer Art Projects (QAP) is excited to announce the launch of a new commercial initiative as part of its digital branch qap.digital. Following a span of development supported by the Arts Council England, the site will become the UK’s first digital platform dedicated to selling art by international LGBTQ+ artists. To mark the occasion, QAP is hosting a one-night event at London’s Reference Point (2 Arundel Street, WC2R 3DA) featuring a pop-up exhibition, live performances and DJ sets.

Designed in collaboration with Istanbul-based artist and graphic designer Ece Eldek, qap.digital offers a user-friendly experience that champions queer art. It is a curated platform favouring critical dialogue over traditional market-driven display methods. qap.digital is the digital arm of QAP: an artist-led production company founded in 2017 by London-based artists Tuna Erdem and Seda Ergul.

While qap.digital has been active as an online space since 2020, it is the first time it will operate as a commercial platform to support, promote and celebrate queer art. The project’s unique outlook seeks to challenge the existing online art market models. Which tend to favour established artists over emerging ones and affordable art over exclusive or limited edition art. qap.digital’s roster of artists is set to grow in 2023 and for its first commercial display. They will present an array of works from 16 artists from across the globe, ranging from paintings, works on paper, sculptures and screen-printed textiles.

These works include Elija Grybe‘s large and vibrant oil painting, which features wrestling imagery to address notions of masculinity and survival, and a series of flag-like textile collages by London and Adana-based artist Mustafa Boga, which challenge traditional nationalistic aesthetics. A screen-printed text on cotton by London-based artist and scholar Sophie Seita, which delves into the topics of intimacy, commitment, and opacity; and sculptures made of reclaimed brass incorporating silicone body parts – including tongues and ear lobes – by artist Alicia Radage.

Other artists featured include Niya B, Nicky Broekhuysen, Nilbar Güreş, Chris Hawkes, Şafak Şule Kemancı, Tina Kohlmann, Mitchell Moreno, Katarzyna Perlak, Victoria Suvoroff, Adam Moore, Erdem Taşdelen and Funa Ye.

A selection from the online display will be on exhibited at Reference Point on 3rd December 2022. “What is more”, the launch event will host a series of performances by Alicia Radage, Adam Moore and drag duo Harem of No One.

Tuna Erdem and Seda Ergul, artists and QAP’s founders, say: 

‘Unlike most online art platforms where artists upload their own work like opening a stall in a market, qap.digital is a curated space where artists and their works are selected, curated and showcased like an exhibition in a space that is both easy and enjoyable to navigate.’

©2022 Queer Art Projects (QAP)

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