AN ARTS collective from Reading is bringing an experimental exhibition to The Vagina Museum in London this week.
Double Okay, a queer and trans arts collective is bringing some of Berkshire’s best to the capital for a mix of video and performance art.
They run a number of arts sessions for LGBTQ+ people at The Rising Sun Arts Centre, host regular drag and live performance events, collaborate on queer socials around the town, and have even hosted welfare awareness workshops for trans people.
Now they’re set to explore visual work from Reading- and Berkshire-based artists at London’s Vagina Museum.
It is the first bricks-and-mortar museum dedicated to vaginas, established after a number of pop-up locations in the UK in 2017.
It champions bodily autonomy and seeks to address bodily shame by raising awareness of gynaecological anatomy and health.
It also aims to erase stigma around the body and gynaecological anatomy.
“Double Okay are taking over one of the new spaces at The Vagina Museum for one their first live events.
“We had an open call for video artists, especially from Reading and Berkshire, because we wanted to give a London space to those from outside of London.”
As for what can be expected at the event: “We’ll be showing their work as well as some of our own, which will be projected into the space.
“There’ll also be pop-up performances from me and Duac, who we’ve worked with loads before.
“There will be a DJ set from Anitah, who’s performed with Iota and at Pride events.”
The Vagina Museum also acts as a forum for feminism and women’s rights, as well as those of the intersex and LGBTQ+ communities.
“The director of the museum approached us after seeing one of our shows and we were due to collaborate last year, but it got delayed.
“For us, it was such an exciting opportunity to work in different spaces; working in Reading is so important to us, but being able to bring that to London to get more people to see and value that is exciting.”
The museum aims to challenge heteronormative and cisnormative behaviour, and promote intersectional, trans-inclusive, and feminist values through its work.
Ollie explained: “The vagina museum has taken the lead on trans inclusivity– they’ve had to come up against a lot of TERFS in being a spokesperson for that.
“It’s incredibly important to have representation in a space like that; talking about bodily health, including vaginas, includes trans people.
“It’s important because there’s so much stigma and hatred which comes with talking about bodies and anatomy, when really we should be including everyone.”
Healthcare has been a major part of the discourse surrounding trans rights, especially as NHS guidance works to make health care more inclusive to those who transition or are seeking to.
This includes using language which does not exclude non-binary people or those who have transitioned, with a view to better relevance and provision to those whose gender identity does not match their anatomy.
“Not everyone has to medically transition or needs specific medical care– but for those who do, it can be life-saving.
“Healthcare means access to gender-affirming care, which is being blocked, and the delays are killing people who aren’t able to live in bodies which reflect who they are.”
Ollie added that while it’s exciting to be bringing a new exhibition to London: “We are Reading-focused; it’s always been based here and it’s really important to us.”
Double Okay’s exhibition, U Slip Into, takes place at The Vagina Museum, Arches 275-276, Polyster Street, London, on Friday, January 19.
Tickets are priced on a sliding scale and available via: outsavvy.com/organiser/vagina-museum
Those on low income can make alternative arrangements if needed by contacting: info@vaginamuseum.co.uk to
More information about Double Okay’s upcoming events, including their queer social events on the first Friday of each month and the upcoming drag event in March, is available via: instagram.com/wearedoubleokay
