Dan Mackey’s ceramic coming out letter shortlisted for Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2026
"This is something I have to write down to tell you cos I’m so scared you’ll be disappointed in me," reads Dan's emotional art piece
Brighton-based artist Dan Mackey has achieved a major milestone, with his ceramic recreation of a deeply personal coming out letter to his mother getting shortlisted for the Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition 2026.
The exhibition is the world’s oldest open-submission art show, held annually without interruption since 1769. Known for its eclectic mix of prints, paintings, sculpture, and architectural works, it has historically featured icons such as: David Hockney, Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry.
Mackey’s shortlisted piece brings a raw, tactile narrative to this prestigious stage, blending traditional ceramic craftsmanship with modern LGBTQ+ storytelling.
The letter reads:
Mum
This is something I have to write down to tell you cos I’m so scared you’ll be disappointed in me and change how you are towards me. Basically I’m gay. It’s not something I would choose to be and really wish I wasn’t, but if I want to be happy with myself is something I have to admit. Please don’t think differently of me, I am still me and this is how I’ve always been. I love you xxx
Daniel
Mackey is well-known in the arts and ceramics community, often alongside his husband, Adam Johnson. Johnson is a celebrated ceramist in his own right, having reached the finals of The Great Pottery Throwdown series 2 and he featured on the Attitude 101 2025 list of LGBTQ+ trailblazers.
The couple’s influence extends beyond the kiln. Their marriage was the central focus of the 2024 BBC documentary, Big Gay Wedding with Tom Allen.
In an exclusive interview with Attitude, Dan spoke about the emotional weight of his shortlisting and the power of ceramics as a medium for vulnerability.
Attitude: Why did you create the ceramic letter in the first place?
Dan Mackey: Between the ages of 10 to 21, I wrote a diary – I always wanted to have the Dear Diary pink electronic toy from the 90s!
Reading the pages back now is difficult and I try not to. To be transported back to someone that was so unhappy in themself. In the diary entries, the older I got the more I grew apart from my friends and the more time I spent at home on my own. I would write about hating myself, hating my life and feeling lonely.
It’s an experience I think other people connect with and after that tuning point of coming out, we get to move on and move past that moment in time. My journey is all written down and I felt like sharing it as a piece of art for other LGBTQ+ people to feel their own experiences in it. An oversized, heavy ceramic piece that feels physically the way it felt to me emotionally. The piece was part of an amazing Queer Art night at the Mexican Embassy last summer.
What year and what age were you when you wrote the letter?
I wrote my coming out letter to my mum in 2007. It had been a year since I first put in my diary I knew I was gay (without crossing it out furiously pretending I wasn’t) I was 20 and in a very dark place and I knew that I had to do something for life to change.
What was your mother’s reaction?
I wrote in my diary about how she reacted. I put “I told Mum I was gay a week or two ago. She didn’t react well but wasn’t bad I guess. She said it was my choice which was annoying cos why would I choose this. But now we haven’t mentioned it and all is back to normal.”
On the same page I talk about going on my first date and kissing a guy for the first time, including how his stubble is different than kissing girls.
My mum has since told me she was worried about what it would mean for me coming out based on what being gay was like for men when she was young. We have a great relationship now and coming out was just small part of our story.
What does it mean to you to be shortlisted?
I am very surprised and chuffed to be shortlisted for the RA Summer Exhibition with a piece of queer art. I made something deeply personal that’s part of me. It shows the coming out experience in the 00’s without needing to be conventionally pretty piece of art.
It’s led to me making other coming out stories in ceramic to document snapshots of the queer experience over time in an everlasting material.