Winners of 2023 Madame F Queer Britain Art Award announced
Congrats to the winners!
The UK’s first and only LGBTQ+ museum has announced the winners of the 2023 Madame F Queer Britain Art Award.
A special reception was held at the museum’s site in Granary Square, London on Tuesday (2 May). There, Beliza Buzollo (AKA Queergarden), Oliver Freeston, and Stephen Appleby-Barr received their prizes.
The awards were given in partnership with the wine brand, Madame F, and celebrate queer creativity in artists: pride, passion, inclusivity, and originality.
Last year’s award winners, artists Sadie Lee and Paul Harfleet announced the winners with Buzollo and Jamie King taking the first-place prize of £1,500. Freeston came in second, getting £1,000, and Appleby-Barr came in third, receiving £500.
All three artworks will be showcased at Queer Britain and featured in merchandise at the site.
Reflecting on their work Beliza Buzollo, who captured the art of life drawing said the skill is “at the core of art history.”
They continued: “When crossed with the beauty of trans bodies – historically denied a place in art -, it questions expectations and reclaims infinite possibilities.”
Their work features an all-trans crew in front of and behind the camera. This, they said, has created a special world “suspended in time, in which it feels magical to be naked, non-sexualized and fully seen for who we know ourselves to be.”
Oliver Freeston’s Virgin X-inspired work combines a classic Renaissance style with camp aesthetic. Painted in oils, it was then embellished with faux pearls and crystals.
Speaking of his work Freeston added: “I was blown away by the concept of this queer performer based on a religious icon, taking the narrative of an institution known for excluding the LGBTQIA community and twisting it to promote that same community through art.”
Finally, Appleby-Barr’s painting of his friend Max is done for a simple reason. “I paint my friends in oil on linen because I love looking at them. I’m Queer. My friends are Queer. I paint us so that people know we were here.”
Joseph Galliano, the Director and Co-Founder of Queer Britain also commented: “Queer artists deserve championing and the depth of talent on display in these awards was astounding.”
140 artists submitted their work in the form of illustrations, paintings, or drawings celebrating the theme ‘Queer Creativity.’