DIVA’s editor-in-chief Roxy Bourdillon was among the judges for the award
BY RAI POWELL, IMAGE BY QUEER BRITAIN
At an intimate reception, hosted at Queer Britain, last night (Tuesday 4 June) Tony Mentel was announced as the winner of this year’s Madame F Queer Britain Art Award for his work View From Dukes Mound. The winning artwork will be displayed in the museum for the next few weeks and Tony also received a cash prize of £1500.
Speaking about his work, Tony explained “I work using recycled textiles and embroidery and I explore themes of queer history and identity. This large-scale tapestry is three metres tall and illustrates an idealised scene of Brighton’s infamous cruising area on the beach, Dukes Mound, which was destroyed by the city council during lockdown. I wanted to celebrate a place which brought so much joy for generations of queers, inspired by the stories I have gathered from queer elders.”
Second place was awarded to Johnny Humes for his painting Beer And Skittles and third place was awarded to Finlay McInally for his zine Queer Fear In The Thriller Villa – they each received a prize of £1000 and £500 respectively.
Speaking about this year’s competition, museum director and co-founder Joseph Galliano-Doig MBE says: “Congratulations to Tony; this work was a richly deserved winner in an amazingly strong field of entries. It beautifully reflects shared histories and the way that queer people have found and celebrated each other through time. His work epitomises the theme of Queer Creativity.”
This is the third year Queer Britain has partnered with wine brand Madame F for its annual art award and each year the calibre of the work submitted continues to surprise and excite the judging panel and this year was no different.
Queer Britain is the first, and only, LGBTQIA museum in the UK and after opening its doors in 2023 they have welcomed over 75,000 visitors. In recent years, they have garnered a strong network and made themselves a must-visit museum in London. The museum has already received awards including the Best Small Museum Project at the Museum Association Awards, recognising Queer Britain as one the best projects in the past year that reflect the theme Museums Change Lives.
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