Théo Bignon, Last Dance

When the Lights Come On: Queer Nightlife as Emergent Space, Curated by Hannah Turpin

January 23 – March 22, 2025

 

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION:

When the Lights Come On: Queer Nightlife as Emergent Space brings together local, national, and international artists reflecting on their experiences of queer nightlife. Historically, queer nightlife spaces have emerged out of necessity, as acts of rebelliousness that prioritize pleasure, self-expression, vulnerability, and intimacy within the face of oppression. Informed by the work of writers like adrienne maree brown and Audre Lorde, the exhibition looks at these gatherings as sites of communal adaptation and resilience, amplifying how radical love and pleasure are necessary for imagining a more liberated future.

The exhibition features artists representing a range of perspectives, and working across various materials, including textile and embroidery, projection, drawing, printmaking, and photography. Exhibited artists include Harrison Apple, Théo Bignon, Clint Fisher, Theodoor Grimes, Jules Malice, Amanda Pickler, Nica Ross, Janie Stamm, Mary Tremonte, True T Pittsburgh, Jimmy Wright, and sarah huny young.

 

PRESS:

BREW HOUSE ARTS’ EXHIBITION OF QUEER ARTISTS SHINES BRIGHT – Zach Hunley, Petrichor, February 11, 2025

Queer joy and self-expression take center stage in new Brew House Arts exhibition – Nick Eustis, February 10, 2025

When the Lights Come On brings queer nightlife out of the dark – Amanda Waltz, City Paper, January 27, 2025

When the Lights Come on…At Brew House Arts – Voice of the Arts Podcast, WQED, January 22, 2025

Queer nightlife celebrated, examined at Pittsburgh’s Brew House Arts’ new exhibition – Katie Blackley. WESA, January 21, 2025

 

ABOUT THE CURATOR:

Hannah Turpin (She / They) is an independent curator and arts worker based in Pittsburgh, PA. They were one of the inaugural residents in BHA’s  Prospectus Residency in 2019, and curated The Self Realized: queering the art of self-portraiture. Other exhibitions include Heavenly Realms: works by Eriko Hattori (SPRING/BREAK Art Show, Los Angeles, 2023); Elle Pérez (Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 2021); and Counterpressures (Carnegie Museum of Art, 2020). Turpin currently works with Casey Droege Cultural Productions and the O’Brien Art Foundation. Past institutional experience includes Carnegie Museum of Art, Leslie Lohman Museum, Brooklyn Museum and Columbus Museum of Art.