Talk | In conversation: QueerArt with Mollie Barnes, Gemma Rolls Bentley and Simon Martin

Join Gemma Rolls-Bentley and Mollie Barnes as they discuss their new book, Art Essentials: Queer Art with Simon Martin, Director of Pallant House Gallery.

Art Essentials: Queer Art brings together a wide range of LGBTQIA+ artists, tracing their work from the 19th century to today. Covering different generations and places, the book offers an engaging look at queer visual culture and the many ways artists have expressed identity and experience, beyond simple or stereotypical ideas of what “queer art” is.

This talk forms part of our Celebrating Pride Thursday Late. Join us for a vibrant evening of art, performance and music in collaboration with Chichester Pride. Enjoy free access to the galleries, including British Landscapes: A Sense of Place, alongside creative activities, tours and a lively courtyard programme featuring a DJ and other performances.

Photograph of a woman with long blonde hair wearing a black blazer and a white shirt. Her arms are crossed and hands held up to her collar.

Gemma Rolls-Bentley

Gemma Rolls-Bentley is a curator and writer who has spent two decades championing diversity in contemporary art. Her debut book Queer Art; From Canvas to Club and the Spaces Between was a Lambda Literary Award finalist and widely recognised as a must-read. Her curatorial work centres on female and queer artists, creating space for practices that explore LGBTQIA+ identity. Gemma has taught at institutions including the Royal College of Art and Glasgow School of Art, and was a juror for the 2025 John Moores Painting Prize. She sits on the The Courtauld Association Committee and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art Acquisitions Committee. Her forthcoming book, Art Essentials: Queer Art, co-authored with Mollie Barnes, will be published by Thames & Hudson in April 2026.

Mollie E. Barnes

Mollie E. Barnes is a curator, researcher and writer focused on equitable access and representation in the arts, working across contemporary visual culture. She is currently the Visual Arts Curator at Salisbury Cathedral.

Photograph of a man leaning his elbows on the edge of a waist high wall. He wears a blue suit with white shirt and a red tie. In the background is a wall of many different coloured triangles.

Simon Martin

Simon Martin is an art historian and curator, and the Director of Pallant House Gallery. He received his BA from the University of Warwick and MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art. He has curated many exhibitions and written widely on Modern British and contemporary art.