It’s sweaty. It’s safe. It’s Shandy. Brisbane’s favourite queer art and dance showcase!
For most, a Shandy is a cool drink: half beer and half lemonade. However, in Brisbane (Meanjin), this humble beverage has come to mean something entirely different for its queer community.
Shandy – Queer Dance Party is a regular Meanjin-based event, continuing the noble tradition of queer parties; committed to creating a space for queer people to find connection, community, and emancipation on the dancefloor. Over the course of two years and one pandemic, Shandy and its community have continued to grow and flourish into a heaving community of sweaty queers, gathering together to move their bodies to the beat, and witness and showcase the incredible talent of this community, in a uniquely Brisbane manner.
Sweat on the Dancefloor is an exhibition of photographs captured by Seamus Platt, James Caswell, and Emil Cañita of this event and its community over the first two years (and one pandemic) of its inception. These images come together to form a record of the continuing growth and development of Brisbane’s queer community and the spaces they create.
Serving as a moment of reflection for the last two years of the event, sculptural works, props, and décor elements from Shandy will be displayed in the space, alongside a projected montage of videos commissioned over the period by the event.
Also exhibited on the night are props and sculptures by Mark du Potiers, Phoebe Sheehy, Blair Foley and video work produced and/or directed by Benjamin Cotgrove, Dan Anderson, Mary Duong, and Blake Howson.
Image: Seamus Platt ‘Enby Extravaganza’ 2019
