September

Justin Does Tragedy
Performance
Thursday 3, 19.00–20.30

Join New York cabaret star and new queer icon, Justin Bond for a brand new show especially devised for Iconic. Inspired by Vivien Leigh, Scarlett O’Hara and Blanche Dubois, Justin Does Tragedy will be a collage of music, poetry, mental illness, desperation and nymphomania. He has wowed Broadway with Kiki and Herb, shone in Shortbus and arrives in London to shower the Gallery with his unique touch of East Village bedazzlement.
Tickets: £15/£10 concessions

What is an Icon?
Walking tour
Saturday 5, 10.30–13.30 or 14.30–17.30

Explore the complexities of this question through meeting numerous ‘iconic’ men and women who have lived, worked, played and loved in the local area. Blue Badge Guide David Thompson leads you on this walking tour devised specifically in response to the inspirational figures in the Gay Icons exhibition, from the obvious to beyond. Tickets: £15/£10 concessions (includes exhibition ticket)

Little Joe
Film
Sunday 6, 15.00–17.00

The 'Little Joe' of Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side'. The Valentino of the Underground. The original gay Lonesome Cowboy. A special preview screening of a revealing biographical portrait of Joe Dallesandro – unprecedented access to Andy Warhol's muse. Produced by the actor and his family.
Dir. Nicole Haeusser, USA 2009, 90mins Cert. 18
Tickets: £10/£8 concessions

Iconography Late
Friday 11, 18.00–22.00

Dress as your favourite icon, prepare for a surprise encounter with performers around gallery corners, be indulged with films in the theatre, flirt and pert to iconic DJs and discover how all the world is truly your stage. An inspirational line up is promised.
In association with GT Magazine

Oscar Wilde: The Creation of Celebrity
Lecture
Thursday 17, 13.15–14.00

Was there such thing as celebrity culture during the height of the Victorian Era? Art historian Lucinda Hawksley explores how Oscar Wilde invented himself, the fame he enjoyed and the impact of his trial.
Free

Poetic Licence
Performance
Thursday 17, 19.00–20.30

Can words be iconic? Join award winning novelists and spoken-word poets as they bring literature to life as well as offering their own interpretations of their work. With Alan Hollinghurst, Dean Atta, Neil Bartlett, Bette Bourne, Jay Bernard and Paul Burston.
Tickets: £8/£6 concessions

Stealing Beauty
Talk
Sunday 20, 15.00–16.00

Artist, DJ and performer Sadie Lee; Diva magazine Editor Jane Czyzselska; photographer and curator filmmaker Campbell X and fashion historian and cultural critic Elizabeth Wilson explore the promiscuity of iconography and how queer culture, like a magpie, borrows, steals, scavenges and subverts images and words to make sense of our world. From Christine Keeler's chair to James Dean's quiff.
Free

Capital Gays
Lecture
Thursday 24, 13.15–14.00

Explore London's gay male subcultures of the late 19th and 20th century with Matt Cook. Drawing on court cases, press scandals, literature, theatre, film, and oral history testimonies, Matt argues that there has never been a homogenous gay scene or a singular queer 'type' in the city. Instead London has accommodated and fostered diverse expressions of queer desire. Dr Matt Cook is a cultural historian at Birkbeck College, London.
Free

Icon-i-coustic: The Raincoats
Performance
Friday 25, 19.00–20.30

Seminal punk band and 'Godmothers of Grunge' The Raincoats follow on their successful event at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival with this unique gig for Iconic. The band that brought you the queer version of the Kinks 'Lola' have inspired generations of musicians from Beth Ditto to Peaches and Patrick Wolf to Chicks on Speed. Their continuing relevance and fresh, contemporary sound ensure that this will be a rare and special music event.
Tickets: £20/£15 concessions

Beyond the Gallery

BFI Southbank's Out at the Pictures season
Rebel Without a Cause
Friday 11 and Sunday 20 September

Walk on the Wild Side
Tuesday 15 and Friday 18 September
www.bfi.org.uk