ELSC – East London Strippers Collective - The Art of Stripping

Red Gallery –

22nd/30th  of October 2015

Red Gallery prided itself as being at the heart of the East end communities and when ELSC – East London Strippers Collective - approached me with their idea to set up a week long exhibition, including a series of workshops and event.

“Whether you agree or not on what these girls do for a living, the one thing I knew is that  Sex workers and Strippers have been part of the local Shoreditch cultural map longer than artists, photographers printers  and any other creative community, so to me I had no right  to exclude or deny them the  use of Red Gallery”

ELSC are a bunch of feisty, articulate, fiercely independent women, who also happen to be strippers. They have come together as a collective, united by shared grievances about the poor working conditions and exploitative business practises within their industry. They also lament the stigma surrounding their job; the lack of wider public understanding about what they do, compounded by negative connotations created by poor representations in mainstream media, combined with “feminist” campaigns that seek to erase their industry and destroy their livelihoods.

As a  fight back against all of this, ELSC are planned  a major event to celebrate the culture, art and aesthetic of their private universe. As talented women, they are also visual artists and view what they do as an art from like any other, a practise that takes time to develop and cultivate. ELSC set out  to challenge the stigma that surrounds their job by inviting new audiences to come and explore their world, and to see what they do from a fresh perspective.

Members of the ELSC are planned  a multi-faceted event, The Art of Stripping, over the course of 1 week, combined  an art exhibition, pole dance and movement workshops, a costume fair, life drawing classes, a film screening, an academic symposium, all culminating with  a final closing party with live stage performances from members of the Collective. The event will take place at Red Gallery, Shoreditch, and a mere stone’s throw from some of the longest running strip-pubs in Hackney.

The objective of the entire event was to celebrate, educate, and generally revel in a unique and endangered part of London’s culture – the strip pub. ELSC wish to generate a culture of respect around their jobs, and to start by publicly recognising the value and worth of their creative energy.

EVENTS INCLUDED:

• Opening Night Private View of The Art of Stripping: an Exhibition of Art, Photography and Installation curated by members of the ELSC

• Pole Dance and Movement Workshops

• Stripperwear Fair

Ernesto would like to credit and thank them for the use of their pictures

Rosie Von Boschan • Rosie Lea • Vera Rodriguez • Bronwen Parker-Rhodes