The artists going from queer cabaret to the Venice Biennale
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Their project, which will feature elements of performance and moving image, was chosen to represent Scotland following an open call for proposals earlier this year.
It is expected to to explore 'complex emotional legacies' of shame, pride and celebration through the sound and costumes of a parade.
Artists Angel John Castle and Davide Bugarin with Mount Stuart Trust curator Morven Gregor. (Image: Neil Hanna)
The pair have pledged to "trouble easy narratives on the contested ground of identity today" in a show that will transform a yet-to-be announced Venice venue with "spatial and drag-inflected interventions."
Bugarin and Castle have both performed as their drag alter egos 'Hairy Teddy Bear' and 'Pollyfilla' at queer cabaret nights staged under the banner of Pollyanna, an arts company created by Castle in 2015.
More than 250 artists have since performed across 75 shows, many of which were staged at the Paradise Palms bar in Edinburgh.
The work of Bugarin and Castle, which has combined elements of cabaret, theatre and film, has previously explored the histories of performance, queerness, colonisation and gentrification.
They have been showcased recently at the Fruitmarket and City Art Centre in [[Edinburgh]], the Tate Modern in London, the Microscope Gallery in New York, the Kriittinen Gallery in Finland and the Pineapple Lab, in Manila, in the Philippines.
Mount Stuart House, the ancestral home of the Crichton-Stuart family, dates back to the late 19th century and is home to one of Britain's biggest private art collections.
The house was opened to the public for the first time in 1995 and has been playing host to annual visual art exhibitions since 2001.
Artists who have previously worked with the Mount Stuart Trust, which manages the mansion house and its cultural programme, include Kate Whiteford, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Christine Borland, Langlands & Bell, Anya Gallaccio, Nathan Coley, Lee Mingwei, Lucy Skaer, Kate Davis, Lorna Macintyre, Steven Claydon and Whitney McVeigh.
Scotland has not been represented at the Venice Biennale since 2022, when Glasgow-based artist Alberta Whittle attracted more than 35,000 visitors to her solo show.
Scotland's future participation in the event, which dates back to 2003, was put under review two years ago amid concerns over how it could be funded in future.
However it was announced earlier this year that Scotland would have an official presence at the 2026 event after the review found 'overwhelming support' for it to continue.
Creative Scotland, British Council and the National Galleries Scotland are sharing the £470,000 costs involved in making Bugarin and Castle's show, and showing it in Venice between May and November next year.
However it is hoped further funding can be secured to allow the show to tour around Scotland following a planned run at Mount Stuart House in 2027.
Morven Gregor, curator at the Mount Stuart Trust, said: 'We are excited to curate the work of Bugarin and Castle, extending our shared commitment through the opportunities presented by the Scotland and Venice project to bring this ambitious work of performance and moving image to life and to reach our audiences on the west coast of Scotland and internationally.
'We look forward to celebrating the return of Scotland to Venice with our communities across Scotland and beyond, and, as ever, recognise the positive impact of working in collaboration with key partners in the cultural sector.'
Bugarin and Castle said: 'We first met performing in the mess and noise of queer cabaret in Edinburgh.
'A decade later, that spirit still drives our practice. We're thrilled to show new work together in Venice, transforming the venue with spatial and drag-inflected interventions that confront questions of gendered performance and colonial sound control, rooted in our lived experience.
'We aim to trouble easy narratives on the contested ground of identity today.'
Emma Nicolson, head of visual arts at Creative Scotland, said: 'We are thrilled to support the Mount Stuart Trust, and Bugarin and Castle, as they lead Scotland's return to Venice with a commission that speaks powerfully to the rich and diverse contemporary art practice that we have in Scotland.
'This project is bold, visually compelling and emotionally layered and stands as a testament to the varied and ambitious artistic voices in Scotland, rooted in place, conceptually bold, and internationally relevant.
'We are excited to see how this work will evolve in Venice and ripple back across communities and venues throughout Scotland and beyond.'
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