Queer History Club: Silences, Signals, and Subtext - A Queer Look at Emma Novello

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Discover the queer story of forgotten nineteenth-century artist Emma Aloysia Novello (1814-1902) with Dr RJ Wade, Exhibitions Curator (Cultural Collections) at the University of Leeds.

Drawing on newly examined archival materials, this talk reconsiders Novello’s artistic practice, her resistance to gendered constraints and the intimate networks of women who shaped her world. From her convent education and self‑directed training in defiance of Royal Academy exclusion, to her close relationships with women artists and her later institutionalisation under patriarchal authority, Novello’s story invites queer readings that illuminate how nonconformity, chosen affinities and gender‑noncompliance were policed (and how they persisted nonetheless). Through queer methods of interpretation, we’ll trace the silences, tensions and possibilities in Novello’s letters, travels and artistic collaborations, revealing a life that unsettles Victorian norms and opens space for LGBTQ+ historical imagination. Using Emma's artwork, we'll move into a reparative art/writing workshop, using Emma's own paintings to imagine an alternative, better future for her, and thinking about how we can use creative practice and queer community to look after our own mental health.

Content warnings: mental ill health, financial coercion and incarceration.

There's no expectation to disclose anything about your own mental health unless you want to.

Dr RJ Wade is Exhibitions Curator (Cultural Collections) at the University of Leeds and Deputy Editor of Art History, the journal of the Association for Art History.

Kit Heyam is a Leeds-based heritage practitioner, trans awareness trainer, academic and author of Before We Were Trans.

Date: Wednesday 3rd June 2026
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: The Bookish Type, 77a Great George Street, LS1 3BR

Tickets are on a sliding scale (£8 /£5 / £3 / £0)

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Access Info

The shop has an 8cm step but we have a ramp we can put in place if required.
There is a downstairs bathroom with toilet and hand basin.
There is a range of seating including chairs that are armless with padded seats and backs, armless sofa, bench with cushions.
Face masks are encouraged but not required; an H13 HEPA air purifier will be in use.
On street parking available (charges may apply).
Please email in advance if you have any specific access needs: thebookishtypeleeds@gmail.com

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