• KGOTLELELO BRADLEY SEKITI

    "There can be no love without justice"

  • FOR PRIDE 2021, QUEERCIRCLE AND BUILDHOLLYWOOD FAMILY OF JACK, JACK ARTS AND DIABOLICAL HAVE TEAMED UP TO BRING ART AND DEMANDS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE TO THE STREETS OF LONDON, BIRMINGHAM, CARDIFF, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW AND SHEFFIELD. 

    THE SELECTED ARTISTS INCLUDE:

    BEX WADE, KGOTLELELO BRADLEY SEKITI, BLACK LODGE PRESS

  • Kgotlelelo Bradley Sekiti is a multidisciplinary artist who focuses on creating an alternate and safer world for queer bodies. He works across self portraiture, video and performance art. WE SPOKE TO BRADLEY TO DISCUSS HIS practice, MMELE (THE BODY), THE petition HE'S chosen to highlight, AND WHAT ROLE PUBLIC ART PLAYS IN RAISING AWARENESS AROUND SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS.

  • QC: Can you tell us a bit about 'Mmele (the body)'? KS: My work consists of video work, text and...

    Kgotlelelo Bradley Sekiti, Mmele (the body), 2020

    QC: Can you tell us a bit about "Mmele (the body)"?

    KS: My work consists of video work, text and self portraits. The work allows any queer body to find themselves in it and the story has allowed me to become a vessel of expression not only for myself but other bodies that find relation to the work. I have used the opportunity to tell a story as one to find healing as well. I am here to highlight the strength that queer bodies possess.

     

    QC: Why have you chosen this artwork?

    KS: The work interrogates how queer bodies have constantly faced having to water down themselves because society doesn't allow them to just simply be. I am a black queer body that has been struggling throughout my life to find spaces where I can simply be and the work has allowed me to create a world where I can endlessly express myself through photography (self-portraits) and video work where I view the digital space as a performance space.

  • I am here to highlight the strength that queer bodies possess.

    K.SKITS
  • QC: What role does public art play in social justice movements? KS: Public art plays a vital role in social...

    QC: What role does public art play in social justice movements?

    KS: Public art plays a vital role in social justice movements because it is an accessible form of interrogation when it comes to social injustices. Due to how accessible and intentional it is, it usually serves as a powerful tool that sparks conversation and also gives the audience that engages with it an opportunity to reflect, learn and contribute towards finding solutions.

     

    QC: What are your hopes for this billboard campaign?

    KS: I hope this campaign is able to stretch beyond it being just images around the city but encourages the audience to engage with the organisations/campaigns that will emerge from different artists who are involved in the activation because these are the things that are directly involved in eradicating social injustices and cultivating safe spaces for those who are unable to naturally occupy those spaces.

  • QC: What campaign have you chosen to highlight? KS: Petition: Stop Violence Against LGBT+ People in South Africa QC: Why...

    QC: What campaign have you chosen to highlight?

    KS: Petition: Stop Violence Against LGBT+ People in South Africa

     

    QC: Why have you chosen to highlight and share this petition?

    KS: I have chosen to highlight this cause because art has just always helped me enjoy life as it is and I am hoping that I can inspire others to do the same and constantly be able to discover more about themselves through allowing themselves to express themselves.

  • TAKE ACTION

    Image source: them. 

    TAKE ACTION

    Stop Violence Against LGBT+ People in South Africa

    South Africa's constitution promises equality for all of its citizens, but that promise isn't being kept for LGBT+ people, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. The report indicates that sexual and physical violence, including rape and murder, is rampant in South Africa and that police have turned a blind eye to these incidents. 


    Tell the South African government to stand up for the ideals of its constitution by enforcing its laws. Sign this petition to tell the state that the violence against LGBT+ people must end now. 

     

    SIGN THE PETITION

    https://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/16/stop-violence-against-lgbt-people-in-south-africa/

     

  • ARTIST INFORMATION

    ARTIST INFORMATION

    KGOTLELELO BRADLEY SEKITI

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Location: Johannesburg

    Kgotlelelo Bradley Sekiti is a multidisciplinary artist who focuses on creating an alternate and safer world for queer bodies. He works across self portraiture, video and performance art. He has been recognised by Bubblegumclub Magazine as one of the artists to look out for in 2018 and since then has been able to showcase his capabilities in storytelling. In 2019 he got featured in his first group portrait show curated by Throughthelens Collective. The year 2020 also proved to be a great stepping stone for his career as an art practitioner when he got featured in a couple of group exhibitions under TMRW Art Gallery, The Institute of Creative Arts in Cape Town and as well as the Michaelis School of Fine Art. He got the opportunity to debut as a DJ when he took part in the Boiler Room streaming from isolation series under Pussy Party Johannesburg which aims to amplify the voices of femme and queer bodies.


    His educational background includes attending the National School of the Arts where he was in practice of Dance Studies which were an introduction to the arts for him. He also worked as intern and studied a course Peer Education at Drama for Life (Wits University) in Johannesburg in the year 2019 into 2020. He views himself as a vessel of expression not only for himself but for other queer bodies that find relation to his stories and will continue making work that serves as a contributing voice towards the liberation of queer bodies.

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