What we’re about
Come and join a life drawing class like no other in Scotland...
C U Next Tuesday is an art event that aims to celebrate the lives, bodies and images of strippers and sex workers, smash social stigma and untangle widely held cultural narratives about those who perform sexual labour for a living. All our models and hosts are current or former strippers/adult entertainers, whose work is recognised for its power and creativity. Our class encapsulates the visual art and performance of stripping and sex work - from high-octane aerial pole-dance, to the coded aesthetics of striptease and lap-dancing, the high-platform heeled plastic shoes and barely-there outfits, and the well-practiced poses of web-camming.
The history of art is filled with images of sex workers, whose bodies and characters can be found on some of the most valuable canvasses in the most prestigious art institutions in the world. From Toulouse Lautrec's infamous "Folies Bergère" paintings, Edward Degas' ballerinas, Manet's "Olympia", to Egon Schiele's nudes, the art world has been appropriating from those working in the sex industry since time immemorial.
The time-honored practice of using sex workers as the muse, is now turned on its head by changing-up the power dynamic. No longer just the passive object, the muse, we reclaim our power and our images by inviting in new audiences to view us as we wish to be seen - as agents and protagonists in our own narratives... as workers.
C U Next Tuesday is produced by Stacey Clare, co-founder of the East London Strippers Collective and published author of "The Ethical Stripper: Sex, Work and Labour Rights in the Night Time Economy" (2022, Unbound). Stacey brings over a decade experience of organising life drawing classes with pole dancers, strippers and sex workers as models, having founded Life Drawing With ELSC in Shoreditch, London, in 2013. Stacey is now bringing the popular format to Scotland to build a new community of professional artists, students, amateurs, sketchers, doodlers and total beginners - all are equally welcome here.
Importantly, unlike almost all businesses in the sex industry, this class is organised and operated entirely by sex workers themselves. No sleazy bosses, no unethical managers, no CEOs, no one gets a cut of our income - not even our venue, Dragonfly Cocktail Bar, is charging us hire costs. C U Next Tuesday represents a departure from the exploitative workplace practices found in the sex industry, by championing an entirely worker-led business model, where profits are re-distributed among those whose labour creates value.
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PLEASE NOTE:
- This group is NOT a space to solicit, harass, or victimise our models/hosts in any way. Any behaviour that creates an unpleasant atmosphere in the class will not be tolerated.
- NO PHOTOGRAPHY allowed without the express permission from the model, host and anyone in the frame of the photograph. We generally discourage photos since the main purpose of the class is drawing not photography.
- From time to time our class organisers will take photographs for the purpose of gathering content to promote the class. On these occasions, consent will be sought from attendees at the event.
- NO excessive use of alcohol. Dragonfly Cocktail Bar is a licensed venue, BYOB is prohibited :( but we're not the fun police :)
- This event is an inclusive space, welcoming people of all gender identities, sexual preferences, race, class and levels of ability. The main bar is step-free and there is a wheel chair ramp available to enter our life drawing room, but the venue toilets are sadly not fully wheelchair accessible.
- All materials for the class are available at a small cost (free materials for students with valid ID).
- The class is led but not tutored, however if you would like to ask for feedback or advice from our hosts you can always approach them during breaks.
