The Common Press are delighted to be hosting internationally renowned author, artist, and activist Fleur Pierets as she presents her new memoir, Julian.
Fleur Pierets is an award-winning performance artist, writer, speaker and LGBTQ+ activist whose work balances between photography and theory, performance and non-fiction.
Together with her wife, Julian P. Boom she founded Et Alors? Magazine, , in which they published their conversations with queer musicians, visual artists, writers and performers by whom they were inspired.
In 2017, Fleur and Julian started 22 The Project, a performance art piece in which the couple would marry in every country that legalized same-sex marriage. There were 22 countries when they launched the project – since then, the number of countries has grown to 28.
Fleur and Julian married in New York, Amsterdam, Antwerp and Paris. After the 4th wedding, Julian was diagnosed with brain cancer. She died on January 22, 2018.
This talk will cover Protest Art, grief, and social (in)justice.
The keynote is an invitation and a dialogue about responsibility and how you can effect change in the world through positive communication.
Date: 27th October
Time: from 6:30pm
The talk will last approximately 1 hour and will be followed by a signing in the bookshop.
Please note: this event will be taking place in our downstairs events space and is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible.
There are a limited number of free tickets available for this event - if you cannot afford the minimum pay-what-you-can ticket type, please email us on books@commonpress.co.uk and we will add you to the guest list, no questions asked.
Praise for Fleur Pierets:
“One of the most inspiring and inspirational talks I have ever heard.”
—-Bowi Fracelli, New York University.
“Fleur Pierets is a true and authentic performer. She takes you on a rollercoaster
from happyness to sadness and back again, meanwhile learning you the most
wondrous things about protest art and individual contributions to a better world.”
—Frank de Baere, Google Europe
“Two female European artists who happened to be a real-life couple are teaming
up for a stunning performance piece that will take them around the world on behalf
of LGBTQ rights.”
—Curtis M. Wong, Huffington Post.
“JULIAN is wonderful, which I know is strange to say about grief, but feeling and
writing are two different things and the book is swift, lean and moving.”
—-Siri Hustvedt, writer
“Pierets is an analytical and a poetic writer and speaker. She regroups, rearranges
and aligns both memories, as well as facts about human rights. She skillfully
creates a beautiful collage about life, love and death.”
—De Standaard Newspaper.
“Julian is a book about a life without her. Fleur writes about a love that does not go
away and does so mercilessly and yet lovingly, full of rebellious incomprehension
about the mean joke called 'death'. It carves into the fault lines of everyone's heart.
In the end we are all without Julian.”
—Jeroen Olyslaegers - writer
“As one of the first books about lesbian love and grief, Julian is (finally) filling a gap
in our awareness. Beautifully and very intelligently written. Must read.”
—ZIZO magazine