We're joining forces with the launch of a SWer book store to muse on the age-old practice of hiring professional harlots & hussies as models for art.
Join us for a pop-up stripper life drawing class celebrating the launch of this historic store!
The classes are entirely self-organised and hosted by a group called East London Strippers Collective (ELSC), a group of strippers challenging stereotypes and societal attitudes towards strip clubs, by inviting a new audience of onlookers inside. Our doors are open to professional artists, designers, sketchers, illustrators, animators, doodlers, students and first-timers alike.
Our class is fast paced & involves high-octane aerial pole poses. We incorporate some traditional life drawing with a couple 5, 10 and 15 minute poses. We have an extremely popular “audience participation” exercise. It is a nod to the “lap dance”, encouraging a fun, mischievous atmosphere throughout the class to inspire our community of talented amateur & professional artists.
We de-stigmatise sex work & create our own working conditions through this interdisciplinary class that includes drawing, visual arts, dance, music, comedy, improv, performance & writing.
All our models are strippers or ex-strippers. We welcome newcomers and veterans alike.
No experience necessary – we can’t wait to make love and make art with you!
Our time slot is 7pm - 8pm.
Materials & paper will be provided
Many artists have used sex workers as models & muses for their work, however because sex work throughout history has been framed as inherently degrading, this age-old practice has been a long-ignored fact. The term ‘muse’ is important to this history as it is often used in the context of the male ‘creator’ who is inspired’ by his female muse – in other words, she’s incapable of her own creation or self-realisation – reinforcing women as passive object in relation to the male, active, subject.
The way we navigate the artist/muse issue & questions of exploitation in the sex industry is by asserting sex work as work, & stripping as a legitimate art form. The message isn’t about blanket narratives of exploitation or empowerment, but framing this work in a way that centres harm-reduction, destigmatisation & labour rights.
The desire for sex workers as art models isn’t going away & after centuries of poor representation, our view is that it’s irresponsible to produce this artwork without using it as a platform for de-stigmatisation & the sex worker’s rights movement. Images produced in our classes break away from the strip club’s prevailing male gaze, giving an insight into our dancers’ worlds & celebrating ownership over their own images, reclaiming the agency that is too often stripped of narratives around our bodies.
The Scarlett Letters is a bookshop, exhibition and community space coming soon to East London; radical bookshop platforming marginalised writers: queer, trans, migrant & sex worker inclusive.
Alongside books, zines and crafts, The Scarlett Letters will provide free resources, harm reduction supplies and signposting, offering visitors the opportunity to learn about the work and services provided by amazing community-led organisations.
The Scarlett Letters will also provide a safe and inclusive space where we will host workshops and events, including book launches, readings and talks by local and visiting writers, artists and activists.
We are a non-profit and community interest company, and are committed to ethical hiring practices. We want to provide a safe and inclusive workplace, reinvesting profits to community events and paying our staff an actual living wage.