James Hollands: Artist Talk

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Dates & Times:

Saturday, 21st February 2026 @ 11:00am

Albany Town Hall

Join artist James BL Hollands for an in-depth queer TED talk about the creation of The 82 Abettors of the Zeewijk.

Hollands will talk about his history, from his early start in ACTUP London to making underground films with drag queens and industrial musicians, to running the UK’s “Home of the Avant Garde”, The Horse Hospital, to showing his own work in the Tate Modern and Liverpool and Prague Biennials. Hollands will discuss the queer perspectives and creative processes that inform the exhibition in the Festival – from reimagining the abandoning of the sailors of the 1727 Zeewijk shipwreck to transforming film stills into luminous, haunting portraits, and how an idea by local lighting designer Luke Simpson brought this exhibition to life. He will delve into how themes of complicity, visibility, and the queer dead shaped this powerful body of work.

This talk offers an opportunity to hear directly from a compelling regional artist as he explores the historical, artistic, and emotional layers behind one of the Festival’s most exciting exhibitions.

Dates & Times

Saturday

21st February, 2026

11:00am

Location

Albany Town Hall

217 York St, Albany WA 6330

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Price

Free

Duration

1hr

Accessibility Information

James Hollands: Artist Talk

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Accessibility Information

Note about accessibility information: Albany Pride regularly undertake evaluations about accessibility information of our venues, and take them into account when choosing venues for events, but we cannot always guarantee the accuracy of information in the light of changes to the venue that fall outside of our control. We have provided accessibility for the venue in general, but these may also be different for the event itself (e.g. making gendered-toilets gender-neutral for the event), so please make sure you check both the venue and event accessibility information below.

Venue Accessibility

Parking

ACROD parking is available on York Street and in the Library car park

Toilets

One bathroom with three stalls

One ambulant, single-stall bathroom

One wheelchair-accessible bathroom with right-hand rail

Levels

Lift available to the first floor

Entrances

Ramp to entrance

Double-width glass automatic sliding door entry

Talent

James BL Hollands

Luke Simpson

James BL Hollands

James BL Hollands is a local professional artist and, although from London, has lived in rural WA for the past 12 years. He has been a practicing artist for over 30 years. He graduated with a City and Guilds in Stonemasonry and Sculpture in 1995 and undertook a Masters in Computer Art at Thames Valley University, London in 2008.

He has held over17 solo installations and hundreds of film shows. He has been exhibited globally including the Tate Modern, ICA and Whitechapel, London and Liverpool and Prague biennnials. James was the curator of “London’s Home of the Avant-Garde”, The Horse Hospital, for 7 years, and his work can be found in collections such as St Martins British Artists Film and Video Study Collection, London; BFI Archives, London; Clark, Montreal and Divus, Prague.

Luke Simpson

Luke Simpson grew up in Denbarker and began performing with the Plantagenet Players at age seven, sparking a lifelong passion for the arts. A graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Technical Productions: Lighting, Luke has worked across major venues including His Majesty’s, Crown, and the Regal Theatres, as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Since returning to the Great Southern Region in 2021, he has operated his own technical production company, designed lighting and audio for Southern Edge Arts, and helped deliver the 2025 technical overhaul of Albany Town Hall. Luke now also works as a Tour and Technical Manager with Onyx Productions and Breaksea Inc., touring both locally and internationally.

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