...with THE NIALLIST

ISLINGTON MILL And... #4 : miqx (Radical Faeries)

Ep#4 of “ISLINGTON MILL And…” is very special, and timed to coincide with last weekend’s Manchester Pride celebrations.  

For this episode I have interviewed miqx, one of the founding member of the group the Radical Faeires in the UK (known here as the Albion Faeires) a group which grew out of the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970s. mixq has spent most of their life deeply involved in queer and community activism and this interview covers much of their incredible history. From growing up as a camp child in a mixed-race family in 1950s South Africa, coming of age on the London “gay” scene in the 1960s (a time when homosexuality was just becoming decriminalised), experiencing the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970s via America to their involvement in community activism in 1980s London, miqx has a fascinating - not to mention very informative - story. I am proud to share with our listeners this slice of very important queer history, coming directly from the voice of one of our elders, and do I hope to continue this interview with miqx as I know we have so much more to cover. 

Happy Pride!  

ISLINGTON MILL And… #3 RIVCA RUBIN on Upwording

For episode number three of ISLINGTON MILL And... I sat down with RIVCA RUBIN, one of the members of Islington Mill's creative board but the only one not to have a one-on-one interview on this channel. The topic for this month's show is "Upwording": a process of using language to dismantle the inherent power structures communicated (often unconsciously) through language. This is a fascinating subject, and we have agreed to do regular interviews on this subject in the future, but for now you can get your ears stuck in to this introduction to the topic. 

ISLINGTON MILL And... #2 : MODELLING QUEER UTOPIAS Part 2

For episode #2 of "ISLINGTON MILL And..." I sat down with all four co-artistic directors of Islington Mill to further discuss the subject of episode #1, which was "MODELLING QUEER UPTOPIAS". I speak to Bill Campbell, Maurice Carlin, Rachel Goodyear and Rivca Rubin about this project, and the plans for both the space and the community in the coming months as the Mill enters a new phase of its existence. We also talk about the five pillars of this project and the five elements of what makes Islington Mill so special in the first place. This is my first time doing a multi-subject interview, and we have agreed to convene regularly over the next 12-24 months to  see how this project is progressing for the benefit of our community to hear. 

ISLINGTON MILL And... #1 : BILL CAMPBELL on Modelling Queer Utopias

Welcome To the brand new monthly podcast series "ISLINGTON MILL And…"!

After a great run of 10 episodes in the "ISLINGTON MILL IS QUEER" series, we have decided to expand the remit of our monthly Islington Mill-based podcast to cover more diverse topics such as art, philosophy and politics, and to act as a platform for the entire Mill community to engage in. For episode one #1 of this new expanded series I spoke to Islington Mill founder and co-owner BILL CAMPBELL about his current project MODELLING QUEER UPTOPIAS. Bill says:

This set of podcasts coming over the next few months seeks to explore what the future of Islington Mill might look like as we come out of Covid and also our extended capital building process, which will complete phase 1 this summer followed by phase 2 in the Autumn. You may well know that this has been a long and arduous task of fundraising and then building works, neither of which I was experienced at and often felt like it was running counter or against our ‘grain’ as an artist led queer DIY project. So coming to the end of the build represents a significant moment of completion of the first phase of Islington Mills 20+ year history and the start of the next chapter. One without leaking roofs and pigeons hopefully.

To hear more about this project and about the future of Islington Mill just click play, and stay tuned for episode 2 coming next month, where this conversation continues with the other members of Islington Mill’s board. 

 

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ISLINGTON MILL Is Queer #10 : LGBTv

And so endeth "Islington Mill Is Queer"! Episode number 10 will be the last episode in this series, and what better guests to end with than the Mill's own LGBTv, who produce queer-themed video content for streaming and broadcast all over the UK. From humble beginnings filming on the fifth floor to not one but two fully equipped broadcast-ready studios, I sat down with Dean and Adrian from the company to find out all about the past, the present and the future of LGBTv. 

ISLINGTON MILL Is Queer #9 : RACHEL GOODYEAR

Episode #9 of Islington Mill Is Queer features an interview with the visual artist RACHEL GOODYEAR. A stalwart of Islington Mill, Rachel has been showing her art in various parts of the building since 2000, and has been based in her current studio on the fourth floor since 2010. This is a broad-reaching and fascinating conversation that covers not just Rachel’s history with the Mill but also her role as a director of the organization and her current focus on the developing the community aspects of the space and how any space defines its own “community”… 

ISLINGTON MILL Is Queer #8 : A tribute to TRISH DEE aka LOUISE WOODCOCK:

Episode number 8 in the ISLINGTON MILL IS QUEER series is one that is tinged with sadness. It wouldn't have been right to do another episode without paying tribute to LOUISE WOODCOCK aka Trish Dee, a long time supporter and close friend of the Mill who passed away in December 2021. This is in no way definitive - that will be for another time. But for now RIP Lou we will always love you xxx

ISLINGTON MILL Is Queer #7 : CHEDAR GORGEOUS & LQUORICE BLACK

For Episode #7 of the Islington Mill Is Queer podcast - a series documenting the queer history of Salford's renowned artistic & cultural institution - The Niallist is joined by two of the UK's best known and well loved drag queens: Cheddar Gorgeous and Liquorice Black. Since 2015, Cheddar and Liquorice have been involved in "The Drag Lab" within Islington Mill, a space for various drag performers to hone their craft and the original inspiration for the recent Channel 4 reality series "Drag SOS", not to mention being a huge and ongoing inspiration to the queer side of Islington Mill. Listen on to hear its history...

ISLINGTON MILL Is Queer #6 : MAURICE CARLIN

For episode #6 in the Islington Mill Is Queer podcast series, and as the follow up to our interview with Islington Mill's founder Bill Campbell, we talk to his partner the artist Maurice Carlin. This interview has been brewing for quite a while now and it is great to finally have Morry's side of the Mill's history and his take on where it can go moving forward...

ISLINGTON MILL Is Queer #5 : BILL CAMPBELL

Episode #5 of Islington Mill Is Queer is here, and it's a big one! After some feedback from listeners who have never been to Islington Mill, I thought it was important to sit down with BILL CAMPBELL who is the owner and founder of Islington Mill, to talk us through the history of how Islington Mill came to be, his vision for the future of the Mill, and to basically break down for us: what exactly IS Islington Mill?