Cupid’s Coven
Our valentine’s soiree where all the lonely, lustful and lovesick were able to gather together in our immersive space one cold evening in Manchester and practice spells of love.
The night began with a visceral art exhibition, followed by burlesque and cabaret performers, ending with DJs. All artists explored their own interpretation of love.
Date: Friday 10th February 2023
Location: 67 Lever St, Manchester M1 1FL
Order Of Events: Art Exhibition Viewing (20:00 - 21:00), Cabaret Performances (21:00 - 23:00), Cupid’s Nightclub (23:00 - 02:00)
In the icy darkness of a cold February night,
The lonely, lustful and lovesick will gather together...
A space to share, a space to play,
Come and announce your desires.
Share what sets your soul on fire.
Come and join our witches coven,
To practice in the spells of love
Underneath a near valentine's moon,
Indulge in words, sounds and rhythms
That pound to the beat of your heart.
Embrace the sexy sultry lover that is you.
You've been hit by cupid's arrow,
It's time to give in.
Let yourself be consumed by the night
And the burning desires it will bring.
Creative Directors: PJ Cunningham & Aysha Orchard
Creative Producer & Art Exhibition Curator: Millie Loveday Inglis
Head Of Design: Emily Pudd
Production & Design Assistant: Macy Byfield
Volunteers Manager: Georgie Harold-Moss
Stage Manager: Elle Kaye
Event Photographer: Emily Pudd, Leo Krenzer, Millie Loveday Inglis & Keelan Fitton
Event Videographer: Macy Byfield
Multidisciplinary artist Katie Grenville made a short film inspired by both Cupid’s Coven and 1970s erotica which was showcased during the first hour of the night as well as being projected throughout the DJ sets.
SO LA STARS
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Exhibition Artist
Ally Fallon (he/him) is an emerging artist based in Manchester, currently completing his MA in Painting at MSoA. Fallon's work focuses on the dialogue constructed between the artist and their work within the materiality of the surface plane. His work explores the relationship between instinct and chance.In his exhibited piece at Cupid’s Coven, Untitled, Fallon constricts the bodily form within its materiality to reflect the frustrations of negotiating this relationship in his practice.
Instagram - @ally_fallon
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Exhibition Artist
Anna Rabinowitz (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist working across mediums including clay, paint and collage. In the past she has made works about sex, nature, themselves and everyone else.Anna’s work exhibited were these giant faceless sirens. They are made from horror and lust, indulgence and aggression, and many, many magazines.
Instagram - @ribenabitch
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Performer
bonnie (she/her) is a southern slag who’s stolen away to the north and discovered her love of shaking ass for the hot, the gay and anyone who’ll pay. If nudity offends you nows a good time for a toilet break if bonnie’s performing.
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Exhibition Artist
For thousands of years, landscape painting sat, and continues to sit, atop of the painting style hierarchy in China due to its refined associations with scholarly studies and religion. However, traditional Chinese customs limited women’s opportunity to delve into this fine art and were therefore left out of the inner art circles.In her exhibited piece Woyou: Wandering While Lying Down Jasmine Gardner (she/her) aims to pair the feminist dystopian with the title of this piece; a Chinese phrase that expresses the act of visualising idealised landscapes. By deploying its great size and monochromatic shades of pinks, this hand-painted scroll acts as a soothing testimony of the deeply embedded injustices that lie within gender binaries that has (and still is) affected Chinese and East/South-East women in the art world.
Instagram - @sminspiring_art
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Performer
New Jersey-bred and Manchester-based songstress and event curator Natalie, performs under the Menagerie 'Natalie and the Monarchy'. Her influences of folk, 90s grunge, and poetry intertwine in a bittersweet narrative that feels like a fat kiss on a scraped knee. The strange familiarity within Natalie’s haunting lyricism and immersive deliverance is sure to leave a mark.
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Performer
Well Hung Parliament (they/he) is a Polish, Manchester-based drag artist, hopeless romantic, dreamer, and shape-shifter. Through costume and performance, Well Hung often references historical subcultures, political ideas, and cinematic characters and tropes. Expect softness, sensuality, and theatrics (aka dramatic behaviour).
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DJ
Originally hailing from Belfast, k.h0lle (they/he) has fast become a welcome part of the Manchester scene, involved heavily with queer parties such as High Hoops. Having made their live debut first in February 2022, they have gone on to play in many of Manchester's top venues such as The White Hotel, Soup Kitchen, The Loft & The Derby Brewery Arms. From their unique take on dance music, they cross the spectrum of techno, house & trance grooves. Always playful and always with the dancefloor firmly in mind.
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Head Of Design
Emily Puddephatt (she/her) is a designer and performer, from Sheffield based in Manchester. She has marketed and created sets for two productions: ‘Gundog’ by Simon Longman, for which she was awarded ‘Best Design’ at the Manchester in Fringe Theatre Awards and ‘Bundle of Joy?’ by Imogen Chillington which went to the Edinburgh Fringe festival 2022. Playing with colour, texture and natural forms, Emily’s set design strive to create immersive spaces that excite the audience's senses.
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Exhibition Artist
Bobbie Wilson (she/her) is a Manchester-based artist working primarily in oils. Her practice explores the melodramatic world of student culture and the intermingling of pain and joy as we grow up. Bobbie creates work that follows her meandering journey into adulthood - where ideas of anxiety and excitement are closely linked through saturated colours, melting forms and heavy strokes of paint.Bobbie Displayed Two Works at Cupid’s Coven:
I remember how it felt to look at them dancing is based on memories of dancing with my friends at parties. I wanted to capture the freedom, chaos and comfort in being surrounded by queer love, using bright soft toned colours and melting bodies.
Created after a period of severe mental health issues in which Bobbie was unable to leave her room, Hibernation II is part of series trying to contend with this feeling of being both trapped and comforted by her bed.
Instagram - @bobbiewilsonart
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Host
Our host for the evening’s lovers was Cupids Bitch performed by So La Flair Resident Artist Eleanor Haigh. Yes, you heard it right, Cupid’s Bitch, sent by Cupid themselves. They were summoned as a master of ceremony, to take care of you and make your wildest fantasies come true, Cupid's little sexy apprentice if you will. With cheek, a lot of busting, a drop of femme and a drop of butch and a whole lot of self love - Cupid’s Bitch brought out audience on a flourishing journey to find our truest sensual selves and souls.
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Exhibition Artist
Kerenn Josabed (she/her) is a multidisciplinary emerging artist from Oaxaca, Mexico. In her practice, she reflects on the post-internet influence in society, especially on interpersonal relationships.
Instagram - @2_ambivalent
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Performer
Romilly (she/her), also known as the Sugar Bum Fairy is a spoken word artist and writer. She loves to write playfully about sex and sexuality because it’s one of the few precious things that garners curiosity in almost everyone. Her performance will straddle spoken word and cabaret, hoping to bring her audience out of their heads and into the moment.
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DJ
Manchester based DJ and NARR radio affiliate Nusheen (she/they) brought the deep, queer infused house and sexy breaks to Cupid’s Dancefloor.
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Co Creative Director
PJ (she/her) is our fabulous Creative Producer of So La Flair.
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Production & Design Assistant
Macy is a Manchester based interdisciplinary artist working across experimental documentary film, video installation and visual art. Passionate about creating inclusive and immersive experiences that spark healing & joy, she was overjoyed to be involved with the So La Flair girlies in creating the magical event space for Cupid's Coven.
Having recently returned from travelling in the Caribbean at the time of Cupid’s Coven, she had just started developing the exciting multimedia archive project in collaboration with So La Flair's own Lae Carbon-Wilson, @ambitjearchives .
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Exhibition Artist
Bethia Howard’s (she/her) current body of work materialises pain, shame, and torment felt by women, particularly focusing on menstruation and the body. The work is responsive; influenced by the emotive language of feminist writers coupled with my own feelings towards expectations of women. This takes form in delicate fabric sculptures that balance, hang, droop and sway. The work is reminiscent of the swish of an evening gown, or billowing fabric on a washing line. It does things that I am scared to do or talk about as a woman.Instagram - @bethiahowardart
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Performer
Manchester-based poet and songwriter, Caleb (they/them), performed an ode to sapphic love and desire, to reclaim real pleasure and intimacy with a lover in private moments away from this repressive fuckery of a society that we live in that wants to either cheapen and deny or own and sexualise our bodies and ways of expression. In their own words, it was also, an elaborate revealing of how much of a massive simp they are.
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Projection Artist
Katie Grenville (she/they b. 1997, London UK) lives and works in Manchester UK. She is a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, film making, writing, drawing, textiles, performance, sign writing and installation. Katie's practice is an explosive and ever-expanding celebration of the joy of making. Her work often explores themes of silliness, campness and sexual relationships as well as the politics of gender and humour. Her work is often imbued with a pompish celebration of high-kitsch references to visual pop culture, which she examines from her distinctly playful and queer radical-feminist viewpoint.Instagram - @katie_grenville_got_a_studio
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Performer
Howdy partners! Rosetta Rodeo (she/her) is here for an old-time tease - think diamonds, showgirls and a cheeky display. Inspired by pin-up legends and a love of cowboy hats, Rosetta Rodeo entered the burlesque scene at Cupid’s Coven with a bang of a debut!
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DJ
colecta (she/her) is a multi genre DJ with a preference for high energy, dancefloor fillers and nostalgic edits. She’s played on lineups alongside the likes of IMOGEN, LCY and DJ Stingray 313, and organises events with collectives More Pussy 3mpire (MP3), The Beatriarchy, and Thirdspace. You can catch the MP3 Residency on Steam Radio, and The Beatriarchy residencies on Melodic Distraction, and Mondo Radio!
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Co Creative Director
Aysha Orchard (she/her) is a radio producer, presenter and DJ from South London. She gradually built a career for herself in the radio industry whilst studying Film Studies and English Literature at University Of Manchester, and she currently hosts a monthly Friday night show on Reform Radio. She bounced straight from her degree to an internship at the infamous Rinse FM, where she discovered her love for the fast-paced, ever-changing world of live radio production.
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Creative Producer & Art Exhibition Curator
Millie (she/her) is one of our incredible SLF Resident Artists!
Photo Credit: @lewischetcuti on instagram