The Power of Exhibitions–Interview w/ Sarah Le Quang Sang, The Woman Behind SLQS, The Gallery For Women & Queer Artists

We have an interview episode! Gallerist Sarah Le Quang Sang showcases and promotes female and queer artists, fighting, one step at a time, to reduce the price gap between genders, the lack of LGBTQIA+ representation in archives, collections, art fairs and private collections, but also the linear conception of artistic careers.

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How empowering can the #artmarket be? How can a commercial gallery push boundaries? Be more inclusive? And what are the intersections between collections, trans rights, motherhood, family and queer communities? Sarah Le Quang Sang may not have all the answers, but she has all the good questions. She asks: why are birthdates important? Why is there an artistic career template? Who has access to museum collections? Art fairs?

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A new star in the constellation of London galleries, Sarah Le Quang Sang, established a commercial gallery in Shoreditch in 2024–SLQS–to champion female and queer artists. We mention her current exhibition of three Vietnamese artists, Vicky Do, Hua Dung-Clerget and Duong Thuy Nguyen, as well as the previous exhibition by trans non-binary artist Bex Wade which prompted an acquisition of their work by the V&A, now shown at Young V&A Bethnal Green.

We had to mention the Supreme Court Ruling in past April reducing gender to biological sex, and thus legally erasing trans women particularly, and the trans community in general. Bex Wade was invited to write about the photos of the exhibition (Queer nightlife in the US in 2010s, a time of lightness and joy) in the context of anti-trans movements rising and becoming more vocal. I read an excerpt of the text at the end of the episode.

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For behind the scenes clips, links to the artists and guests we cover, and visuals of the exhibitions we discuss follow us on Instagram: @exhibitionistas_podcastBluesky: @[e-mail]

About us: If you enjoy the podcast A Brush With and You Are Good, you will enjoy Exhibitionistas, where artists are unveiled through current and pertinent angles, and through thoughts and feelings. These podcasts were a great inspiration for our format because they're nerdy and engaging, researched and approachable. The co-host and the guest co-host or interviewed guest engage in a conversation informed by an accessible and lively presentation of the subject, through which you can reflect on a show or a topic or discover it, learn or re-evaluate artistic topics crossing over into our everyday lives.

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:06:42 Sarah Le Quang Sang

00:11:07 First Connection to Art

00:14:12 Art and Motherhood

00:17:04 Adapting and Reinventing the Rules

00:22:12 The Impact of Galleries’ New Ethos on Collectors

00:23:03 Why Open a Commercial Gallery Now?

00:25:51 Responding to Women and Queer Erasure in the Market

00:28:13 How to Understand Identity in Art

00:41:02 Future of the program

00:48:13 An Excerpt from Bex Wade’s Text Yes / N