Events

PONYBOY by Eliot Duncan – book launch ⛓️⛓️ Join Footnote Press and Ugly Duck on the 1st of June for a night of ‘melancholic transboy swagger’ to celebrate the launch of Eliot Duncan’s ‘astonishing’ debut novel ponyboy, a week ahead of its release ⛓️⛓️ A bildungsroman set over three acts, Ponyboy is a quest for…

A Brief Pause Itch The Scratch collective and current Central second-year BA Performance Arts students invite you to join us as we soften the boundaries, doors and walls. between you and me between us and them between these and those between some and others A Brief Pause is a day-long festival, celebrating joy and togetherness. Through performances, music and workshops we will create…

Camp Trans presents: INTRA (depend on me bby) is an exhibition and weekend events programme showcasing the work of trans artists who explore the central theme of intradependence. Intradependence is a tactic of love, existence, resistance and survival - it is an anarchic reliance on one other and our community, but also the sites we…

RƎWIRE is a live work that started with dance and looks at the cross sections of disidentification through interdisciplinary theatrical practice and a queer lens. Using a rhizomatic approach RƎWIRE explores traditionalisms, while perforating and reframing them by placing them in conversation with something new, different or other. Drawing from Hip Hop and alternative sonic…

Birthday Tears THE BRIGHTON UNIVERSITY ILLUSTRATION GRADUATE SHOW 2023 Private View - Thursday 22th June 6 pm - 10 pm Exhibitions open - Friday 23th - 26th June 10 am -6 pm Free

Sound for Performance Workshop: Intro to Creating a Performance Soundtrack Aimed at beginners/intermediates who are interested in using sound in the context of performance, e.g. drag or performance art. We will explore: The conceptual side of what makes a soundtrack effective in performance The basics of digital sound, including layering tracks and using effects We…

Dolls by John Lee Bird ‘Dolls and idols - a way of existence’ Artist John Lee Bird will be presenting a major solo exhibition, bringing his new DOLLS project alongside work spanning his 25 year career including large scale paintings, print, drawing and film. With influences stemming from film, cult TV, performance, drag and music,…

From the 19 to the 23th Ugly Duck welcome two projects in their victorian factory, Dolls by John Lee Bird and It’s Always Ourselves We Find In The Sea by Illustrious Company.   More info below It’s Always Ourselves We Find In The Sea Created by world-renowned musician and music producer Martyn Ware, composer Gabriel Ware,…

We're excited to invite you to the sharing of a month-long residency on Thursday 27th July featuring 16 artists from Africa, Asia and Europe! Lost & Found is an artist-led hybrid residency & research programme, investigating new ways of collaborating virtually, and engaging audiences across geographical boundaries. This year artists have been exploring 'The Long…

Do You Buy This Do You Buy This? showcases commodified feminist objects, considering the duality between critiquing corporate cooption and supporting feminist practice. We look forward to welcoming audiences to explore the complexities of operating in a capitalist system, exercising our spending power in feminist ways. We are exhibiting commodities that have been produced in…

Creating visuals: projection mapping workshop - London    12 -13 August Where: Ugly Duck 47/49 Tanner Street SE1 3PL, London Bridge When: 12th - 13st August From 11 am to 5 pm. Tickets and price - 12 people maximum - £180 for the weekend  Ex-alumni 10% discount applies Creating visuals: projection mapping workshop is led…

Our Suspended Corridors Claudia Palazzo premieres new performance work Our Suspended Corridors, alongside her re-staged durational installation Vertebral disc at Ugly Duck, London on Saturday 16th September. Sat 16th Sept: Installation 6.30pm-8pm (free, drop in anytime)  Performance 8-9pm (ticketed, set time)  Sun 17th Sept:  Installation 1-4pm (free, drop in anytime)  There are 26 vertebrae in the adult…

Ugly Duck is a London based arts organisation that supports under-represented voices and emerging artists. Artists have access to subsidised rehearsal space, given them access to technical support, provide time with our in-house producing team and offer opportunities for public presentation. All contributions mean a great deal to us and the artists we support. 

The BrinK New ruins have not yet acquired the weathered patina of age…’ Rose Macaulay, Pleasure of Ruins, 1953 The Brink is an expansive exhibition of 21 artists, both established and early-career, whose works range sculpture, installation, painting, and performance, all set within the space of a formerly dilapidated tannery. The exhibition, a collaborative initiative…

Altar-native Exhibition: A Journey into East and Southeast Asian Ancestral Heritage in newly opened Ugly Duck Courage Yard 31st October - 5th November, The Greenhouse, Courage Yard, Shad Thames, London SE1 2NJ Courage Yard with exhibition Altar-native featuring work by nine East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) artists. From October 31st to November 5th, Altar-native will…

Pretty Doomed, is an unconventional art fair & exhibition presented by Ugly Duck & Queer Art Projects, which seeks to challenge the sustainability of the underground and queer art worlds. The first edition took place from the 12th to the 15th of October 2023.Ugly Duck is one of the few independent art venues that showcases…

ANTI / DOOMED FEAST MENUUGLY DUCK 13.10.237pm - 9.30pm This feast invites you to think about the food itself and its origins, culture, history and links to magic and medicine IMPORTANT INFO: PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN PERSONAL PLATE, CUTLERY AND GLASS(To avoid using disposable materials) An intimate feast designed to feed you with vitality, connection,…

Drink some tea in a chilled space with a bunch of other queer people and make some cool clay sculptures :D This workshop is designed for queer women, non-binary, intersex, and trans+ people (or anyone who is exploring their identity within this bracket). No prior experience of making or working with clay is required! We…