A special edition of Queer Lit Quarterly for young readers
On Friday 12 December 2025 at Aberystwyth Arts Centre at the earlier time of 4pm
Gayberystwyth Books and Aberration Cymru invite you to join us at our ‘Children’s QLQ’ for an afternoon of children’s literature and entertainment. Up to 2 children can attend for FREE with each paying adult. Also of interest to teachers.
Our speakers will be:
Ian Timbrell, author of ‘It’s More Than Flags and Rainbows’, written to help schools develop the confidence and know-how to ensure meaningful, fully inclusive provision for all.
Steve Antony, author of bilingual picture book ‘Enfysawrws / RAINBOWSAURUS’ Dyma stori dau Dad a’u tri o blant ar eu hantur i ddod o hyd i’r Enfysawrws. / Join two dads and their three children as they set off on an adventure to find the Rainbowsaurus.
Sam Langley-Swain, author of ‘Santa’s Wish’ and ‘Where Björn Belongs’ – A heartfelt Christmas story of friendship and belonging, centered around the unbreakable bond between an autistic boy and a polar bear.
Mel Elliott, author of ‘The Girl with Two Dads’ – A funny and heart-warming tale about the differences and similarities between families. With a special guest appearance from Anwen Pierce, who translated the book into Cymraeg as ‘Y Ferch â Dau Dad’.
Also… Balloon twister, modeller and entertainer ‘Tricky the Twister’ Neil Kitchin-Wilson, will be with us for the afternoon, creating wonderful models and caricatures!
This event will have cabaret-style seating with tables and chairs. Good access but please contact venue if your access needs require suitable seating or designated wheelchair space.
Tickets via Aberystwyth Arts Centre at £6.50 for one adult and up to 2 children.
Thursday 12 February 2026, 6.30pm drinks for 7pm start National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
For LGBTQ+ History Month 2026, Aberration presents a night of inspiring queer joy and performance inspired by the Portrait & Power exhibition
Jan Morris portrait by Michael Tomlinson; Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales
A fabulous Aberration takeover of the gallery after hours!
Noson arbennig! Off the Wall is a playful, fun, creative and celebratory evening of spoken word and performance to an audience of LGBTI+ people and allies. Inspired by the Portrait & Power exhibition, bringing the portraits ‘off the wall’, and asking ‘How do we want to be seen?’
So come along as YOU have always wished to be seen – a living self-portrait. Interpret it however you like: alter ego, future self or shadow self, femme, fairy, butch or bear, dressy or drag, fluid or fixed, or all of the above… or bring an object that’s important to you. Ending in a grand parade! (Wallflowers always welcome too!)
Aberration’s Out of the Frame evening at National Library, July 2025 (Anthony Pugh)
Draft Programme
Thurs 12 Feb, National Library of Wales: 6.30pm Gather for drinks and snacks, then lead into the Gregynog Gallery around 7pm for pop-up talks and performances from artists and our workshop group, followed by grand parade, instant portraits and more. A chance to look round the whole Portrait & Power exhibition at the end. Finish around 9pm. Event mainly in English with some Cymraeg. Ticket link coming soon.
Includes new writing from group workshops – why not join the workshops too?
Off the Wall workshops
Sat 31 January & Sat 7 Feb 10.30am to 1.30pm: Two inspiring linked workshops for LGBTQ+ adults where we will respond to the portrait exhibition with new writing and performance. Click to see details and sign up >>
About Aberration
Aberration is a series of exciting events with an LGBTQ+ theme. We aim for a friendly community space. Everyone is welcome at our public events including open-minded straight friends and allies. (Some smaller group workshops are specifically for those who are / think they might be LGBTQ+) Events are very much trans-inclusive as well as highlighting lesbian, gay and bi lives and culture, and other queer identities – all under one rainbow! Your friendly hosts are Jane Hoy, Ruth Fowler and Helen Sandler. For Off the Wall we are joined by talented creative practitioner Cath Rigler.
‘Off the Wall’ writing & performance workshops from Aberration
For LGBTQ+ History Month 2026, Aberration invites you to be part of a thoughtful, joyful group that will create new writing and performance pieces together
In these two linked workshops we’ll share our responses to the paintings and photographs in the Portrait & Power exhibition.
Two Saturdays: 31 January & 7 Feb 2026, 10.30am to 1.30pm National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
More information
In a supportive and encouraging atmosphere, we’ll create new writing and performance pieces together which will then become part of the programme at our fabulous Off the Wall Extravaganza Night.
These group workshops for LGBTQI+ people will be facilitated by Helen Sandler and Jane Hoy of Aberration, and community arts supremo Cath Rigler (who performs as Kitty O’Blitherin).
In the first session, we will visit the Portrait & Power exhibition in the gallery and discuss responses to the stunning paintings and photographs on display. Through writing exercises you can respond to a portrait (or portraits) with significance for you as a member of the LGBTQI+ community.
In the second session, we will shape our writing into short performance pieces for the upcoming Off the Wall evening (12 Feb). Individual and group pieces will magically emerge. Anyone who doesn’t want to perform doesn’t have to!
Helen and Cath at previous AberrationJane and Cath at last National Library event
SIGNING UP
Interested? Excited? Want to sign up or ask a question? Email aberrationcymru@gmail.com with the subject line Off the Wall Workshops.
You need to be available to attend BOTH workshops. There may be an additional rehearsal before the evening event.
Workshops are FREE (small expenses budget available). Limited places.
Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum and Aberrationpresent:
Pockets of Pride
What is ‘Pockets of Pride’ all about?
It’s time to queer up the museum collection – and you can be part of it!
‘Pockets of Pride’ is a series of three creative workshops for LGBTQI+ people where we will come together as a group to put a queer spin on traditional Eisteddfod purses.
These purses were small prize bags – often elaborately decorated – given to winners of Eisteddfod competitions in the past. The winners would proudly wear them throughout the festival week.
In our playful sessions, you will be supported to stitch, fold and stick a pouch, pocket or purse. Each piece will have its own unique ‘purse-onality’, reflecting your own stories!
The group’s creations will form part of a new permanent LGBTQI+ display at Ceredigion Museum.
When and where do the workshops take place?
For LGBTQ History Month 2026 on three consecutive Saturdays: 21 February, 28 February and 7 March, from 10.30am to 2.30pm.
Venue: Aberystwyth Bandstand (on the seafront). The venue has good disabled access.
Who are the Pockets of Pride workshops for?
Anyone identifying as part of the LGBTQI+ community and who can commit to all three purse-making workshops. You don’t need experience of sewing or craft, and all materials are provided.
Workshops are free and include light refreshments. Participants will receive a £50 voucher (multi-store gift card) each week in recognition of your contribution.
Places are limited and will be allocated to the first eight people to sign up.
How do I book my place?
First make sure you’ve read this information carefully, then send an email headed ‘Pockets of Pride’ to Carrie: museum@ceredigion.gov.uk
Details of Workshops
SESSION ONE:
What Do You Prize as a Queer Person?
Together we’ll explore what you hold dear – the values, stories and identities that shape you. Through creative exercises, we’ll begin to imaginatively shape the spirit and intention behind your own handcrafted purse, pocket or pouch.
The museum’s curator, Carrie Canham, will join us to give the context of the project, which is inspired by the historical Eisteddfod purses in the current collection. She will share how our creations will contribute to a new LGBTQI display.
SESSION TWO:
Sew your own way
Working with our hands and hearts; we’ll choose fabrics and threads, and start cutting, sticking, assembling and stitching. With guidance and support from Rose and the group, you’ll bring your design to life.
SESSION THREE:
Stitch and finish
Adding the finishing touches to complete our pockets and purses, we’ll explore ways to display them as part of the exhibition at Ceredigion Museum, celebrating our queer creativity. Together we’ll reflect upon and document the process with photographs and words.
Who is facilitating the workshops?
Rose Thorn has worked as a community artist within health and education settings; she is passionate about the therapeutic uses of the arts with people who often feel disempowered. Her own practice has focused on textiles.
Her last collaboration with Ceredigion Museum was with ‘Voices from the Edge’, a global majority group that explored their responses to colonial objects loaned from the British Museum. This culminated in a group exhibition where her hand-sewn drape, called ‘Wake’, explored the movement of people across the seas.
Rose is also a Playback Theatre performer and trainer, which honours personal stories by instantly ‘playing-back’ what the audience shares. Her interest in the body, breath and mind continues with teaching local yoga classes.
Run by Ceredigion Museum in association with Aberration
Theatre-maker Tom Marshman and friends are bringing their brilliant new show Billy Twirling Through Time to Aberystwyth Arts Centre on 13 November 2025, with post-show discussion led by Aberration. Book now and tell your pals!
Billy Twirling Through Time
Join us for this amazing theatre production at Aberystwyth Arts Centre in the round studio on Thursday 13 November at 7.45pm.
This vibrant performance, inspired by the film Billy Elliot, spins, pirouettes, and lip syncs its way through a joyful exploration of the bonds that make us move.
Tom Marshman (as seen in stunning past Aberration performances) and collaborator Ryan O’Shea bring humour and heartfelt reflection to the stage, reimagining iconic moments from the film while exploring the challenges of ageing. Be prepared for cheap wigs, even cheaper costumes, and a rich tapestry of life experiences. Join us for a celebration of Queer Joy, dance, and friendships. Presented by Beacons, Icons and Dykons. Post Show talk and discussion hosted by Aberration.
Access Information: Good disabled access. Audio description woven into the performance and advanced audio notes available.
DISCOUNTED TICKETS:
Special Aberration price £8.50 (plus £1.50 fee). Click the link to Aberystwyth Arts Centre below and scroll down through the prices to ‘Aelodau Aberration Members’.
Y Tu Allan i’r Ffrâm – Ymatebion Cwiar i’r arddangosfa ‘Dim Celf Gymreig’ Ymunwch â ni ar gyfer taith arbennig o’r Oriel. Ar hyd y ffordd, bydd artistiaid ac awduron yn edrych ar y celf drwy lens LHDTQ+. Noson gyffrous a chreadigol wedi’i rhaglennu gan Aberration.
ABERRATION @ NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES, ABERYSTWYTH
CYMRAEG >>
!!SOLD OUT!!
Friday 11 July 2025, 6.30pm, £5 (includes drink)
OUT OF THE FRAME: QUEER RESPONSES TO THE EXHIBITION ‘NO WELSH ART’
!!SOLD OUT!! If you have tickets and can't come, email post@llgc.org.uk for refund, in plenty of time. If you don't have tickets, you can join the waiting list on the 'TICKETS' link below.
6.30pm Gather for drinks. 7pm Tour begins in gallery
Join us in this very special tour of the current exhibition in the Gregynog Gallery, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
On the way artists and writers will take a fresh look at the art through an LGBTQ+ lens. An exciting and creative evening programmed by Aberration.
Artists include Jane Hoy, Abid Hussain, Naomi Pearce, and Tomos Williams, each presenting their own unique take on the art, history and politics of Cymru, among the sumptuous artworks of the ‘No Welsh Art’ exhibition. Plus short queer tales performed by Simon Robson and Elin Haf; and alternative creative captions produced in an Aberration / National Library workshop.
Stories, sounds, performance and visions… all-round 360-degree queer fabulousness, for one night only. Grab your tickets now!
OUT OF THE FRAME: Aberration has asked several talented artists and writers based in Wales to be part of this very special evening on 11 July 2025.
Naomi Pearce (pictured below) is a writer and curator; she is also a Lecturer at Aberystwyth School of Art and has helped to put together this event. For ‘Out of the Frame’ she will be presenting a piece of new writing inspired by one of the artworks in the exhibition, alongside a sculptural intervention created in dialogue with Catrin Webster.
Abid Hussain is an emerging visual artist and a practice based researcher, based in Wales. He went to Aberystwyth University and completed his professional training as a practitioner at the School of Art there. Abid has exhibited at several locations including Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and the British Museum. His work often explores the relationships between bodies and spaces.
Abid writes: “My art practice is a living and breathing organism, that is guiding me in return for providing nourishment and protection. It lingers ‘outside’ or ‘in-between’ the established boundaries of installation, sculpture, painting, film and performance art. Currently I am particularly drawn to examine the relationship between ‘minoritised’ bodies and ‘majoritised’ spaces.”
Tomos Williams will present a new piece especially developed for Out of the Frame. Tomos is a Welsh artist and maker based in Cardiff. Trained as a musician, he has been focussing on his art practice since the early 2000s.
Tomos has made and exhibited relief prints (examples held in the collection of the School of Art, Aberystwyth University), animated text, book works and fabric work. In addition he has performed his writing at Chapter and at the Wales in Venice venue during the Biennale in 2015.
He is currently looking at Welsh quilts and Shetland Lace knitting and developing his ideas about the relationships between stitch and place.
Jane Hoy of Queer Tales from Wales will present stories about the characters beyond the frame of some of the artworks. Brought to life by performers Simon Robson and Elin Haf. And the Ladies of Llangollen will make an appearance in the guise of Jane and her partner Helen Sandler.
Jane is a writer and researcher of short stories and performances about Queer people from Welsh History. She is one of the programmers of Aberration and a latin and ballroom dancer.
Latest update on timings: Doors open at 6.30 pm, with talks starting from 7pm.
Friday 13 June 2025:Queer Lit Quarterly returns to Aberystwyth Arts Centre with four fascinating authors of fiction and non-fiction. Arranged by Gayberystwyth Books and supported by Aberration, this is the LGBTQ+ night for all you book lovers! £8 (inc booking fee)
Each author will read from and talk about their books and take audience questions. You will also have the chance to buy signed copies of the books. An enjoyable evening in the company of fascinating writers and friendly book lovers.
Friday 20 June from 5pm: Gayberystwyth Books (Aberystwyth Market Hall) present this special event. Mike Parker and Norena Shopland launch a new edition of a milestone in Welsh LGBTQ+ literature, TheSummer Flood by Goronwy Rees.
Norena Shopland and Mike Parker will be here to talk about their work, research and contributions to this new publication of ‘THE SUMMER FLOOD’ by Goronwy Rees.
This is an exclusive opportunity to get your hands on this fascinating book PRE-PUBLICATION! (To be officially published July 2025 by Parthian Books).
Why is this book important in queer literature? As in the author’s own life, the characters in this novel by Goronwy Rees struggle with bisexual attractions at a time when they could not be open about their lives and loves. A new edition is a cause for celebration and reassessment.
The book with a foreword and critical analysis by Mike Parker and afterword by Norena Shopland will be available to buy on the night, pre-release (officially available early July).
Norena writes: “When Goronwy Rees published his novel The Summer Flood in 1932 it disappeared almost immediately, and original copies are rarer than hen’s teeth. Now, Parthian Books is republishing what has turned out to be an important work in queer literature.”
