Gemma Rolls-Bentley, Author
Rolls-Bentley has been at the forefront of contemporary art for two decades, working passionately to champion diversity in the field. Her latest publication Art Essentials: Queer Art, coauthored with Mollie Barnes, was published by Thames & Hudson in April 2026. Her debut book Queer Art; From Canvas to Club and the Spaces Between is a Lambda Literary Award finalist and has been highlighted as a must-read by Them, Dazed, Timeout, The Guardian, Cultured and the FT. Her curatorial practice amplifies the work of female and queer artists and provides a platform for art that explores LGBTQIA+ identity. Gemma has curated for a range of international galleries and institutions, most recently Alice Austen House Museum, ICA London, Wolterton, and the Leslie Lohman Museum of Art. Gemma has taught at numerous institutions including the Royal College of Art, Glasgow School of Art, and Goldsmiths, and was a juror for the 2025 John Moore’s Painting Prize. She sits on the Courtauld Association Committee and the Leslie Lohman Museum Acquisitions Committee.
Mollie E. Barnes, Author
Barnes is a curator, researcher and writer focused on equitable access and representation in the arts, working across contemporary visual culture. She has curated exhibitions internationally, including for Yusto/Giner Gallery, Madrid (2023), Barbara Thumm Gallery, Berlin (2022), the Taurisano Collection, Rome (2021), Roman Road, London (2023). She is currently the Visual Arts Curator at Salisbury Cathedral. Her debut publication Art Essentials: Queer Art, was coauthored with Gemma Rolls-Bentley and was published by Thames & Hudson in April 2026.
Charlie Craggs, Host
Craggs is an award-winning trans activist, author and actress, called ‘the voice of a community’ by British Vogue, and crowned the influencer of the year at the British LGBT Awards, best known for her international campaign Nail Transphobia, her LAMBDA nominated book To My Trans Sisters and her groundbreaking BBC documentary Transitioning Teens. Charlie has topped the Guardian’s New Radicals list of social innovators in Britain, has fronted global campaigns for brands like The Body Shop, H&M and Selfridges, spoken at the Houses of Parliament, and most recently set up free self defence classes for trans people- Charlie’s Angels.