Open Tabs · 09.19.25
Welcome to the first edition of Open Tabs—projects, links, and notes worth saving this week across art, design, and lesbian creative culture.
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
Ally Pankiw’s new documentary revisits Sarah McLachlan’s all-female music festival and its cultural impact. It premiered at TIFF on September 13 and lands on Hulu this weekend. Cannot. Wait.
Full Dress by Freaks
Hudson-based studio Freaks debuts Full Dress, a lighting collection reframing historic skirted forms through a queer lens. Each lamp honors a vanished lesbian bar or cabaret like Maud’s, Mona’s, Le Monocle, Violetta, Lulu’s, Eldorado, and The Duchess. NEED.
NewFest Tickets Open
The 37th Annual NewFest brings 130+ queer films to NYC and streaming, October 9–21. Highlights (for me) include Dyke Night—eight sapphic shorts on lesbian longing—and QUEER AS PUNK, a documentary on Malaysia’s trans-led punk band, Shh…Diam!
The Case for Protopia
On The Femme Futurist Society podcast, Monika Bielskyte argues for Protopia: a future that’s slightly better every day. Unlike utopia or dystopia, Protopia is about incremental, realistic progress.
Gaza Biennale: From Gaza to the World
Born during the war, the Gaza Biennale unites artists resisting genocide with work that asserts art as survival.
Soft Worlds, Sharp Edges
At London Design Festival, Charlotte Taylor’s Soft Worlds, Sharp Edges replicates a bedroom, showcasing works by 37 female designers that blur softness and sharpness in design.
Lyle Gallery WLW Open Call
Shameless plug: this week we launched an open call for WLW designers and makers in collectible design, sculpture, and functional objects. We’re seeking lesbian, bi, femme-aligned nonbinary, and trans artists for 2025/26 projects. Apply here.
The Pearls Project
Archie Geotina “celebrates lost culture and the power of women dancing with mother ocean” in the project Pearls. From its 2021 release on Philippine Independence Day, the project has grown into a global celebration of women across seven countries.
Speaking of Surfing…A Casting Call for Surfers
Movement curator Eryn Danielle is seeking surfers worldwide for an upcoming project. I don’t know the details, but looks EXCITING.
The Rise of Knowledge Creators
We’re moving towards a new era of content creation rooted in knowledge rather than lifestyle. Interesting (and finally).
Brands as Patrons
Brands are commissioning artists like old-world patrons. Aesop recently tapped synesthetic painter Jack Coulter for a fragrance-inspired work, part of a larger wave of brand x artist collaborations I have seen lately.
Gorgeous pendant lights!