Craftwork, Social Change, and the Needs of Older Gay Men

Richard Bliss is an artist and tailor based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the North-East of England. He currently has an exhibition of work on display at Bishop Auckland Town Hall in County Durham called ‘The Quest for the Perfect Shirt’. We recorded this episode in person with Richard in one of the galleries, and thank the curator, Debbie Connell, for making this possible.

In our discussion Richard explains how he, as a gay man, seeks to understand masculinity and men’s lives through the process of making shirts, often in public places or community settings, reflecting and responding to conversations with individuals or groups. He guides us through the exhibition, telling us about some of the pieces, the ideas behind them, what they say about contemporary expectations of manhood, how they relate to his own experiences, and the contradictions of a man practising textile art and tailoring and using it as a way to engage with other men.

• You can visit ‘The Quest for the Perfect Shirt’ at Bishop Auckland Town Hall until Thursday 30th November 2023: https://bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk/gallery/current-exhibition/
• You can view photos of many of the shirts from the exhibition on Richard’s Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/richard_bliss_newcastle_/
• Or his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/richardne001
• There is more information about Richard and his work here: https://www.richardbliss.co.uk

A second exhibition by Richard, ‘Workers’ Thread’, celebrates the contribution of working-class women and men to the history of County Durham, and is also on display in the Town Hall. We refer briefly to this at the end our conversation, and to the ‘The Mural of the Durham Miners’ Gala’ by Norman Cornish, which occupies a whole wall there.  

We discuss the following topics in this episode:

• Why the exhibition is named ‘The Quest for the Perfect Shirt’ (01:25-06:38)
• Richard’s methods and why he uses shirts as his medium (06:38-11:04)
• Tailoring in public space and talking to people about masculinity (11:04-13:42)
• What Richard has learnt from the process (13:42-17:18)
• Favourite pieces from the exhibition – e.g. working with homeless men (17:18-24:14)
• The complexities of identity: being gay and being Jewish (24:14-30:50)
• Men and power at work (e.g. former Liberal Party politician David Steel) (30:50-36:53)
• How Richard got into textile art and tailoring (36:53-39:45)
• Ties and gendered power in clothing (39:45-42:41)
• Art and its social impact (e.g. Grayson Perry, author of ‘The Descent of Man’, 2021) (42:41-45:04)
• The influence of Durham and North East England, e.g. its working-class, trade union, mining history (45:04-50:01)
• Why the exhibition is in Bishop Auckland (50:01-55:28)
• Thinking about the future, and Richard’s next project on older gay men (55:28-59:55)

For more information about the unique collection of galleries and gardens that make up the still developing ‘Auckland Project’ in Bishop Auckland including the Spanish Gallery, the Faith Museum, the Castle, the Mining Art Gallery, and the Deer Park, see: https://aucklandproject.org