Queer Correspondence Project Revives Mail Art History for LGBT Communities During Pandemic

In London, Cell Project Space introduced Queer Correspondence, an initiative that runs until December 2020, which invites artists to engage in creative exchanges via mail within their queer communities as a response to the COVID-19 lockdowns. The project saw its first commission from artists Alex Margo Arden and Caspar Heinemann in June, followed by contributions from Beatriz Cortez and Kang Seung Lee in July, with editions sent monthly to 500 subscribers. This endeavor draws from the history of mail art, tracing back to Marcel Duchamp's postcards and Wallace Berman's 1957 exhibition at Ferus Gallery, which resulted in his arrest. Gelare Khoshgozaran's stamps featured in Queer Correspondence emphasize how postal privacy provided solace from censorship and isolation prior to the rise of digital communication.