IN CONVERSATION: Madonna Pop Icon

Join collector Jerry Kirbell and local drag artist Venus Mantrap as they discuss their passion for all things Madonna and the artist's impact in the queer community. 

Jerry Kirbell's love for Madonna, or M, began in 1984 with the release of her massive hit, ‘Holiday’ and the purchase of a Smash Hits Magazine featuring Madonna on its cover. Fast-forward 40 years and Jerry has met Madonna, attended countless live performances, run a fanzine in her honour, and collected ephemera from every aspect of her multi-faceted career. Madonna is a trailblazer, style icon, non-conformist, LGBTIQ+ supporting, female performer, and this is what draws Jerry to the Queen of Pop. This stalwart fan is as shocked as everyone else about how much he has managed to collect over the last 40 years!

Venus Mantrap is an androgynous construct whose roots are firmly planted in the world of drag. Exploring aspects of cabaret, performance-art and comedy during live shows, Mantrap has produced The Bowie Ball and starred in two one-person-shows: Life, Love and Lip Syncing and Valley of the Molls. Venus is the MC of Cabaret Voltaire, has been a featured artist at Glitterbox, LGBTIQ+ Elders Dance Club, Drag Cabaret and Finucane and Smith's touring show Dancehall. Venus is the producer of Six Degrees of Separation at Smith's Alternative and can be found each month as the presenter of Fright Night at the National Film and Sound Archive.

Image: Madonna's first front cover for Island magazine, 1983. From the collection of Jerry Kirbell