Q&A - Charlie Craggs

Activist and Author Charlie talks to the feels about the power of conversation and her love of Chris Ofili

Photo credit - Vicky Grout

What does an average weekday look like for you?

There’s no average weekday for me, which is what I like best. I’m a Pisces.

What are the themes you often come back to in your work? 

Conversation is at the heart of everything I do. From my activism with nail transphobia, to my book To My Trans Sisters, to my BBC doc Transitioning Teens, to what I do on social media @charlie_craggs. Specifically bringing people into the conversation around LGBT (mainly trans) issues. My tone of voice as a working class person is intentional, to make sure I’m bringing as many people into that conversation as possible and not excluding anyone by using academic language that most people don’t understand. This extends to all the work I produce from books, to social media, to TV work, to activism.

Do you remember the first piece of art you saw yourself reflected in?   

Maybe Nan Goldin’s photography of queer people. I remember seeing it when I was doing my A-level Art coursework at my super homophobic all boys school, where I was really badly bullied for being LGBT. I didn’t really know anyone else LGBT so it was one of the first times I really saw people like me. 

What is a comfort piece of art for you?

Chris Ofili’s work has always spoken to me. A big part of the reason I got into Central Saint Martins was because when I was in sixth form, I did a widening participation course there for under-privileged boys (lol) who wanted to get into Fashion. We were tasked with designing work inspired by Chris’s work so he was the first artist I really explored deeply. I remember the first time I saw his work in person when he was showing at the Tate, I remember the feeling as I looked at his piece No Woman, No Cry about the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence. It was the first time I felt something looking at a piece of art. I’d not experienced that before, it was magic. It felt like a magic full circle moment when this year he painted a mural at that same building, Tate Britain, dedicated to my best friend Khadija Saye who was killed in Grenfell. I couldn’t have wished for anyone more fitting to paint her. I know she’d be honoured because she loved him too.

 How do you get in the creative/working zone when you’re feeling uninspired?

It’s so obvious but I listen to music that takes me to the place emotionally that I need to be to create work that resonates on that level. It’s all about energy.

Buy Charlie’s book To My Trans Sisters here.

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