Rachel Prince (they/them), also known as Rat, is a curator and artist who graduated from The Ruskin School of Art in 2023 and now lives and works in Leeds.
Rachel embraces the admin and organisation involved in planning events and performances as a key part of their practice, at times enlisting the help of a character named Office Sue. One kind of performance they make is site-specific, never on stage, public but unannounced, or at least not announced as a performance. These performances can appear cryptic and understated but are careful and deliberate actions which challenge, protest and critique. Other times they perform in queer spaces, bringing a multimedia approach and a defiance of drag show conventions. They are interested in bringing drag into art exhibition spaces and contemporary art into drag shows, creating drag-based works which aren't confined to a stage, don't have a clear start and end, and sometimes incorporate video or installation art. They maintain an improvised dance practice which can be incorporated into performances, moving as a strange and seductive creature. The making and documenting of their performances gives rise to the creation of installation, text, sound and video works. Their work often references their queer identity (non-binary, ace-questioning, sort of pansexual, polyamorous) as well as their experiences of being objectified and harrassed.
Rachel curates performance-heavy shows which are both exhibitions and events. Boundaries between individual works are not clear cut, with performers moving across installations. Collaboration is a regular feature within their practice; for example, they regularly collaborate with artist and friend Meg Erridge, who shares their passion for performance-based interventions.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
• Cheque, Wharf Chambers, Leeds, 2025 (upcoming exhibition - curator)
• CLAYground, Centre for Live Art Yorkshire, Leeds, 2024 (collaborative peformance)
• Let Us See You, Aire Place Studios, Leeds, 2024
• Resonate Bodies, Fusion Arts, Oxford, 2023 (collaborative performance)
• Ruskin 2023, Ruskin School of Art, 2023 (degree show)
• The Art of Noises VIII, Modern Art Oxford, 2023 (performance)
• Spilt Milk, Fusion Arts, Oxford, 2023 (curator)
• Another Night at St John’s College, The Dolphin Gallery, St John’s College, Oxford, 2022 (solo)
• Spilt Milk, St John’s College, Oxford, 2022 (co-curator)