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Photo of the necropolis in Glasgow on a cloudy day.
21 August 2026

How to Bury a Hospital: Listening for the Ghosts of a Glasgow Institution

Chaoying Rao Madi Awadalla

An excavation of the 1805 Lock Hospital in Glasgow. Its official function was to support ‘unfortunate females with venereal disease’, but really what happened was that women and girls were marched in, experimented on, and often never released.

Hard Labour
The ‘bag of trouble’ girl used for adverts against venereal diseases during WII is mirrored on each side of this banner, her gaze unflinching with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. A frilly loveheart is in the middle, with the silhouette of an umbrella in it. Above are the words ‘Resistance Renewed’ and below ‘Art / S*x / Work / Activism’.
23 August 2026

Resistance Renewed: Art / S*x / Work / Activism

Chaoying Rao

A whistle stop tour of visual and material culture that has anchored the sex workers rights movement through the decades until today.

Hard Labour
Two people sit on a sofa facing each other, they are licking cakes in an exaggerated manner. There is text on the image. It reads "If words are magic, and therefore speaking is akin to weaving spells, then what is lying?"
25 November 2023
Conway Hall

Book Launch: Truth and Lies (London)

Marin Scarlett Lib Lobberson ZuZu Gabrielli Maedb Joy Black Venus Chaoying Rao

An evening extravaganza celebrating the London launch of Truth & Lies: an Anthology of Writing and Art by Sex Workers

Expect slutty DJs, playful performances, stripper poles, rococo cakes, union broads and intimate readings…

A person sits on a bench in a relaxed position in a dimly lit room. They are wearing a lace bra.
Book

Truth and Lies – An Anthology of Writing and Art by Sex Workers

Lib Lobberson Marin Scarlett Payola E ZuZu Gabrielli Chardonnay Rab Green Chaoying Rao Heather Ashleigh Williams (BABEWORLD) Jet Moon Estella Clarke

The Truth and Lies book project emerges as part of a rising tide of sex worker art and organised struggle to end criminalisation and stigmatisation of sex work.