'Gay Times (Manchester)' by Ben Walters
An original accidental collage by artist Ben Walters, created through a series of participatory Badge Cafe workshops and hand-selected by the artist himself.
The collage is made from pages cut from the May 1989 issue of Gay Times. Each piece bears the marks of its making — layered, paperclipped, and reimagined — capturing the spirit of collective creativity and queer world-building that runs through Ben’s wider practice.
Expertly framed by The Framing Room with a Sapele wood frame and AR/UV 70% glass.
H 35.5cm x W 29.5cm x D3.8cm
Ben Walters is the founder of Badge Cafe, a travelling creative project using badge-making as a playful tool for community connection, activism, and hope. Rooted in his PhD research on queer fun and DIY "hope machines," Badge Cafe has appeared at festivals, museums, archives, universities, and cultural events across the UK and internationally, supported by Arts Council England.
Alongside Badge Cafe, Ben’s visual art practice explores collage as a form of queer world-building — layering found materials to create alternative narratives and spaces of possibility.