How to Create Culture in the Club with Nadine Noor from Pxssy Palace

interview

14 Jun

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Nadine Noor is a DJ, cultural producer, consultant and head honcho at legendary clubnight, Pxssy Palace. Pxssy Palace has been instrumental in creating new standards for clubbing: fostering underground talent, particularly within black and brown, queer and trans people of colour and has revolutionised clubbing for the better.
Nadine and the Pxssy Palace team are committed to challenging the systemic issues that prevent many marginalised communities from feeling comfortable in club space by implementing policies such as gender-neutral bathrooms and a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination or harassment. They’ve also used their platform to raise awareness about issues such as police brutality, gentrification, and transphobia one club night at a time. Nadine sat down with Polyester to discuss the club as a revolutionary space.

If You Don’t Like Something, Don’t Pretend!

After moving to London and throwing themselves into the art world, Nadine was taken aback at how stuffy, boring and banal some aspects of the art world were. “I would go to art shows that people I knew were in and I would just lie and make up shit. I was convinced everyone was pretending to like the art.” They explain, “I would read the placard explaining the art and would be like, it doesn't even make sense! I felt like everyone around me was pretending that they understood what it said. I was thinking, these are all fucking liars!

Nadine recommends being honest about what you're interested in: “When I felt brave I started to admit it. Some art makes no sense. It felt freeing to admit it.” These cultural spaces are built in order to be inaccessible to many, by refusing to pretend that they felt at home in these institutions, Nadine now had the opportunity to create a space in an art world on their own terms.

The Club is an Art Gallery

Away from elitist galleries and preview shows that were just an excuse to try and outsmart one another with cultural references and drink free wine, Nadine could focus on where art can be actually applied in real life. The answer was right in front of them - the club.

It’s a natural follow on, in line with their work as a DJ and cultural producer, that Nadine champions these spaces as genuinely artistic. “I was thinking, what’s the best art gallery that I've ever been to? And straight away I knew it was the club. To go to the club you have to look at a poster, that poster has so much history and love behind it. It’s a piece of art on its own, then you've got the venue, which is this own institution and you have each artist there.” Nadine gushes, “There’s DJs doing sermons, there’s people dancing in their own way - that’s art in itself! Then there’s the lighting, the dry ice, the conversations you have in the smoking area or the toilets.”

The club is never taken as seriously as it should be, even though generations of party kids have enthused its importance, as once the night is passed the impact of the club may feel lost. But Nadine couldn’t disagree more: “The club has had more cultural impact than any artist I can think of!”

Clubbing is a Tool of Resistance

Pxssy Palace wants to ensure that they create a space that’s safe and Nadine stresses the importance of giving in to enjoying yourself. They explain that “Clubbing is seen as indulgent. Looking at marginalised people, and everyone else, we're all oppressed in this country. If you are experiencing joy, play, healthy dissociation, escapism, etc… that is a form of resistance!”

Nadine emphasises that it’s important to recognise that resistance doesn’t need to be rooted in negativity. The power of enjoying yourself in the face of adversity is an underused tool in our arsenal.

Carve Out Your Space on the Internet

As a temporary space which usually exists as a club for one night a month, Nadine comments on the importance of the internet when it comes to their practice: “We have to be online. Everything that anyone’s written about us is digital. Everything's been online. So without the internet Pxssy Palace would maybe not even be happening anymore. Maybe it wouldn't have not gone beyond a few club nights.”

While social media has previously amplified Pxssy Palace, Nadine brings up the censorship issues on Instagram that are causing the club night to suffer. “It’s this space that we all hate but have to use because we’re indebted to the algorithm. We're being punished all the time because what we post is too sexy! Has someone actually got their nipple out? No, but Instagram doesn’t care!”

Nadine notes that having a website for Pxssy Palace has revolutionised the reach of the clubnight. “Using Squarespace to make our own space on the internet is essential.” They rave, “We’ve used Squarespace to make our website feel like our house, a home. It’s where all the photos are from the previous events, our whole policy is on there, our FAQs. The Pussy Palace website is the bones of what we do. It's who we are. Instagram is basically a business card. The actual soul is on our website!”