The Alice Austen House to present a new group exhibition She Sells Seashells from curator and writer Gemma Rolls-Bentley.
Inspired by the waterside home of pioneering American photographer Alice Austen and her lifelong
partner Gertrude Tate, the exhibition brings together 12 contemporary artists to explore the relationship between queer women and the seashore. New, existing, and site-specific works by the artists will be exhibited alongside Austen’s photographs and objects from her extensive shell collection, with pieces displayed throughout the gallery spaces and the historic domestic rooms of the home.
Exhibiting artists include: Alice Austen (1866–1952, New York, US), Ana Benaroya (b.1986, New York, US), Lola Flash (b.1959, Montclair, US), Jenna Gribbon (b.1978, Knoxville, US), Meryl Meisler (b.1951, New York, US), Alina Perez (b.1995, Miami, US), Marguerite Piard (b.1996, RueilMalmaison, France), Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings (b.1991, Newcastle / London, UK), Nastja Säde Rönkkö (b.1985, Helsinki, Finland), Ro Robertson (b.1984, Sunderland, UK), SHARP (b.1971, Bradford, UK), Alexandria Smith (New York, US)
Across art, literature, and film, queer women have long been depicted at the water’s edge— intimately connected to coastlines, tides, and the liminal space of the sea. From the stormy romance of Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire to the writing of Julia Armfield, Anne Carson, and Eileen Myles, these narratives evoke longing, isolation, and transformation. While promoting her 2022 novel Our Wives Under the Sea, Armfield wryly captured this trope when she asked, “What is it with these lesbians and why are they all so wet?” She Sells Seashells builds on this lineage, presenting work by contemporary artists that reflects on the seashore as a site of queer desire, connection, grief, and possibility.
The title also riffs on the familiar alliteration She Sells Seashells, widely believed to be inspired by Mary Anning, the 19th-century paleontologist from Lyme Regis, England. Just as Anning’s coastal landscape shaped her radical scientific legacy, the Staten Island shoreline shaped Austen’s photographic practice; She Sells Seashells draws connections between lesbian artists who reflect on their own relationships to the sea, from Austen’s American homeland to Anning’s British coast.
Gemma Rolls-Bentley states
“I was deeply moved when I first visited the Alice Austen House — it felt like an important and rare site of lesbian history, a place where that history lives and breathes. The waterside setting, and the relationship Alice shared with the sea, shaped a home where she, Gertrude, and their circle could be open and free with one another. I’m so excited to bring the work of intergenerational living artists from across the US and Europe into this space, placing their practices in conversation with Alice’s photography and the legacy of queer life that unfolded here. For me, there’s something in both Alice’s work and that of the artists in this show that sees the sea as a site of limitless potential — a space of opportunity, hope, and unconditional acceptance.”
Victoria Munro, Executive Director says
“Over the past decade, I have been exploring the connections between Alice Austen’s (1866-1952) photographic archive and the work of contemporary artists. Deeply rooted in the waterfront surroundings of her historic home and gardens, Alice created a radical retreat that became a sanctuary for her close circle of queer female friends. She documented the harbor waters prolifically, embracing swimming and sailing as part of her life.
I have long been fascinated by the broader lesbian relationship to the seaside and its role as a refuge for queer creativity and love. Collaborating with Gemma Rolls-Bentley has expanded these explorations into an international dialogue, allowing us to engage with artists whose work resonates with these themes. I am thrilled to welcome these visionary artists into Alice’s home and to present their work alongside hers, creating a powerful conversation across time and place.”
The exhibition continues Alice Austen House’s commitment to honoring the radical legacy of its namesake through contemporary exhibitions.
She Sells Seashells, September 6th, 2025 – February 21st, 2026, Alice Austen House, New York
Opening Reception: Picnic at the Lawn, Saturday, September 6th, 2025, 1PM-4PM
She Sells Seashells curated by Gemma Rolls-Bentley is supported by awards from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and the Teiger Foundation.
About
The Alice Austen House Museum fosters creative expression, explores personal identity, and educates and inspires the public through the interpretation of the photographs, life and historic home of American photographer, Alice Austen (1866-1952). The Alice Austen House is a living breathing photographic resource, providing a platform for contemporary photographers to explore Austen’s legacy and make connections to the place she called home. The Alice Austen House and its surrounding waterfront park are a nationally designated site of LGBTQ+ history. The museum centers the loving 55 year relationship between Alice Austen and her life partner Gertrude Tate, providing an important window into pre-Stonewall LGBTQ+ history and enriching our understanding of the important life and work of Alice Austen.
Gemma Rolls-Bentley has been at the forefront of contemporary art for almost two decades, working passionately to champion diversity in the field. Her debut book Queer Art: From Canvas to Club and the Spaces Between was published in Spring 2024 by Frances Lincoln and has been highlighted as a must-read by Them, Dazed, Timeout, The Guardian, Cultured, and the Financial Times. Her curatorial practice amplifies the work of female and queer artists and provides a platform for art that explores LGBTQIA+ identity.
Gemma has curated for a range of international galleries and institutions, most recently Carl Freedman Gallery, Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, Somerset House, the Tom of Finland Foundation, London Art Fair, and Kkweer Arts. In 2022, she curated the Brighton Beacon Collection, the largest permanent display of queer art in the UK, for Soho House Brighton. She has taught at numerous institutions including the Royal College of Art, the Glasgow School of Art, and Goldsmiths. She cochairs the board of trustees for the charity Queercircle and sits on both the Courtauld Association Committee and the Leslie Lohman Museum Acquisitions Committee.
