MY POP LIFE MEDIA RELEASE 04/2026

MEDIA RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gay artist and CSA survivor reclaims pop culture and pride in bold new exhibition at the Victorian Pride Centre

A vibrant new exhibition celebrating LGBTIQA+ identity through the lens of pop culture has opened at the Victorian Pride Centre, with artist Brady Michaels inviting audiences into a world of colour, nostalgia and self-expression.

Presented as a series of digitally produced and hand-printed posters alongside an installation of personal artefacts, My Pop Life shares Michaels’ experience of coming of age as a queer teenager in late 1980s Tasmania.

Drawing on everything from celebrity culture to childhood nostalgia, the exhibition taps into a shared experience for many LGBTIQA+ people: growing up without clear representation – and finding fragments of themselves in pop icons, music and media. 

Using a remix methodology to revisit the past – and referencing the work of queer artists that came before him – My Pop Life transforms the Pride Centre’s gallery space into a playful, high-impact visual experience, drawing on the aesthetics of mass media, celebrity culture and personal memory to explore what it means to grow up, belong and be seen (or not) as a working class queer teen and survivor of childhood abuse in the 1980s. It is also a universal coming of age story that everyone can relate to and connect with, whatever their background and identity. 

“Pop culture was often the only place I could look to understand who I might become,” Michaels says. “This work is about reclaiming those influences and making them unapologetically queer.”

With its bold, highly visual style, My Pop Life is designed for a generation raised on social media – where identity, aesthetics and self-expression are deeply intertwined – while also resonating with older audiences who recognise the coded ways queerness has historically appeared in pop culture.

Beyond its vibrant surface, the exhibition poses deeper questions about visibility and ownership: who gets to shape culture, whose stories are amplified, and how queer communities continue to redefine both.

Exhibition details:

My Pop Life by Brady Michaels
Exhibition open until 19 April 2026
Victorian Pride Centre Gallery
79-81 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
Sat 10am-5pm

Artists’ statement: https://pridecentre.org.au/pride-gallery/my-pop-life/

Artist website: https://thegentsaustralia.com/pages/brady-michaels-art

Media opportunities:

• Artist interviews
• Filming at the Pride Centre

Media contact:
Brady Michaels
0430 111 061
gday@thegentsaustralia.com