Hey,

The time has come for a fully immersive exhibition into the world of writer, photographer & filmmaker Wade Radford.

'Someone Come on and Kill my dream' is a first and last show in terms of making original materials from twenty years worth of work available to the public who may or may not be familiar with Wade's work.

The exhibition is being closely supported by a curator who has spent many years in the industry, working with Radford to make the show a reality. The exhibition itself will run in the North East of England for 1-2 weeks, as a limited show. The event will also launch two new hardback books of Radford's 'Someone come on a kill my dream' (his anthology for all matters of life, love, loss and romance) and his punchy 'Burn it all down', poetry and prose for dystopia. Both books feature a huge amount of never before released modern work, as well as favourites from the last fifteen years of releases. Both books will be limited, hardback and beautifully curated.

The Exhibition itself -

On the opening night of the exhibition Wade will do a spoken word performance.

You'll step into Wade's world over three areas.

Photography - The original polaroid and 35mm photographs will be lent to the exhibition for the first time. Presented covering walls, you'll view hundreds of images, many bringing to life beautiful places that Wade has tried to preserve under the pressures of a society that continues to destroy the places, landscapes, and history that we cherish. These galleries are from 2017-2026, and preservation of safe spaces has always been Wade's concept for his photography.

Poetry - Presented on 'bedroom walls' you'll freely browse hand written poetry and prose, some of which have been preserved on type written sheets.

The movies - You will be able to place headphones on and calmly enjoy short films from Wade's 'Wade on 8 Series', all made using shot on video techniques and vintage cameras. These films contain spoken word, lgbt fictional themes, and some other 'out there' topics. Take a trip back to the 90s and Y2K and enjoy these heritage films.

While browsing you can listen to a soundscape of spoken word which will play softly in the background, Wade's voice accompanies sounds that carry you across different times spaces and landscapes.

Why we need support from concept to delivery:

Wade has always fundamentally been a grassroots artist, often over twenty years creating 'something from nothing'. He is one of the most prolific zine makers in the world, distributing his zines from home as well as donating thousands to museums, archives, libraries and universities. As a filmmaker he has navigated the challenges of censorship, and after dropping original distributors back in 2020 has taken control of his entire back catalogue and self distributed to followers ever since - always barely covering costs to make his work affordable to anyone!

Radford's work always carries a 'punk sensibility', the idea that no one because of class is excluded from joining in. His work speaks to the broken hearted, to the rage of those annoyed by a system that largely betrays them. It is hard to capture Wade in any one genre. From his LGBT film output, creating strong gay leads, to his protective photography of our sacred places, right through to the unabashed poetry, spoken word and prose.

We want to release all the originals and give passers by the chance to enjoy whether they are aware of the artist or not.

We need your help!

In modern times with the decline of physical media, and the effects on artists in an ever changing digital world, affording to put this show on with the bare resources available is just not attainable. We are hoping to find the support of those that have ever felt connected to Wade's work, or would like the chance to be able to support the show.

What do we mean by FIRST and LAST-

Even after twenty years of working, Wade has never had a show combining all his works into a space where people can freely (without time constraints) soak in the work. In 2027 Radford will move away from the outdated way of releasing and working, with new plans to move in other directions. So, this is the first show and the last. We aim to collate everything into this exhibition for a rare chance to see all the archives of work. Having a public show is not something Wade has before been concerned with due to his private, home working style of raw, grassroots rebellion. However, what better way to mark the end of this so far era, and a new beginning, than to put on this show.

What will the funds be used for -

We aim to run this show in April, or May, depending on fundraising targets and space availability.

In the event of this campaign not reaching its target, the monies raised will be put toward going forth with the release of the two hardback anthologies - if there is more money than the initial need of the cost of books, we will add extra features like dust covers or ribbons to make the release even more special.

Sadly, if we don't reach the goal, this means that we will not be able to run this exhibition to tie together twenty years of work, but the book publication will go ahead.

Thank you for considering to support Wade - the highest perk available for the biggest donor will be to have the entire show dedicated to your kind support (£8,000 will buy this perk). This will include a noticeable sign inside of the venue, as well as your name and support being noted in the shows programme and the two new books. The show and books will be dedicated to you.

other donors about 200.00 will receive their name in the thank you section at the back of the programme.