"Punk's not dead babe, it's just going through some changes"

Epitomised by mohawks, body modifications, leather jackets and Dr. Martens, the punk movement arrived in London in the mid-1970s and spread like wildfire.

Although only shortlived, the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols was the nucleus of the countercultural movement - their 1976 debut single 'Anarchy in the U.K.' serving as a skeleton for the subculture's anti-establishment and nihilist narratives.

Offering more than hard-hitting music and fashion, the band's frontman John Lydon endeavoured to be a voice for the oppressed, serving the public hard-to-swallow pills about socio-political issues and corruption.

In his 2015 Life Stories interview with Piers Morgan, Lydon recalled unmasking truths in 1978 about Jimmy Savile's secreted seediness: "I did my bit, I said what I had to. I found myself being banned from BBC radio for quite a while, for my contentious behaviour. They wouldn't state this directly, there'd be other excuses."

Still alive and kicking, the subculture has gone through several rebirths over the last 50 years, adopting new socio-political causes to fight for along the way - two of those being the LGBTQ+ and feminist movements.

Earlier this year, the Tate Britain's retrospective exhibition, 'Women in Revolt!', attempted to unfold feminist history through the lens of art, showcasing over 100 artists' works from the 70s and 80s.

A corner of the exhibition was dedicated to this enmeshed history of the feminist, LGBTQ+ and punk movements, surveying the works of rebellious queer artists such as Del LaGrace Volcano and Rosy Martin.

South London native and self-proclaimed punk Liv Wynter is a former Tate residency artist who has been curating politically charged art, music and events for over 10 years. 

Although Wynter found the array of archival footage at the 'Women in Revolt!' exhibition inspiring, they said it failed to capture the dynamic energy of these movements. 

Wynter said: "I think we were presented with an archive that suggests the fight is over. Punk's not dead babe, it's just going through some changes. For me, punk and feminism are synonymous, and we run the risk of them being sold back to us through a distilled lens.

"Can the institution handle the blood, sweat and tears as they come fresh from the body, or can they only handle them once they are safely placed on a plinth or behind glass?"

Wynter began speaking out about their experiences of homelessness and domestic violence through the mediums of poetry and spoken word, later tapping into other forms of creative storytelling such as music and theatre.

Their most recent single 'VIOLENCE' is devoted to revolutionaries forced into violence in their struggles for emancipation.

Akin to their punk predecessors, Wynter is no stranger to having shows cancelled, but they revealed that the silencing has been most prevalent in the last year owing to their pro-Palestine position.

Despite this backlash, Wynter has stuck to their guns and still believes strongly that subculture can create revolutionary spaces that politically engage the masses and provoke change.

They expressed: "I have spent more than 10 years building communities that believe when we come together, we can change the world. From helping to open Star Refuge, the UK's first LGBTIQ+ domestic violence centre to shaking my ass in a thong in nightclubs, I have learnt we cannot wait to be invited to where we want to be.

"We must build the spaces and create the vision! The role of the artist is to help us all imagine a future. What is the point in showing me revolution, if I cannot see how I can play my part in it?"

Growing tired of the repetitiveness of DIY nights in London, Wynter launched the galvanising anarchist party How to Catch a Pig (HTCAP) two years ago.

The party was developed to cater to an audience and performers who do not identify with the existing nightlife landscape, to come together to network creatively, organise politically and inspire one another.

Wynter said: "HTCAP's stage is a big amalgamation of different things from punks. We tend to work with DIY punk bands and musicians, hip hop artists, sex workers, cabaret and drag performers - a bit of everything that the state or the mainstream doesn't like.

"It's a space for people who are made to feel small and shit by society all the time. It's for sex workers. It's for organisers. It's for people who are insane. It's for all of these people forced to have lives where they don't feel like they have community. I think a good pig party is where people can come alone yet feel part of something."

Owing to HTCAP's inherently political roots, a prerequisite for all artists and performers is that they are activists both on and off the stage.

Wynter explained: "We expect more from our artists than shouting stuff out on stage - that's a minimum. We also expect them to be super involved in the community, grassroots organising, and in direct action, collective work."

HTCAP's resident team includes DJs Sadqueersclub and Basura and artists Toby Evans Jesra and the Snail Man, who are responsible for creating the paper mache artworks peppered around the room at parties.

Since 2022, the HTCAP team has also been immersed in multiple outreach projects that cultivate local creative community practices and collective change.

Examples include hosting an exhibition in collaboration with the LGBTQI+ homeless shelter The Outside Project last year and supporting 27 homeless queer artists to commission new artworks, later presented at a three-day Halloween festival.

Another one of their community-focused initiatives is 'The Piggy Bank', which provides free rehearsal studio space for people wanting to start a band or learn how to DJ.

Explaining the concept behind 'The Piggy Bank', Wynter said: "We wanted to break down the hierarchy between stage and audience to make everyone feel like we're all on an equal playing field. We want everyone in the space to feel they have something to contribute and that we're all celebrating each other."

As an ode to Wynter's long-term relationship with poetry and spoken word, at the start of 2024, HTCAP inaugurated 'Writer's Bloc', an upskilling programme for people with no previous writing experience who want to learn how to pen and perform poetry.

At a time when funding for accessible cultural and community practices is so sparse, mobilising locally to fundraise on a grassroots level and share creative spaces and skills is a commendable act of resilience.

You can listen to the HTCAP Threads radio show below.

After months of planning and crowdfunding, HTCAP launched its very own community newspaper 'The Pig Catcher' on 12 July.

For the paper's first edition, 'Solidarity', 50 contributors from the pig catching community shed light on a plethora of topics that they hold dear to their hearts.

The idea emerged following the team's discussions and deep dive into the ways people historically used the arts and media to share their political message.

Inspired by the Black Panther Party's paper, the newspaper was considered a pathway to freedom of expression outside of the limits of goverment funded institutions and grants that might not be so favourable of their pro-Palestine stance.

Wynter added: "We're trying to take matters into our own hands and fundraise in different ways so we can make the work we want to make without feeling silenced or being concerned that there will be repercussions from funders and all of that shit. I also think it just makes people feel really connected to the project."

To celebrate the release of the second issue 'The Alternatives', HTCAP will be reconvening on 9 November in Bethnal Green for a full day packed with poetry readings and all things punk.