Entertainment

Grayson Perry to explore landmark life events in new series

He will explore how we celebrate rites of passage.
He will explore how we celebrate rites of passage.

Grayson Perry will explore birth, coming of age, marriage and death in a new factual series about the landmark events of life.

The show, with the working title Grayson Perry: Rites Of Passage, will see the artist try to reinvent the milestones for the secular age, travelling the world for inspiration and spending time in communities in the Amazon, Indonesia and Japan to try to devise ceremonies with British families to mark milestones in their lives.

Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2017 – London
Grayson Perry (Ian West/PA)

The four-part series on Channel 4 will see Perry work with people who are experiencing the landmark events to find out what they want and need from ceremonies and travel the world to see what he can learn from how other countries mark rites of passage.

The final result will involve a ceremony Perry will help the families design, as well as art objects he will make.

Red Women of the Year Awards – London
Grayson Perry (John Stillwell/PA)

The broadcaster has also commissioned a 90-minute one-off programme to explore gender-fluidity in the UK.

The show, which has the working title Genderquake, will examine the rising profile of gender-fluidity over the past five years and what it means for the future.

Ten young British people will live together for a week, with participants from the LGBTQ community representing modern definitions of gender and others representing more traditional identities as they take part in activities that help them explore their differing views.

The new commissions were announced at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.