StoneCrabs’ Out On An Island project celebrated the launch of their Pride in Self, Pride in Place exhibition at Quay Arts recently.
Over 70 people attended the event and gave glowing and enthusiastic feedback, praising the displays as informative, important and touching, with one commenter saying they were ‘genuinely moved to tears’.
The exhibition will be in the West Gallery at Quay Arts until Sunday 16th March, and celebrates the diverse voices in and around the LGBTQ+ community. It encompasses the themes of reclaiming and preserving the hidden history of the LGBTQ+ community, which has often been systematically erased or silenced. This inclusive approach honours the resilience and legacy of those who bravely fought for LGBTQ+ rights, and also paves the way for a more historically informed and inclusive future for all.
Highlights from the exhibition include: the LGBTQ+ memorial quilt, curated by artists Dawn Fidler and Jenna Sabine and portraying a poignant insight into LGBTQ+ stories on the island; photographs and recordings of Isle of Wight residents who shared their experiences of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community as part of Out On An Island’s oral histories project; and a classroom installation representing school at the time of Clause 28 which was enacted in 1988 to prevent authorities from ‘promoting homosexuality’. A local teacher, Robin Ford, who taught on the island during this period, kindly attended the exhibition launch and wrote on the classroom’s blackboard.
The Pride in Self, Pride in Place exhibition aims to shine a light on Isle of Wight LGBTQ+ communities of the past and the present. The LGBT+ Trail Map of the island, designed by local artist Spike Spondike, shows significant figures associated with the island’s LGBTQ+ history, including Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf, while the oral histories illuminate the diverse experiences of the LGBTQ+ community over more recent years. Other objects on display – such as the development of the Pride flags throughout time, t-shirts from Pride events on the island, and a typewriter shown alongside extracts from local newspaper articles – represent the enduring presence of the LGBTQ+ community on the Isle of Wight.
Badge design competition
Over the month on display, workshops around LGBTQ+ awareness will be delivered to visiting schools. The island’s community and young people aged 5 to 18 are also invited to participate in a badge design competition around the themes of pride, respect, and equality. Three badge designs will be selected and produced to raise funds to support ongoing LGBTQ+ initiatives. Full details can be found on the StoneCrabs website here.
LGBT+ History Month
The theme for this year’s LGBT+ History Month is Activism and Social Change. History and heritage do not always provide an accurate and complete picture. People who have expressed gender diversity and queer desire have almost always fallen outside of the dominant narratives, leaving some to think that these individuals and groups did not exist. LGBT+ History Month is an important part of recognising and acknowledging these stories, providing a broader view of the past.
It is important to keep in mind that the legacy of those who bravely fought for LGBTQ+ rights belongs to those men and women who were out up to and including the Thatcher years. Many of those who would now consider themselves pioneers were securely in the closet until the later 1990s when attitudes became more relaxed and accepting. The real heroes are those who were prepared to stand up and be counted at a time when it might well have damaged their career and social standing and, indeed, risked physical attack. I am deighted for today’s young gay people that they do not have to face the dangers we did but that freedom only came about because a few brave and honest people were prepared to stand up and be counted and openly oppose the evils such as Clause 28.
Yawn,getting fed up with this pride crap,but then again its nice knowing how mentally unstable people are,with their silly rainbow flags!