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Co-commissioned by Northern Pride, Curious Arts and Creative Central NCL

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Over the last 3 years I’ve worked on a variety of commissions with LGBTQIA+ people in Teesdale, South Yorkshire and London on the theme of Pride. People I’ve talked to say Pride is amazing, galvanizing and exciting. They also say it’s overwhelming, draining, complicated and tiring.

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One person I spoke to summed this up with the statement ‘being visible is half, if not more, of the work’.

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So, my work for Northern Pride asks:

what resources, capacities and care do we need to find the energy, resilience & support to remain Unapologetically Visible?

 

I ask this particularly in current global and national political contexts which create an especially onerous burden on Unapologetically Visible LGBTQIA+ people who are multiply marginalised.

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To offer ways of navigating the emotional labour of being Unapologetically Visible, I’ve run workshop with local people asking: ‘What do we need to stay Unapologetically Visible in troubled times?’ Through these, attendees have shared ideas of what they find restorative, supportive, care filled and inspiring. Their ideas and suggestions have been woven together to create the installation which takes is name from a collage made during workshops Mwenza Blell. I hope the installation offers a space for pause, rest, connection and contemplation, amongst the action, activism, performance and celebration of Northern Pride.