It’s over forty years since the first Pride event in our City and, though much has changed in the daily lives of lesbian, gay and trans people, coming out can still be a challenging prospect. Into The Outside: The Next Chapter, a new exhibition at Brighton’s Jubilee Library, showcases artworks by a collective of local LGBTQ+ people, aged between 13 and 25. The young participants, recruited via an open call in schools and on social media, have produced pieces in response to a series of workshops and research sessions exploring the history of the community in the last fifty years.
The project has been facilitated by local agency Photoworks, who also organise the Brighton Photo Biennial. Juliette Buss, Photoworks’ learning and participation curator, explains that the project provides ‘a valuable opportunity to help local young people feel more connected with their city and enable them to explore, make sense of, and value the legacy of their cultural heritage.’
The show also includes elements of an LGBTQ+ archive, newly created for Brighton, which incorporates writing, photography and sound recordings. Visitors to the show can explore and enjoy this unique dialogue between young people and fifty years of history within their community.
Into The Outside: The Next Chapter, Jubilee Library
Preview event: Thursday 2nd February 2017, 5-6.30
Exhibition runs 3rd February – 19th March 2017, during library opening times
intotheoutsidebrighton.tumblr.com
Images: Saskia Grundmann (boots), Caitlin Kentish (corridor), Mally Lintott (anime self portrait)