Queer East An exhibition of work by East Anglian artists
February 9 – 19 February 2023
Main exhibition Open Friday 10th to Sunday 19th from 12am to 6pm (closed Monday & Tuesday)
A curated exhibition of Norfolk based artists who identify as LGBTQIA+
#QueerFestNorwich
I’ve always loved self portraits - Using self portraits is not about vanity but to understand, to analyse, to scrutinise, to expose vulnerability to validate. I love how women have used the throughout history to interrupt the male gaze and make bold statements about self image and value. I wanted with this exhibition to interrupt the heteronormative gaze. I think that was achieved quite nicely. 11 artists, 11 very different representations of self, all very beautifully diverse.
Press release
‘Out In The Picture’, curated by Rachel Collier-Wilson, is an exhibition of self-portraits by emerging and internationally established Norfolk based artists who identify as LGBT+.
Rachel explains; “I wanted to provide a space for artists who identify as LGBT+ to acknowledge their place in our rich and diverse history and to celebrate LGBT+ History Month.
“LGBT+ History Month is an annual event to celebrate and educate regarding diversity and inclusion. As LGBT+ people, we are often ‘othered’ or left out of the picture. The Out In the Picture exhibition provides a space where we can put ourselves in the frame. Artists play a vital part in documenting history and, through self-portraits, artists can site themselves wherever they want to be seen.”
The exhibition will show the work of several artists local to Norwich and Norfolk. Their work is as varied and diverse as society but they have all created portraiture and self-portraits as part of their practice.
As a public display of identity, Out In the Picture aims to validate and affirm alternative identities, potentially sparking new ideas in individual practice and supporting emerging artists. The artists are sharing images of themselves which include themes of gender, sexuality, gender dysphoria, mental health, combating stigma, masculine- and feminine-presenting folk and, of course, some fun and playfulness.
Together we make a strong contribution to the varied art scene in Norwich.
This weekend I had a stall at a couple of markets - but the one on Sunday has to be one of the most fun and bizarre! Kett’s fun day in Wymondham. I was invited along as I’m no stranger to drawing birds of pray, crows and rats! Very fitting for Tudor times. My stall was surrounded by people in costume, fire eaters, horses trotting around, the occasional bit of cannon fire, and a speech (on horseback) from Kett himself, encouraging the local peasants to mark onto Norwich to revolt. Oh, and I drew a goat. Great fun!
