We’re proud to announce our partnership with Norwich Pride’s ‘Revolting’ exhibition at The Assembly House. A grassroots volunteer-led project, we were delighted to be invited to showcase posters, teeshirts and placards representing protest in Norwich spanning back over 40 years. All objects have been sourced from Norfolk Heritage Centre, which is working with Queer Norfolk to empower people to access, discover, and contribute to collections that reflect their shared histories.
Objects such as protest signs, AIDS crisis memorabilia, and Section 28 ephemera are displayed alongside contemporary works until Saturday 29th July 2023 at the Noverre Ballroom at The Assembly House, Theatre Streetm Norwich.
These objects bring context and remind us of the roots that came from the activist work of generations before us, and act as inspiration for how we can achieve queer liberation through collective action.
From the organisers:
“In celebration of Norwich Pride’s 15th anniversary, we want to honour how pride began… a protest. When the Stonewall riots erupted in 1969, gay prides began popping up all over the US and Europe. Although now we think of pride as a celebration of the queer community, a time to come together and fly the flag for the LGBTQIA+ population, pride has and always should be revered as a protest.
As Norwich Pride, we strive to continue our work in protecting the rights and lives of LGBTQIA+ people no matter their background, and to this day fight for queer revolution.
For Norwich Pride’s annual exhibition, we chose the theme queer activism history with the title ‘Revolting’. We want artists to respond to this theme by looking to their queer history, community, and experiences relating to demonstrations, protests, and politics. This could be inspired by historic events such as Section 28, the AIDS crisis, and the marriage equality act. It can also look at recent events such as conversion therapy, ‘the trans debate’, and the increase in violent hate crimes.“
Take a closer look at some of the objects on display:
‘We are Gentle Loving People’ placard (2022)
Proud Europeans T-Shirt (2019)
Queer Norfolk is a volunteer-led archiving project that hands ownership of queer collections back to communities, empowering people to access, discover, and contribute to local collections that reflect our shared histories.
