During half term, I went for a chilly day out in Carlisle and had the pleasure of attending the Lavender Panic exhibition at the Free Radicals Hub on English Street.
Dedicated to promoting queer history, the exhibition was packed full of emotion, culture, and of course wonderful works of art, making the visit an excellent venture out to celebrate LGBTQ+ history month.
A collaboration between Stevie Westgarth, Jack Ward, Emily Ford, and Amy Tweedle; the
exhibit will run until the 26th of February where it will end with a spectacular “Big Gay Day”, which not only marks LGBTQ+ history month but also marks a brand new community archiving project.
This beautiful piece was masterminded by Katie Lock: an artist who gathers inspiration from the places people feel they reach through yoga and meditation. This mural was created with an impressive splash technique, and Katie states that this piece represents how we are able to ground our mind through our physical selves.
Another collection that caught my attention was that of Seren Shaw: a freelance mixed-
media artist who uses a range of materials through her art, including paints, embroidery, and printing.
Seren stated they hope to create “emotive scenes with no set subject matter- it’s all left down to the viewer”. She uses a stunning range of techniques and an emotive colour palette to convey the inspiration for their artwork- nature.
Emily Ford takes imagery from found footage and uses the landscape of the Solway to
create her piece, ‘Is it true?’.
This collection explores the tender reality of female relationships in the Victorian era, and uses bleak colouring and muted tones to symbolise the shame and silence around said relationships.
Overall, the exhibit is full of stunning, meaningful work from a diverse range of artists, as Free Radical Arts have once again hit the nail on the head with representation in our area.
Along with Pride In North Cumbria, the organization has encouraged and supported talented young artists, many of whom identify themselves as LGBTQ+.