Queer Heritage in Focus: Creative Callout

Queer Heritage South (QHS) began in 2012 and photography has been a key aspect of our growing collection. Capturing queer life from personal portraits to pride parades, from dancefloors to days out, photography mostly taken by non-professionals has preserved fleeting moments of an often fragile heritage.

POST is a newly established lens-based arts centre in Hove championing creativity, sustainability, education, and community. Through their diverse facilities – including artist work spaces, a high-spec photographic studio, B&W darkroom, gallery and photobook library – they offer a vibrant ecosystem for creators of all levels.

We would like to invite a socially engaged LGBTQIA+ photographer or collective to work with the QHS archive and other photographic archives in Brighton & Hove to create an exhibition of photographic material and archival displays.

This could be through a process of remixing, recontextualising or recreation – but please surprise us!

As part of this process we would like the photographer/collective to design and deliver:

• A series of LGBTQIA+ community facing workshops leading up to an exhibition and a series of events in Feb 2027. This process will be supported by Queer Heritage South producers.
• An exhibition of photographic material and archival displays at POST in Feb 2027
• Contribute to an events programmes accompanying the exhibition in Feb 2027

Budget:

• £5,000 Artist Fee
• £3,000 Material / Production Budget
• Access Costs agreed in collaboration with commissioned artist

Additionally POST and QHS will offer:

– Two days mentoring support from artists and co-directors of POST, Nina Emett and Simon Roberts

– Two and a half days Technical support at POST

– One month use of a hot desk at POST

– Use of the B&W darkroom at POST

– Use of workshops space, and exhibition space at POST

– Production support from QHS producers to run workshops

– Support from QHS Archivist to archive processes and outcomes of workshop and research

Residency would take place: Nov 2026 – Jan 2027

Exhibition outcomes completed for presentation on the following dates:

Thursday 25th Feb 2027 Launch Event

Friday 26th Feb 2027 Exhibition / Screening event / in conversation

Saturday 27th Feb 2027 Exhibition Open to the public

Sunday 28th Feb 2027 Exhibition Open to the public

How to apply:

• Send us a maximum 1 page proposal or a 2 min video/audio – including a short artist bio and addressing how you meet the criteria as detailed above to [email protected]
• Please include links to previous work

Find out more, download our brief, HERE. 

Deadline to apply:

Monday 1 June, 5pm.