An art exhibition celebrating the works of local LGBTIQ+ artists will launch at Newcastle Museum tonight.
Non-binary artist Jasmine Fletcher has curated Unabbreviated, showcasing the works of 32 creatives across a range of mediums.
Fletcher, who founded not-for-profit events organisation Queer and Now, is staging the exhibition through a 12-month scholarship with Roost Creative.
"Part of that scholarship was the opportunity to use the museum space for an event," Fletcher said. "I run Queer and Now which exists to showcase a broad range of queer arts. So I took the opportunity to create a queer focused exhibition."
Fletcher noted the city lacked a permanent space for the LGBTIQ+ community.
"Representation and visibility is really beneficial for the wellbeing of people that belong to these communities," they said. "I think being able to come together, share space, share art, meet each other and have those social connections is really important. It's also really inspiring for other queer artists that may not feel they have a voice or a space to belong to."
And while the exhibition features queer artists, Fletcher said it wasn't purely about identity. "The idea behind it being Unabbreviated was not pigeonholing the artist into submitting something about being queer," they said. "It was mainly to focus on the creative practice."
Newcastle deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen, who will help open the exhibition, said while he would love to see a permanent queer space in Newcastle, activating sites like the art gallery, museum and libraries created safe spaces to celebrate diversity.
"It's really helpful and important that we've got people like Jasmine bringing together the amazing variety of artists within this community to tell interesting stories," he said.
Newcastle Museum director Julie Baird said the exhibition will be displayed in the 'A Newcastle Story' gallery and linked to their annual program theme of 'Fluidity'.
"A Newcastle Story provides a space for Novocastrians and visitors to discover answers to how and why we are a distinct and fascinating community," she said. "It is necessary to acknowledge people who are not afforded the same rights for who they love, how they look or what they believe in. To exist outside the norm is the ultimate rebellion."
The exhibition launches at 6pm tonight and will run until July 31.
