Public and private lives collide in a new archive film exhibition
Published:
08 Sep 2021
The Palace International Film Festival present an archival tale of a community pushed to the margins.
A new archive film exhibition from The Palace International Film Festival is exploring the complex legacy of the Sexual Offences Act 1967. Queer & Indecent runs at Bricks Bristol from 3-15 September and is supported by National Lottery funding through our New Directions Programme.
The exhibition examines the impact of the Act which decriminalised some private homosexual acts, but simultaneously served to drive gay people out of the public space by imposing harsher punishments on unsanctioned behaviour. Drawing on footage made around and after the introduction of the Act, Queer & Indecent documents the changing lives of gay people from 1967 onwards. It charts their conflicting experiences of limited private freedoms and predominating public oppression, and the subsequent emergence of new, community-led spaces.
I believe that understanding the past gives clarity to the present, and the exhibition really speaks to that. It's exciting to be holding Queer & Indecent at Bricks. We are working together to create a welcoming and safe space where guests can interact with the exhibition, engage with discussions, and hopefully leave with something to think about. - Kate Fahy, Curator
Archive footage featured in the exhibition includes extracts from London Weekend Television’s landmark series Gay Life, and We Who Have Friends - a pioneering documentary from 1969 looking at the situation 2 years after the introduction of the Act when the issue of public visibility was still fraught.
Alongside the exhibition, curator Kate Fahy will host a panel discussion with local artists Tom Marshman and Cheryle Morgan focusing on queer history, spaces and community.
The Queer & Indecent exhibition is supported by National Lottery funding through our New Directions programme. For more information on how we can help your next project, contact our team or visit our Exhibition Funding landing page.
