A collaboration between BACKLIT Gallery and the British Film Institute, 86:26 explores queer history and heritage in Nottingham. Under the direction of CJ De Barra from the Notts Queer History Archive, the exhibition is taking place in the BACKLIT main gallery from 24 August until 30 August.
The exhibition is multidisciplinary, using archival material and photography in conjunction with queer East Midlands based films found in the BFI archive. CJ even took material from Alfred House, the former hosiery factory hosting the exhibition, explaining the packaging for underwear found was queer coded and can be used to understand Nottingham’s queer past. Gay Geography, an episode of Gay Life uncovering the iconic London nightclub Heaven is displayed during the exhibition and touches on shops that operated from within nightclubs such as Heaven. Pants found in Alfred House, alongside t-shirts and condoms, are amongst the items that would have been commonly sold in such shops. Exhibited at the start of 86:26, the ‘international man’ pants are a great introduction to what the exhibition is about, using archival material to apply a regional lens to queer history, and highlight Nottingham’s heritage within LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture.
Other material from the Notts Queer History Archive such as editions of Nottingham & East Midlands Lesbian Magazine and Gay Nottingham from the 1980s are displayed at the start of the exhibition and honour the LGBTQ+ communities in Nottingham that campaigned for recognition and rights. A collection of badges from the Notts Queer History Archive, spanning the 1970s until present day are also exhibited. ‘Nottingham Against Transphobia’, ‘Gay Pride ‘78’ and ‘Act up, Fight Back Fight AIDS’ are amongst the messages promoted and demonstrate Nottingham’s culture of LGBTQ+ activism. With Richard McCance in attendance at the exhibition preview, 86:26 also honours Nottingham pioneers for gay representation nationally.
Photographs are exhibited of Divine, the iconic American drag queen and singer, documenting their two Nottingham performances at both Part Two and Palais. The photographs by the Norwegian photographer Fin Serck-Hanssen are striking black and white shots, and their inclusion in the exhibition reminds viewers of the crucial Nottingham played in the queer nightlife scene.
In 1983 despite calls for him to keep his sexuality quiet and amidst the AIDS crisis, Richard McCance became the first out Nottingham gay councillor. He also started both Gay Nottingham and MetroGay which became sixteen page magazines in a circulation of 5,000, and provided space to LGBTQ+ news and issues when they were often ignored by mainstream media. As part of the exhibition preview McCance’s story was exhibited as a timeline, highlighting notable points such as his election in 1983, the 1987 Section 28 legislation and its subsequent revocation in 2003, and the death of his husband in 2020 following their marriage in 2017. A photo album accompanied, with photographs from his youth campaigning for homosexual equality. His presence was a poignant reminder of how recent this history is, and honoured his activism in Nottingham that reached a national scale.
More than a Journey and A Boy Called Mary are being screened as part of the exhibition, on Tuesday 25 August and Wednesday 26 August respectively. Trailers were shown throughout the preview on Monday night, and put a regional lens on queer history. More than a Journey is a lesbian film centring on a protagonist based in the Midlands searching for love, whilst A Boy Called Mary uncovers the life of Kris Kirk, a music journalist who studied at The University of Nottingham, where he founded its first Gay Liberation Society. Part of the BFI archive, CJ brings light to the local history that can be found in national archives, yet can be overshadowed by stories from cities like London and Manchester that often dominate the discourse. In showing films like More than a Journey and A Boy Called Mary that put local experiences on the screen, 86:26 felt very connected to Nottingham, and by consequence the viewers at the exhibition.
Similarly photographs are exhibited of Divine, the iconic American drag queen and singer, documenting their two Nottingham performances at both Part Two and Palais. The photographs by the Norwegian photographer Fin Serck-Hanssen are striking black and white shots, and their inclusion in the exhibition reminds viewers of the crucial Nottingham played in the queer nightlife scene.
86:26 is a poignant homage to Nottingham’s queer history and those who campaigned for gay equality in the 20th century. Through film, photography and physical material the exhibition brings to life the role Nottingham and its people played in its own queer culture, as well as on a national scale. Rather than let these items get lost or remain misunderstood, CJ and the Notts Queer History Archive have contextualised important parts of Nottingham’s LGBTQ+ history, helping to define Nottingham’s national role and represent local experiences.
BACKLIT is a Nottingham LBGTQ+ and female-led charity focused on promoting underrepresented artists. The Notts Queer History Archive is an archive dedicated to preserving Nottingham’s LGBTQ+ history through oral history transcripts, media and donated items. Go to cjdebarra.com to find out what’s on, to give an interview or donate to the archive.
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