This year we’re delighted to be taking residence in The Assembly House again for Pride week. Our exhibition, curated by Rachel Collier-Wilson of Queerfest is called Passing Pride.
To apply to be part of the exhibition click here
The deadline for submission: Midnight on Sunday 14 June 2026
‘Passing Pride’
Pride began as a protest. Today, visibility is conditional.
Who passes? Who is protected? Who is policed?
Which forms of masculinity are rewarded, and which are erased?
Which forms of femininity are considered acceptable, and which are weaponised?
Across identities, we are pressured to conform to gender constructs in ways that make us legitimate, mainstream, and non-threatening. Passing can be survival. Passing can be a privilege. Passing can be camouflage. Passing can be a mask we don’t want to wear.
Passing Pride examines masculinity as armour, femininity as risk, and visibility as negotiation. It asks what we conceal to stay safe and what we reveal to feel validated.
Putting on a mask can be an act of protest.
Taking off a mask can be an act of truth.
Creating a mask can be an act of refusal.
This exhibition celebrates Queer art as protest and as pride.
Additional information –
Mediums:
The exhibition welcomes work across all artistic disciplines, including but not limited to:
Painting & Illustration
Photography
Sculpture & ceramics
Costume/clothing/textiles
Potentially performance
Potentially Digital
KEY DATES
- Deadline for submission: Midnight on Sunday 14 June 2026
- Informed of decision 21 June
- Work Delivered to the Assembly House – Monday 20 July 2 – 5pm
- Opening Event Tuesday 21 July 6 – 9 pm
- Collection of work Sunday 26 July 10am – 12pm If you are unable to deliver or collect your work, you must arrange someone to do this for you, we have no storage facilities, so unfortunately uncollected work will need to be discarded
Further Information
- There will be a hanging fee of £10 per artist, a concessionary rate, and free options for those on reduced income. Proceeds going to support Norwich Pride
- Work can be for sale, and we hope to have a small selling space for prints, cards and smaller works for participating artists. There will be a 25 % commission on any work sold to support Norwich Pride.
- Participating artists will be asked to contribute to invigilation of the exhibition.
Curation
Rachel Collier-Wilson (they/them) is a fine artist/printmaker and co-director of QueerFest Norwich
The Exhibition is kindly supported by Norwich University of the Arts and The Assembly House.
Norwich Pride 