Christ Church hosts first Pride Exhibition

Held in the Blue Boar Exhibition Space, the exhibition was organised by JCR LGBTQ+ Representatives Lucy Bradbury and Tallulah (‘Lula’) Flint, both second-year Biology students. Bringing together contributors from across the College and University, it showcased creative and academic work exploring LGBTQ+ identities, histories and experiences.

The exhibition featured works by students from Christ Church and the wider University, including photography by Ruby Wallace and Remy Billington, character design by Alfie Lockey, costume design by Clara Woodhead, and a zine display from Jasper Hopkins and The Green Carnations.

The exhibition also highlighted the research of Professor Charlotte Ross, Professor of Italian and Gender, whose work explores questions of gender, sexuality and representation. Ross advised Lucy and Lula during the planning of the exhibition.

Visitors also attended a talk by Heng Yi on queer law in Singapore.

Lucy and Lula said: ‘As members of the Christ Church community for the past two years, we recognised a lack of LGBTQ+ events open to people university-wide and that showcase the wonderful work of its members. For this reason, and with guidance from Charlotte Ross, Professor of Italian and Gender, we put together Christ Church's first Pride Exhibition.

‘The only opposition to hate is community. Christ Church and Oxford have a wonderful community of queer academics and artists, and we are proud to have created a space to celebrate them. We hope this exhibition inspires others around Oxford to raise queer voices.’

Professor Ross added: ‘It is really exciting to see student-led creative events like this that help to raise the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community here in College and across the University.’

The exhibition formed part of Christ Church’s Pride Month celebrations and was followed that evening by the College’s annual Pride Formal in Hall, where Lula spoke about the importance of Pride and the value of community. Organisers hope the exhibition will become an annual event, providing a platform for LGBTQ+ artists, researchers and advocates from across the Christ Church community and beyond.