The REWIND<<FASTFORWARD>>RECORD (RFR) initiative is aimed at engaging with LGBTQ+ community groups on a national platform to uncover queer histories and expand their retelling and relevance through artistic interpretation. Through a series of talks, tours, workshops and personal accounts RFR will develop a body of creative responses to be presented as a touring exhibition to regional locations across the country.
As part of each regional exhibition, a further series of local talks and workshops will generate new creative responses expanding the material as it tours to each location. This cumulative material will form both a historical and a contemporary archive of hidden queer histories and current perspectives of RFR participants. RFR is an exploration of queer identity; past and present, and aims to connect us with both our history and our community.
The RFR pilot project will be realised in collaboration with Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride. This extensive phase sees Hannah Tiernan and Brendan Fox working with the Fatima Groups United - Out South Central LGBTQ+ group based in Dublin 8. Over the course of 6 weeks, they will coordinate a series of site visits, talks, and workshops to inform participants on local queer history and to generate artistic responses. To accompany the local queer history tours and talks, RFR sees the design and facilitation of creative workshops that enable participants to fully engage and respond to these histories as well as their own expressions of identity. The workshops will apply methods designed for the Games for Artists and Non-Artists programme.
These responses will then be exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin in conversation with their exhibition 'The Narrow Gate of the Here-and-Now: Queer Embodiment' and as part of IMMA's 2022 Outing The Past Festival programme. Taking place in IMMA’s Project Space, an active exhibition will showcase some of the work created with Fatima Groups United (Out South Central LGBTQ+ group). The exhibition will evolve further through our workshops and interactions with the public, artists, and performers.
Following the launch of the pilot exhibition, the work will be toured to regional hubs. Each hub will host the transforming exhibition for three weeks. During the first week of the exhibition, participants will be introduced to local queer history by way of a talk or tour followed by a creative workshop. In the second week, participants will be encouraged to reflect creatively on personal histories and identity through a second workshop. In the final week, the participants' responses will be exhibited alongside the original material. This phase will be realised with the assistance of Queer Culture Ireland (QCI), a cultural network established to promote and foster LGBTQ+ cultural engagement throughout the island of Ireland.
By better understanding our past, we can ensure a more visible and equal future.
