INTERVIEW
MUST-SEE STORIES: REIMAGINING PRIDE
JAMIE TAYLOR TALKS TO THREE ARTISTS WHOSE WORK RESPONDS TO THEIR EXPERIENCES OF PRIDE, AND DISCOVERS ACTIVISM, INCLUSIVITY AND QUIETER VOICES HAVE INCREASINGLY BEEN LEFT OUT OF THE CONVERSATION Must-see Stories by Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums is a digital editorial platform which explores diverse stories from the region and paves a way for oral histories. The platform kicks off with a collaboration with Curious Arts, commissioning six LGBTQIA+ artists to respond to their experiences of Pride. As an outsider looking in, Pride has always been an event that I’ve thought of as a celebration of inclusivity, but after speaking to three of the creatives involved in the project, it’s clear that view isn’t quite as universal as I
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expected. My education began when I sat down with ‘not quite drag artist’ and theatre producer JG Tansley (aka Dandysocpic) to talk about their piece, IN//OF BLOOM. JG has written a collection of poems, stories and essays which look at ‘quiet pride’ and the secret ways queer people have communicated their existence ‘on the down low’. The title draws its inspiration from the way flowers have been used in the past to signify queerness and their work explores the idea of
