Exploring the personal stories of Chichester's LGBTQ+ community and beyond
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It also personalises it with the inclusion of number of items belonging to individuals, significant in their own personal histories.
Stuart Burrows, chair of Chichester Pride, is delighted to have been able to include his coming-out letter to his parents from 30 years ago: “After my mum died I found it among her papers. It's two pages of A4 and I feel proud of it. It was a different time. The context was the mid-90s when there was a lot more fear and a lot more prejudice particularly against gay men.
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Hide Ad“But I was tired of lying to my parents essentially, of having to say that I was going to see a friend when I was actually going to see a partner. I just felt that I needed to be honest to the two people that meant the most to me. I rang them that evening, and the first thing that my mum said to me was ‘You have given us a surprise!’ I was not there to see it but my father took some time to read it and my mum made him read it a number of times but the lovely thing is that their response to me was that they just wanted me to be happy. They came to my wedding ten years ago and they just couldn't have been happier to see me happy with the person that I love.
“We were talking about personal items for inclusion from the community for the exhibition, and I thought of this letter. I think it just encapsulates how hard it was to write a letter like that but also how honest and compassionate I wanted to be. And I wouldn't change a word of it now. I wanted to re-read it before passing it to the Novium but I really wouldn't change it. I feel proud of it. It's a piece of my past and it is a moment in time.”
It also shows just how much times have changed. As Stuart says: “This exhibition feels like a landmark. It really does. Within the exhibition there is a short history of Chichester Pride and we talk about the fact that (its founders) Dawn and Mel kicked off the whole thing over a cup of coffee, just saying wouldn't it be great if we could have a Chichester Pride. There were no gay venues or LGBTQ+ venues in Chichester at the time and there wasn't much support for somebody like Mel who was a trans woman.
“But if you now fast forward the six years from that coffee that Dawn and Mel had, they would be astonished. In those six years we have established great relationships with so many cultural organisations like Pallant House and Chichester Festival Theatre and the cathedral. They would just be astonished how far it has come in that time and how the support for the LGBTQ+ community in Chichester has changed. So it really does feel like a big moment that we now have this exhibition.
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Hide Ad“The Novium called us and wanted to collaborate on an exhibition which was fantastic. And they have really listened to what we wanted to be included. They have let us drive the narrative. We wanted to be able to focus on the local history and the local stories but also on education. We wanted to include educational resources. We talk about the history of Pride since the first one was established in New York in 1969. We look at the development of Pride and there is section on flags because flags are really important to our community. And there is a section on terminology that is used within the community. And then we've got the third strand in the exhibition which is these personal items.”
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