In order to maintain safety, the Exeter Pride Committee decided to keep Pride online in May 2021, and we were excited to join forces to celebrate Exeter Pride Month with them. RAMM usually has a stall in Rougemont Gardens for Exeter Pride, so we thought that creating a programme of events would remind us all of what Pride means to us and allow us to spend some time together online! You can find the full programme of events and catch up with some of the recorded sessions below.
Welcome – What Does Pride Mean to You?
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Join Natalie McGrath, Prof Jana Funke, and Ellie Coleman to launch our collaboration with Exeter Pride. Hear from the Exeter Pride Committee about what Pride means to the queer, trans and non-binary community in Exeter and beyond, and what else they have in store for us as part of this year’s celebration.
We will also be joined by Sharifa Hashem Al Hashemy (Head of Diversity and Inclusion, SWASFT) to honour the contributions of NHS workers during this time of global pandemic.
Finally, we will introduce our three new commissioned artists, Shiri Shah, Sachal Khan and Rushaa Louise Hamid, who will be presenting their new artistic responses to RAMM’s collection at an event on the 27th May 2021.
Don’t forget to also visit our YouTube Channel for another opportunity to watch the work by Oren Shoesmith, Caleb Parkin, Charice Bhardwaj and Carina Miles.
You can also learn how to make a Pride inspired cocktail by Exeter Phoenix’s amazing Adam. More details will be announced soon!
Queer & Still Here: Writing for Performance Workshop (£3 + booking fee)
2 pm – 3:30 pm
Join poet and performer Chris White, and spoken-word artists Jasmine Gardosi & Charice Bhardwaj for a fun, dynamic online session exploring writing for performance. We’ll talk about how to write and prepare for different types of performance as well as how to bring our own words to life, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ artists and how we amplify our unique queer voices. A chance to share work and learn new performance techniques.
Open to all LGBTQ+ artists, poets, writers and anybody who speaks their words out loud, of any experience or ability.
This is an externally hosted event. Please follow the link to book for more info and to book your tickets.
Queering the RAMM
3:30 pm – 5 pm
What can the RAMM collections tell us about LGBTQ+ history and heritage?
The brilliant team of Out and About researchers will share some of their discoveries from RAMM’s collections to explore LGBTQ+ history and heritage. Join us to find out how objects and artefacts can resonate with LGBTQ+ people today and offer insights into our histories. One particular focus of this session will be queer and trans perspectives on the natural world! There will also be time to ask questions and discuss what queering the museum might mean to you.
The event will be introduced by Prof Jana Funke (University of Exeter).
The Great Queer Book-Off
5 pm – 6 pm
Instead of icing cakes, our four contestants will be sugar-spinning wonderful words to convince you, the audience, that their book review is the best, thereby winning them the title of ‘British Queer Bookoff Champion’ and a copy of Mr Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo. There will also be a book-related prize for best question from an audience member! This event will be hosted by Exeter Pride’s Katie Moudry.
Interested in being one of the contestants? Email Katie at k.moudry@exeterpride.co.uk.
Really like the book off idea. We need fresh ideas like this and the encouragement to come up with new questions.
The whole thing is thoughtful. Hope it is rich and rewarding for everyone.