Member Article

Queer Frontiers: Pride Exhibition raises £20,000 for LGBTQI+ causes and artists

Queer Frontiers, a Soho exhibition bringing together extraordinary artistic talent to raise money for LGBTQI+ artists and charitable causes, has raised more than £20,000 at the conclusion of its 2023 edition.

This year marked the fifth edition of Queer Frontiers, with the latest exhibition titled Queer Myths, Queer Futures, which featured new work by 25 LGBTQI+ artists and ally artists. The exhibition celebrated a vibrant spectrum of queer identities, histories and narratives. Since its inception, Queer Frontiers exhibitions have raised more than £65,000 for artists and LGBTQI+ causes.

Featured artists included Elio Mercer, Mazahir Hussain, Kevin Aanafi-Brown, Olivia Mansfield and Ernesto Romano, who was recently commissioned by Bankside Hotel to create a large artwork celebrating the King’s Coronation.

All proceeds will be split between the exhibition’s featured artists, and Rainbow Railroad, a global not-for-profit organisation that helps at-risk LGBTQI+ people around the world get to safety.

Patrick McCrae, CEO and co-founder of Artiq and Queer Frontiers says: “We’re delighted to have made this year’s Queer Frontiers our most successful exhibition to date. One of Artiq’s core objectives is to ensure all artists receive fair pay for their works, and we are also extremely proud to have raised funds for Rainbow Railroad, a charity dedicated to protecting our community in regions where oppression is state sponsored.

I would like to thank all of the featured artists for lending their considerable talents to this year’s exhibition, and to our sponsors and supporters Hiscox and Soho Estates, as well as the brilliant Artiq team, for making this exhibition possible.“

Dane Bland, Head of Development at Rainbow Railroad, said: “Not only did Queer Frontiers raise crucial, impactful funds to support Rainbow Railroad’s global programming, but moreover, it brought together a community of LGBTQI+ artists, supporters and allies in community with each other. These types of spaces are so important - and generate such meaningful support for the mission of Rainbow Railroad. We’re truly grateful.”

This year’s exhibition was sponsored by specialist insurance firm Hiscox, and supported by family-owned property company Soho Estates.

Andrew Sellers, Group Head of Claims Vendor Management at Hiscox says: “Queer frontiers is an important event to Hiscox, because we are celebrating a new generation of diverse artists whilst also raising money for Rainbow Railroad an incredible LGBTQ+ charity. As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community myself; and given the rapidly changing landscape of personal rights and freedoms, it’s never been more important to champion our communities and the talent within them”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dean Elliott .