Free entry
QUEER
Stories from the NGV Collection
NGV International, Level 3“Queer as a concept runs against all definitions, all fixed meaning, forever questioning, redeploying, twisting terms, texts and itself from conventional usage.” Christoph Ribbat, Professor of American Studies at the Universität Paderborn in Germany, and author of Queer and Straight Photography, published in the journal ‘Amerikastudien’, 2001.
QUEER shines a light on the NGV Collection to examine and reveal the queer stories works of art can tell. This exhibition of works from the NGV Collection spans historical eras and diverse media including painting, drawing, photography, decorative arts, fashion, video, sculpture, and design and explores queerness as an expression of sexuality and gender, a political movement, a sensibility, and as an attitude that defies fixed definition.
Rather than attempting to provide an definitive history of queer art, the exhibition explores the NGV Collection from a queer perspective, presenting and interpreting queer concepts and stories. Many works in the exhibition are by artists who identify as queer; some are by artists who lived in times when such identification was not possible; and some works are not by queer artists but have a connection to queer histories. The exhibition highlights that queerness is intersectional, and that LGBTQ+ rights are interwoven with other political and equality movements. Beyond exploring new layers of interpretation and reinvestigating conventional narratives, this exhibition also considers absences in the NGV Collection itself, by excavating queer history where it has been omitted or eclipsed, through oversight or intent.
QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection includes approximately 400 artworks from antiquity to the present day, making the exhibition the most historically expansive thematic presentation of its kind ever presented by an Australian art institution.
QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection is accompanied by a major publication, as well as a diverse range of programs and events.
The curatorial team thanks the many LGBTQ+ and queer organisations and community members who provided invaluable insight and feedback during the development of this exhibition.
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Design notes
The Rainbow Flag
The cover of Queer: Stories from the NGV Collection references an iconic design in LGBTQ+ graphic history: the rainbow flag, which was conceived by artist and designer Gilbert Baker in 1978. Since the flag’s inception, there have been numerous revisions made to Baker’s original design to further represent marginalised members of the LGBTQ+ community, including people who identify as transgender and people of colour.
The Dover Serif Typeface
Dover Serif by queer type designer Robin Mientjes, is an exploration on the classic serif types. The type family is part of a research outcome Mientjes started in 2012, it is a revival of Caslon — an old style serif typically used for book setting.
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QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection embraces the many associations of queerness as it is understood, experienced, and expressed in art, both now… Read more
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