WELCOME TO QUEER CUMBRIA!

Queer Cumbria CIC is a collective of Queer people from Cumbria, all of us are rooted in our local communities and are passionate about empowering and enabling Queer people to create the positive change needed not only for LGBTQ+ people but for all those effected by inequality and marginalisation. We are guided by our community and understand the complexities of intersectional Queer identities, because we live the experience.

Young people feed directly into the work we do. We are not a youth group but we aim to empower young people by platforming their voice and by championing youth culture. We are steered by our 18-25 year old participants and have young people on our board. We have collaborated with The Museum of Youth Culture as well as local youth organisations such as Carlisle Youth Zone and Always Another Way, working to support their LGBTQ+ youth groups.

We have worked as creatives, youth workers, journalists, healthcare professionals and producers over many years and recognise a need for unapologetic Queer representation to connect us all as a community across all aspects of our society.

The time of Queer people seeking the acceptance of others is over, we believe Queerness should be celebrated, so thats what we do.

We want voice and visibility. Our community magazine provides an alternative platform which represents Queer issues, whilst supporting Queer creatives. Queer Cumbria magazine is available both online and in print, with copies given out free to cafes and event spaces across the county.

We create events across Cumbria for Queer and marginalised folks to come together to socialise, build solidarity and have a nice time! We collaborate with National Portfolio Organisations including Homotopia, Tullie, Rosehill, Cumbria Arts & Culture Network and Signal Film and Media. As well as amazing grassroots groups, LGBTQ+ organisations and Cumberland Council.

We recognise that artists in Cumbria have been undervalued and disempowered for a long time, particularly Queer and working class creatives and young artists. We are particularly passionate about the meeting point of creative arts, advocacy and social justice and many of our projects are built around these themes. We are always trying to give opportunities to outsider artists, such as our current Queer Artist Mentor Scheme, funded by Arts Council England.

With support from The National Lottery Awards for All, we were able to open our Solidarity Arts Hub in Carlisle in 2024 – The Closet is a tiny gallery and workshop space that hosts monthly and weekly groups, activities and exhibitions including Book Club, Writers Group, Weird Art Club, Creative Mending and Zine Making. We also host exhibitions such as ‘Queer Originals’ a fashion project with textile artist Dr Noki, and ‘Gender Euphoria’ a collective show for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming artists.

We are not a political campaign group but we are dedicated to having the difficult conversations with people in power to ensure that Queer people and Cumbrians are given a place at decision making tables. We believe that real change only happens when it starts at the root of the problem, which means challenging power imbalances and systemic inequality. We can only do that by having constructive and frank conversations with decision makers.

At a time when we are witnessing the systemic eradication of gender non-conforming people, it’s never been a more important time to challenge oppression.

Thats why, together with our partners Always Another Way and Rosehill, we started the Queer Cumbria Solidarity Network, an annual event that invites various sectors together including grassroots groups, NPOs, artists, LGBTQ+ groups, funders, police and councils. The network’s aim is to develop a strong and connected third sector and to challenge systemic issues and lack of representation for Queer people .

To sum it up – we just want Queer folks in Cumbria to know that the community is vast, powerful and beautiful. For a long time we haven’t really known about each other, many of us live in isolated areas and have had no shared spaces where we could meet each other. Our work over the last two years has shown that Queer Cumbrians are everywhere, and each one of you has something amazing to contribute.

Thanks for reading this far! Thanks for being an epic Queer Cumbrian.