WELCOME TO QUEER CUMBRIA!

Queer Cumbria CIC is Cumbria’s leading Queer arts organisation. We are a collective of young Queer people from across the county, all of us rooted in our local communities and passionate about empowering people to create positive change for all those effected by inequality and marginalisation.

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.

We want voice and visibility. Our community magazine provides an alternative platform which represents Queer issues, whilst supporting Queer creatives. It 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, Lakeland Arts, Rosehill, Cumbria Arts & Culture Network and Signal Film and Media. As well as amazing grassroots groups & LGBTQ+ organisations. We have recently been invited to advise institutions seeking to better understand Queer issues, to encourage wider social change.

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.

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 few years has shown that Queer Cumbrians are everywhere, and each one of you has something amazing to contribute.