QUEER RAIL TRAIL!

Queer Cumbria have partnered with Community Rail Partnerships and Northern Trains to create a queer art trail across the norther train networks! We are working to install an A0 size piece of queer art in every station from Carlisle to Newcastle and Carlisle to Whitehaven. We want to celebrate the strength and talent of our diverse community and let queer people know they are visible and loved.

The art is due to be installed across June – August 2024 depending on funding for each phase and will feature QR codes that connect people with support organisations. There will also be a QR to a questionnaire to help us make the rail network feel safer for queer passengers.

We are running the project on very little budget. Queer Cumbria are working voluntarily to achieve the our ambitions and together with our friends at CRP we are raising funds to cover the printing of the art. We are determined that no station is missed! For that reason we cannot pay for submissions but we hope we can support young and emerging artists through sharing your work.

We are asking queer artists to submit a piece of work to be included in the rail trail. If you would like to be involved please feel free to send in some options in highest res possible (they are going to be printed big). We can’t promise to run every piece we receive in the first round, but will try to make sure everyone is represented either at a station or online. We are particularly interested in ensuring we are platforming work from global majority queer artists.

To meet the guidelines for Northern Rail, images cannot have brand names on them. They must not be sexual in nature or show nudity and please try to avoid lots of RED, cos it might make the triain driver do an emergency stop! Ta xx

Send to – QUEERCUMBRIA@GMAIL.COM / Subject – RAIL TRAIL / Deadline – 1st JUNE 2024

Art by Liv Collins – @livcollins.studios