About The Exhibition
Belfast Exposed is delighted to present Let Us Eat Cake by Anthony Luvera, an exhibition of photographs created over a 9 month period by the artist and LGBTQ+ people living across Northern Ireland. Let Us Eat Cake consists of a new series of Collaborative Self-Portraits, a limited edition publication, and an online blog charting the process of collaboration between Luvera and participants www.letuseatcake.blog
In 2017 the rights of LGBTQ+ people across the United Kingdom may appear to be equal and secure. However, in Northern Ireland today, marriage equality for queer people does not exist as it does elsewhere in the UK or in the Republic of Ireland. Reported homophobic hate crimes have risen year on year for almost a decade, and hate crime against trans people is not even accounted for within the law. Additionally, political activities taking place in Stormont related to LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, HIV and AIDS, and creationism, have contributed to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (a federation of campaigning organisations from 132 countries) to rate NI as the worst place for queer people in the United Kingdom.
As part of Let Us Eat Cake, Luvera worked with participants in workshops, meetings and through online platforms to compile research, create photographs and publish a blog that explores these issues, and reflect on what it means to be queer in Northern Ireland today.
Let Us Eat Cake celebrates the LGBTQ+ communities of Northern Ireland, calling into question issues of identity, representation and equality.
The Artists
Anthony Luvera
Anthony Luvera is an Australian artist, writer and educator based in London. His work has been exhibited widely in galleries, public spaces and festivals, including the British Museum, London Underground’s Art on the Underground, National Portrait Gallery London, Belfast Exposed Photography, Australian Centre for Photography, PhotoIreland, Malmö Fotobiennal, Goa International Photography Festival, and Les Rencontres D’Arles Photographie. His writing appears regularly in a wide range of publications including Photoworks, Source and Photographies. Anthony is Principal Lecturer and Course Director of MA Photography and Collaboration at Coventry University. He designs education and mentorship programmes, facilitates workshops, and gives lectures for the public education departments of the National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts, The Photographers’ Gallery, Photofusion, Barbican Art Gallery, and community photography projects across the UK.
Events
Friday 10 November | 5.30pm-7pm | Belfast Exposed
Free AdmissionFriday 24 November | 11am-3pm | Belfast Exposed
Free AdmissionAcknowledgements
Let Us Eat Cake is part of ‘LGBTQ Visions of Peace in a Society Emerging from Conflict’ funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS), led by Dr Fidelma Ashe (Ulster University) with Dr Catherine Gander (formerly Queen’s University Belfast, now Maynooth University) and Dr Steffi Lehner (Queen’s University Belfast).