JOY BLOG

17 Feb 2022

Callout for submissions – LGBTIQA+ Photography Exhibition

JOY has been working away in the last few months on a brilliant project in partnership with Monash Gallery of Art, Monash Council to elevate the voices and experiences of LGBTIQA+ young people through photography and audio art.

‘Being a voice’ is a public callout for LGBTIQA+ young people aged 15-25 who live, study, play or work in Monash to share their experience of being part of the rainbow community.

The callout will result in an explosion of photographs across Monash Gallery of Art’s Atrium Gallery walls that will be accompanied by audio recordings that explore the lived experiences of people in Monash, providing a cultural record of being part of the LGBTIQA+ community.

Photography and audio submissions for ‘Being a voice’ open on the 14^th of February and close 21^st of March before the official exhibition launch on Friday the 13^th of May. Interested participants will be able to submit their works to beingavoice.mga.org.au to be considered for exhibition.

As Australia’s largest LGBTIQA+ community radio station and media organisation, JOY is utilising our expert audio production team and connection to community to bring this project to life. JOY will help record and edit the audio submissions of rainbow young people to create an inspiring immersive audio experience for all at the gallery and online.

This project is in collaboration with JOY Media, Monash Gallery of Art (MGA) and Monash Council.

Monash Council established a LGBTIQA+ Advisory Committee in 2021 and is currently working towards the Rainbow Tick Accreditation. As part of this dedicated endeavour, this photography project aims to amplify the voices and provide leadership opportunities for our young LGBTIQA+ community.

Mayor Stuart James of Monash Council/City of Monash says that, “Council is proud to have supported the LGBTIQA+ community for many years, but we know there’s more work to be done in this space to ensure our services, programs and networks include and represent everyone in our community.

Being a voice will empower our young LGBTIQA+ community to share their stories with us through a creative forum and we are excited to work with Monash Gallery of Art and JOY to bring these stories to life.”

With the sole purpose of building a more inclusive Australia, JOY is excited to be working with young rainbow community members, to support them in giving voice to their lived experiences. We are proud to work alongside the City of Monash and Monash Gallery of Art to bring this important exhibition to life.

The director of Monash Gallery of Art Anouska Phizacklea has shared that, “Being a voice is an open call out to young LGBTQIA+ artists who work, live, study or play in Monash to share their lived experiences through the most powerful and democratic of mediums: photography – and to have their story heard in their own words. It is not about a unified voice but an individual one. There are millions of stories out there and we want to see every single one of them. When the exhibition explodes across MGA’s Atrium Space audiences will experience the diversity of voices and the richness and complexity of each story.”

If you’re interested about submitting or finding out more, head to beingavoice.mga.org.au