Shropshire: LGBTQ exhibition shows lives of older generation

The portraits aim to share the lives of older people in Shropshire

An exhibition showing the lives of Shropshire's older LGBTQ generations hopes to challenge stereotypes.

Photographer Ming de Nasty worked with residents in 2023, touching on how LGBTQ culture had changed, as well as sharing memories and old images.

The display, at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery and Shrewsbury Library runs until 14 April.

The photographer said her subjects had "rich and diverse histories and very active lives".

"We don't disappear after the age of 50," she added.

The exhibition is a partnership between SAND, a community organisation that aims to improve the experiences of LGBTQ people as they age in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin; Midlands-based photography organisation GRAIN; and Arts Council England.

The exhibition will run until 14 April

The photographs show residents expressing a confidence and sense of identity in their gaze and position, according to the photographer.

The exhibition also features information about their younger lives, family backgrounds and the changes in LGBTQ culture and law.

Sal Hampson, director of SAND, said: "The process of taking part and the exhibition and publication outcomes will contribute to a future where lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin are fully integrated into the community."

The artist said her subjects posed in a way that reflected confidence and a sense of identity

Ming de Nasty, 61, has been a professional photographer for 35 years and recent projects include Queer Country, a photographic project with a focus on individuals' experiences in Wales, and what it means to be living in a rural environment.

"I left Shropshire [for Birmingham in the 1980s] because I'm gay and there wasn't much here for me," the artist said. "It isn't out and loud as it is in the city but there is a community here now.

"I am in the older age bracket now and we need to share wisdom to the younger generation."

The exhibition will also be shown at The Hive in Shrewsbury as part of of the LGBT History Festival in March.