Ruby Wyatt Carter has been an active member in the regional arts scene for many years.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Nathalia artist Ruby Wyatt Carter has a question.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
What does pride look like in regional Victoria?
To find out, they’re handing the scissors and glue to the community to help create the answer in a series of collage self-portrait workshops titled ‘Portraits of Queer GV’.
Collaborating with Goulburn Valley Pride, Ruby will guide these workshops, encouraging regional queer community members to delve into the depths of their self-perception — a journey with which Ruby is quite familiar.
Ruby is a member of the LGBTIQA+ community and has been dabbling in self-portraiture since age 14.
However, that was not the only inspiration for the project.
“I work at an art gallery called The G.R.A.I.N. Store in Nathalia, and a few years ago we had an exhibition there that was really impactful for the community,” they said.
“It was a team of photographers and the goal was to take a photograph of every single person in Nathalia — I think we ended up with 500 portraits.
“I took that idea and thought, right, how can I make this, how can I put my own spin on this?”
That “spin” is in the fact that the portraits won’t be taken — they’ll be made.
Collage, Ruby says, is a very accessible medium: it is easy, extensive in creative freedom, and allows for anonymity if desired.
“I’m hoping that participants get a better understanding of themselves through these workshops,” they said.
Thanks to funding secured through the Victorian Government’s Victoria’s Pride Regional Activation Program, this project can be delivered on a larger scale, inspiring the masses.
Similar to the exhibition in Nathalia, the workshops aim to engage 500 LGBTQIA+ participants from Pride groups throughout north-east Victoria and will ultimately be showcased across the Goulburn Valley.
“This is a community that I am a part of ... and people who are LGBTIQA+ still face a lot of discrimination,” Ruby said.
“Anything that we can do to become more visible and help educate other people is a step in the right direction towards living as ourselves without fear.”
The inaugural workshop is set for Sunday, November 9, at the GV Pride Community Hub in Shepparton’s Maude St Mall, as part of the OUTintheOPEN festival.
The free session is open to everyone, though registration is encouraged.
A second, closed session will be hosted later in November at Elsewhere at SAM in Shepparton, with additional workshops lined up in Wangaratta on January 9 and 10.
Ruby also invites community groups, schools and workplaces with LGBTQIA+ members to get involved or host their own sessions.
31°C