Villiers revealed: ‘we have always been here’
collaborative exhibition curation, artist response and workshops
‘We Have Always Been Here: Villiers Revealed'‘ is a collaborative project and exhibition exploring non-western queer histories and gender fluidity. Through collective collage, poetry, and illustration, the work reimagines George Villiers’ portrait alongside expressive, fluid, and queer-ed depictions, interweaving historical and present-day narratives of gender and sexuality.
Created through workshops with LGBTQIA+ communities, the project celebrates interconnectedness, storytelling, and the ever-evolving nature of queer identity.
workshop 1: reclaiming power with dosti leicester
Facilitated by Aaran Sian
In collaboration with Dosti, a support group for South Asian and Middle Eastern LGBTQ+ people, we created the large collective tapestry that was displayed as part of the exhibition.
The workshop commenced with a discussion on fluidity and queerness within South Asian cultures and narratives before we then collectively expressed these stories through collaging.
The collaging began by each participants tracing their silhouettes onto fabric - as a way to claim space and embody stories. Using prompts, the group responded through painting, collaging, writing and conversations. As the workshop went on, the fabric became deeply layered with collage, paint, textiles, jewels, and lots of glitter!
Workshop 2: leicester lgbtq+ youth group
Facilitated by Aaran Sian
In collaboration with the Leicester LGBT Centre, I facilitated a creative workshop with a local youth group. Using the idea of portraiture as a starting point, we began with ‘plain’ silhouettes as a base for collaging. The group overlaid, cut, ripped, and painted into these silhouettes, creating portraits that reflected their identities and experiences. It was a way of making portraits that felt personal, accessible, and relatable. The portraits they created were then collaged into the final exhibition artworks.
Workshop 3: Made in our image (online)
Facilitated by Aaran Sian
An online workshop where Queer and Trans participants were invited to reclaim how we see and represent ourselves. Art packs were sent to participants’ homes, each containing collage materials and prompts. In a shared online space, we came together to cut, rip, draw, and build portraits that reflected our identities, stories, and emotions. This was a space to create on our own terms, reminding ourselves that we’ve always existed — and will continue to shape our images and narratives. Collage portraits from this workshop were woven into the final exhibition artworks.
workshop 4: the stories that speak through us: reclaiming lost narratives
Facilitated by Nikita Aashi Chadha
A key part of the exhibition was a poetry workshop facilitated by Nikita Aashi Chadha, a multidisciplinary artist, poet, and writer. The workshop was in collaboration with Queer Coffee Link Ups, and explored historic examples of gender fluidity from Indigenous Mexico to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Participants then free-wrote poetry, contributing a line each to form a collective poem, which flows throughout the exhibition, connecting the artworks.
Click here to find out more about Nikita and their work.
