Mind the Gap - A Celebration of Queer Heritage was a pop up exhibition in partnership with Folkestone Museum to celebrate LGBTQ+ history month that ran from 8th February until 2nd March 2024.

Art in Romney Marsh commissioned copy portraits from Margate Pride that celebrate local queer creatives. The portraits are black and white, and based on 1920s photographs of key members of the local queer creative community, such as Radclyffe Hall, E.F. Benson, Bessie Smith, and Virginia Woolf.

Why these creatives?
They all lived, worked, and were inspired by towns and villages on Romney Marsh, in and around Kent, and into East Sussex.

Why Bessie Smith?
In the 1920s, everyone was listening to the music coming from America – namely jazz and blues. Many of those amazing musicians and singers, who were largely African American, were also queer.

Collage Workshop

We hosted a collage workshop at The Folkestone Bookshop with materials showing the creatives of the 1920s who feature in our other projects. The workshop was a great way for us to build community and engage with Folkestone locals to share our project.

Our partnership with Folkestone Museum is a chance to celebrate queer creatives that have local connections, while also honouring Folkestone’s queer history and heritage - celebrating such notable people as the writers Jocelyn Brooke, Laurence Dillon, and Daphne Du Maurier.

Many thanks to the portrait photographer, Elissa Cray and the brilliant volunteers who went above and beyond to fulfil the creative idea of the copy portrait commission.

Canine Companions

Over Folkestone Pride weekend, we welcomed Folkestone residents to have their portrait taken with their beloved pets, in the style of 1920s creatives.

Photography by Clare Unsworth,

With many thanks to Fourth Wall Folkestone for hosting us.

Along with Folkestone Pride, we hosted a guided walking tour of Folkestone's Queer History for LGBTQ+ History Month.

If you are interested in attending a future walk, then please email us to register your interest and we’ll let you know when we host another.

The Mind the Gap project is funded by The Heritage Fund