This year, UK Pride is being hosted by Portsmouth! This is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, and a fantastic opportunity to promote diversity and inclusion, both in the city and across the entire country.
The mural has been on display at Gunwharf Quays since May 14th.
To mark this momentous occasion for Portsmouth’s LGBTQ+ community, Gunwharf Quays has provided various wall spaces around the shopping centre for local artists to create their own Pride-themed murals. Mark Kellett is an Art Lecturer at HSDC’s Havant Campus, and was one of the artists invited to take part in this celebration.
Mark teamed up with students and LGBTQ+ youth groups from the College to help produce a design for the mural. Several former HSDC students from both Havant and South Downs Campus also designed their own mural at the entrance to the car park. This was a fantastic opportunity for students both past and present to get involved in a truly community-led project.
Mark working on the design of the mural with his students.
When asked how he felt about being chosen to help create a mural for Pride, Mark said:
“I’m immensely proud to represent our students from the HSDC LGBTQ+ community with this work. Over the 20 years I’ve been at the college I have seen many students come to terms with their identity, allowing them to celebrate their true self. It just shows how inclusive we can all be.”
Speaking about the design and creation process, Mark said:
“Working with students from my Fine art course and the Student Union’s LGBTQ+ community was really important to help with the design. It really gave them a voice in this project. After a few consultation meetings I adapted the visuals to create the mural. The work took 3 days to complete, and I was overwhelmed with the support from the public whilst creating the piece. I hope this represents all the students I’ve taught and how important it is to take pride in yourself and show love regardless of your identity, sexual orientation, and beliefs.”
LGBTQ+ inclusion is one of the core values at the heart of HSDC’s diversity and inclusion policy, allowing students to truly be themselves whilst at the College.
The mural has been on display at Gunwharf Quays since Wednesday 14 May, and can be found next to the Boots.
Find out more about Gunwharf Quays’ Pride murals here: https://www.gunwharf-quays.com/en/pride-month-murals
Find out more about HSDC Havant’s Art & Design subjects here: https://www.hsdc.ac.uk/course-finder/?keyword=&campus=1152&study_type=&interest=1069