Camberwell Space, the public gallery at Camberwell College of Arts, part of University of the Arts London, presents What Was, What Is, What Could Be, in collaboration with Queer Youth Art Collective (QYAC), the UK’s only national LGBTQIA+ youth service dedicated to the arts.
The Queer Youth Art Collective Exhibition showcases the work of 30 LGBTQIA+ artists, aged 18 to 28, who participated in a three-month residency. During this residency, these artists developed their studio practice with support from workshops and mentorship provided by technicians and staff at Camberwell College of Arts and the Museum of Transology (MOT). The MOT is the UK’s most significant collection of objects representing the lives of trans, non-binary, and intersex individuals.
The newly commissioned textile piece titled The Hanging Archive will be on display. It is co-produced by attendees, facilitators, and alumni of QYAC, with contributions from various organisations, including The Brunswick Centre LGBTQ+ Youth Service (Kirklees and Calderdale), Out Together (Leeds), HuGG Huddersfield Gay Group, Frutti Tutti (Leeds), Proud Terriers (Huddersfield), and Curious Arts Middlesbrough’s Curious Young Creatives.
The exhibition features new works developed during the Queer Youth Art Collective (QYAC) residency, as well as archival materials highlighting QYAC’s activities over seven years. Notable pieces include The QYAC Quilt (2023), which reflects on the legacy of the AIDS Quilt; a collaboratively produced Recipe Book (2024); and Deck of Many Things(2025), an artist-designed oracle deck created by 49 queer artists.
“I hope people visit the show and realise the value of taking chances on young creatives and trust that wonderful things will erupt just by offering up the space and freedom to be creative.”
Fred Lanka, Director at QYAC and Associate Lecturer at Camberwell,
Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges of Arts.
The Queer Youth Art Collective is collaborating with the Museum of Transology (MOT), which houses the UK’s most significant collection of objects representing the lives of trans, non-binary, and intersex individuals. Together, they are curating archival material in preparation for the collection’s relocation to the Bishopsgate Institute after the exhibition. Through a series of workshops, MOT is helping the QYAC cohorts learn archival practices, including what to preserve and how to represent their experiences effectively.
What Was, What Is, What Could Be runs from 2 – 22 April 2026 at Camberwell Space, Camberwell College of Arts, 45-65 Peckham Road, London SE5 8UF, United Kingdom.
