2026

Presented in BACKLIT’s new ground-floor gallery, Lands of Uncertain Shape brings together the imagined worlds of Xin Chen and T’kya Xavier.

This September, Tessa Boffin: Where We Touch the Archive arrives at BACKLIT. The national touring exhibition brings the work of artist and activist Tessa Boffin into dialogue with new commissions, collective research and a growing publication shaped by queer communities.

Join members of the curatorial team behind Tessa Boffin: Where We Touch the Archive for an introduction to the exhibition and the research that has shaped it.

Developed through the In the Margins of the Frame archival research residency, 86:26 sees CJ De Barra, founder of the Notts Queer History Archive, bring together film, photography and archival material to explore Nottingham’s queer history, nightlife, activism and local industry.

Join CJ De Barra, founder of Notts Queer History Archive, for a screening of A Boy Called Mary from Channel 4’s 1986 series Six of Hearts.

Join CJ De Barra, founder of the Notts Queer History Archive, for a screening exploring queer life, activism and representation during the 1980s.

Our Marian brings together newly commissioned artworks and community responses that consider the figure of Maid Marian through a contemporary lens.

Renowned artist Alicja Biala will create an artwork along with the local community for Maid Marian Way

Pairing earlier works with new pieces, the exhibition invites audiences to encounter artistic practice as an evolving process shaped by time, experimentation and changing perspectives.