28/08/2026
The response to 86:26 has been extraordinary. Not just in the number of people who have come through the doors, but in the memories, connections, conversations, and generosity that visitors brought with them.
Across the exhibition and screenings, we’ve seen people reconnect with Nottingham’s q***r history and share their own experiences.
We’ve been especially glad to welcome people whose lives and work form part of these histories, including Richard McCance, Nottingham’s first openly gay councillor and a longstanding campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights in the city.
86:26 has also given us the opportunity to develop our work with CJ De Barra (pictured) and the Nottingham Q***r History Archive, bringing their research and knowledge into conversation with material from the BFI and BACKLIT’s own Alfred House archive.
One of those connections reaches back to The House of the Flying Wheel, an exhibition held at BACKLIT in 2014. More than a decade later, an object from that exhibition has resurfaced in 86:26 with a different story around it.
You can read about it in our latest Substack post: https://backlitgallery.substack.com/p/from-the-archive-the-house-of-the
A huge thank you to the BFI for their support and generosity, to CJ De Barra and Jazz Singh Swali for co-curating 86:26, to Sinead Beverland, and to the wider team and everyone who has contributed their knowledge, work and time to the project.
And we’re looking forward to what comes next.
As we begin work towards opening BACKLIT’s new ground-floor space, we’ll be continuing to develop the archive and creating new opportunities to engage with the histories held here. We’ll be sharing more as those plans develop.
86:26: LGBTQ+ Film, Heritage and Archive is open for its final weekend:
Friday 28–Sunday 30 August
12–4pm
Free, no booking required.
Supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery Good Cause funding.
Image credits: Joshua Jones
