Portraits



16 August - 5 October

This year, on 14 June, Nuuk was the setting for the country's 5th Gay Pride. In a culture, in which homosexuals experience verbal threats and are attacked and harassed, holding a Pride in the capital is a major event. As is the case with Prides in the rest of the world, the event is a powerful manifestation of the existence of a non-heterosexual culture. It is a fact that has been historically suppressed in Greenland, despite the fact that several of the country's historical legends and myths actually deal with the subject.

In recent years, however, the subject has become less of a taboo, and the series of Gay Prides in Nuuk has played a positive role in this development. During the 2011 and 2012 Prides, the photojournalist Jørgen Chemnitz and the then director of NAPA (the Nordic Institution in Greenland), Leise Johnsen collaborated on an exhibition project entitled Gay Greenland, which was to be the first ever visual documentation of homosexuality in Greenland.

The exhibition gives faces and words to a minority in the history of Greenland, which has traditionally been silent and only partially visible. During the 2011 and 2012 Prides, the city's “non”-heterosexual inhabitants were invited to have their portrait taken and to contribute a quote about their sexuality and outlook.

This resulted in the photographic exhibition, Gay Greenland. With pictures of, and quotes from a number of wonderful people, who proudly stand up and tell their stories, the exhibition commands respect and recognition from the outside world.

The exhibition is also accompanied by a catalogue, which includes a range of portraits and quotes from the exhibition.