Out of the Gutter: A Community Retrospective

As we commemorate 40 years since the passing of Homosexual Law reform in Aotearoa, Auckland Pride and The Charlotte Museum are thrilled to be partnering on 𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧: 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚.

Following the closing of the 2026 Auckland Pride Festival with 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 under the festival theme 𝘕𝘨ā 𝘜𝘳𝘪 𝘌! 𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧: 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 is a collection of memories directly from our communities’ photo albums over the last 40 years.

𝘕𝘨ā 𝘜𝘳𝘪 𝘌! Invites us to see ourselves as descendants of interconnected movements and 𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧: 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 brings our theme to life once more. Through the lens of private photographic collections from community photographers, artists, and activists we traverse generations, reminisce and connect to our shared histories.

From 03 — 26 June 2026, 𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧: 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 is an invitation to connect, share your own memories, and add to the collection.

Throughout the month, Charlotte Museum will come alive with activations and opportunities to have your memories immortalised. We welcome collectives and community groups to utilise the space to gather and connect within the embrace of the legacy of the heroes who paved the way for the liberated existence we enjoy today.

As we look toward the next 40 years of our shared movement, let’s gather and reflect at 𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧: 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚.

Thank you to Stef Knight, Niccole Duval, Melanie Church, Fiona Clark, Stanley Manthyng, Peter Nowland, Auckland Council Heritage Collection and Kawe Mahara Queer Archive for their contributions to this exhibition. 

𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧: 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 is more than an exhibition, it is an invitation to gather. Across June, a series of public programmes will bring Charlotte Museum to life through shared storytelling, collective archiving, film, discussion, and remembrance. Together, these events create opportunities to reconnect with our histories, honour the communities and movements that paved the way, and celebrate the living archive of queer life in Aotearoa.

Rooted in the spirit of Ngā Uri E!, the public programme centres connection across generations, communities, and movements. Whether contributing your own memories, engaging in conversations around solidarity and resistance, or simply spending time alongside others in the space, each event offers a different way to participate in the ongoing story of our collective liberation.

While the exhibition can be visited throughout its full run from 03-26 June 2026, these special events offer unique ways to engage with the kaupapa in community.

We also invite you to bring in your own images, collections and memories! We’re encouraging community to use our printers and add their images to the exhibition. If something you see sparks a memory, sit down in our Living Library and record your story. Charlotte Museum will be on site each day to talk to you about how they can care for your images and/or ephemera as part of their collection. 

Ethnic Rainbow Alliance Living Collage

Thu 11 — Fri 12 June 2026 | 4 — 8PM
Sat 13 June 2026 | 12 — 4PM
FREE Entry

Part of this kaupapa is recognising that we must care for our own living histories, because we are taonga too.

In partnership with Ethnic Rainbow Alliance, Living Collage invites you to contribute to a growing collective artwork documenting our communities, stories, and joy.

Every community tells its story in its own way. Living Collage begins with scraps of paper, Instax photographs, scissors, warm hands, and the courage to take up space where we have long been unseen. Layered, complex, joyful, and unmistakably queer, the work reflects the beauty of our interconnected communities and the importance of preserving our stories for future generations.

Visitors will have the opportunity to contribute directly to the artwork and become part of this living archive.

Research to Interrupt Racism and (In)equity (RIRI) Night

Wed 17 June 2026 | 6:00PM
6PM | FREE Entry

As part of the wider RIRI symposium series taking place from 08 -26 June, Charlotte Museum will host a special evening bringing symposium participants and community together within the exhibition space.

RIRI were supporters of the original Out of the Gutter event and this gathering continues conversations around struggle, resistance, solidarity, and collective futures.

The Research to Interrupt Racism and (In)equity (RIRI) programme examines how racism and inequity operate within Aotearoa, while challenging frameworks that marginalise Māori worldviews and aspirations for rangatiratanga. The programme brings together researchers, organisers, communities, and practitioners to imagine anti-racist and anti-colonial futures grounded in collaboration and transformation.

This evening invites attendees to continue these conversations within the context of queer liberation movements, shared community memory, and intergenerational resistance.

Further details and speakers to be announced.

Queer Cinema for Palestine Screening
In partnership with Justice for Palestine

Sun 21 June 2026 | 
2:00PM | Koha Entry

Join us for a special screening of this year's "No Pride in Genocide" programme, presented in partnership with Justice for Palestine as part of the international Queer Cinema for Palestine film festival. The screening will feature six powerful short films celebrating resistance and queer solidarity with the Palestinian people, with koha proceeds donated to Team Assal.

Queer Cinema for Palestine began in 2021 as a global solidarity initiative bringing together filmmakers, artists and communities to stand against the pinkwashing of the occupation's ongoing colonial violence and apartheid against Palestinians. This year over 300 screenings will be held worldwide in more than 20 languages - and we are proud to be included in this kaupapa.

Justice for Palestine is a human rights organisation whose membership works to advance justice, equality, self-determination and freedom for Palestinian people through public education and engagement, community organising and BDS campaigning. J4P's sister organisation Team Assal works on the ground to provide food, water, and essential aid to families living in Al-Mawasi camp in Gaza.