This month we have once again been commemorating the significant shared experiences of communities represented by two of our near neighbours, the Chatham Memorial Synagogue, and The Ship pub – thought to be one of the oldest LGBT venues in the country. Both communities having suffered prejudice and discrimination for who they were, and paying the ultimate price during the Nazi regime.

Last year we hosted the ‘Closer Than You Think‘ window exhibition at INTRA and created symbolic pink triangle and yellow star textile banners for display on both buildings during lockdown. This year the theme of ‘One Day‘ was chosen for an installation of remembrance for Nazi victims who were Jewish, gay men, and people with disabilities.

The project has once again been organised by Irina Fridman of Medway Libraries along with Peter Moorcraft local historian and director of Intra Arts, Martin Adams a musician and campaigner for gay rights, equality and human rights, and they are joined by Christopher Sacre an artist who specialises in working with the BSL community.

The textile banners are once again displayed on the Synagogue and The Ship to create a visual link between the communities, at INTRA the work of Dr Magnus Hirschfeld, a homosexual Jewish man living in Berlin in the 1920s and 30s and pioneer in the field of sexuality, is celebrated in the current exhibition. The history of another of our neighbours Medway Gender & Sexual Diversity Centre, and the work of Hilary Cooke, is featured in another window – looking at how transgender and non binary people are supported locally in the current day.

The ‘One Day’ theme also featured a little further along the street in the windows of Naked Products, where artwork produced by children with disabilities with Christopher Sacre, explored hopes for the future.

The project was part funded by Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) programme in collaboration with Medway Council.

The exhibition can be viewed in our windows gallery up to and including Wednesday 2nd March 2022. The windows are lit 7:00 – 24:00 and visible from the street.