The Queer Portrait Project with Kiz Rutherford

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Exhibition – Admission free, no booking required

Talk – Tickets €5, book below

Artists

Kiz Rutherford, artist

Full Event Details

The Queer Portrait Project comes to the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery + Centre for the Arts and Human Rights on Sunday 18 October from 10am to 6pm, for the 2026 Irish Arts and Human Rights festival. Enjoy a visual art exhibition, artist talk and live, on-site portraiture sittings presented by artist Kiz Rutherford as part of The Queer Portrait Project, an ongoing, grassroots project creating a series of intimate, affirming portraits depicting members of Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community.

Since the start of 2026 artist Kiz Rutherford has been creating a series of portraits of members of Irelands queer community in response to the rising anti-LGBTQIA + violence and rhetoric, and the simultaneous reduction in rights and systemic oppression of our global community. This project is for the community by the community and serves as a vital artistic response to the alarming global rise in anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric, systemic policy shifts, and targeted violence—from political rollbacks in the US and UK, to local struggles like Ireland’s gender-affirming care waitlists, and recent tragedies like Berlin Pride. Standing firmly on the principle that trans and queer rights are human rights, The Queer Portrait Project showcases and illustrates the profound diversity, strength, and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community in the face of growing oppression and hate.

The 2026 Irish Arts and Human Rights festival offering of The Queer Portrait Project is presented through multiple interactive formats. Come to the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery and view an exhibition of portrait artworks created to date, enjoy an artist talk with artist Kiz Rutherford in conversation with Smashing Times festival producer Ciara Hayes talking about The Queer Portrait project and take part in live on-site portraiture sittings.

• Exhibition: A collection of complete portrait paintings by visual artist Kiz Rutherford presented on site as a pop-up exhibition at the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery on 18 October 2026, from 10am to 6pm
• Artist Talk with Kiz Rutherford: An engaging discussion between Smashing Times festival producer Ciara Hayes and artist Kiz Rutherford, exploring the origins, political context, and community-building goals of The Queer Portrait Project, taking place at the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery on 18 October 2026 from 1 to 1.30pm
• Live Sittings: Live 1-to-2-hour sessions where festival-goers sit for a conversation, preliminary sketch, and reference photos with the artist, adding to the creation of intimate, affirming portraits of LGBTQ+ individuals, taking place at the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery on 18 October 2026 from 2-6pm

Artist Kiz Rutherford writes

There is undoubtedly a massive recent shift towards homophobia and transphobia on a global scale at a policy level that has encouraged and enabled hatred at all levels of society to be seen as acceptable. In my lifetime we saw an increase in rights and acceptance for the queer community but things have dramatically shifted recently from the systemic erasure of the communities history and rights to the oppression on a daily basis. This is clearly seen at a policy level in the US and UK and elsewhere while the Irish continues to fights its own battles with the huge waiting lists for gender affirming care. Trans rights and queer rights are human rights, I write this in the aftermath of the tragedy at Berlin pride, feeling more fiercely than ever that we must continue to fight.

Artist Biographies:

Based in Dublin, Kiz Rutherford creates figurative paintings and drawings exploring the interplay between light and darkness. Their work, particularly the “We’re Losing the Light” series, captures the emotional resonance found in fleeting moments of illumination against shadow. Through portraiture and life drawing, Kiz examines how light shapes our perception of form and feeling, revealing both vulnerability and strength in human subjects. Their project, the Queer Portrait Project, recently previewed at Rua Red, extends their practice to create intimate, affirming portraits of LGBTQ+ individuals. Committed to fostering artistic community, Kiz also runs weekly life drawing sessions.

Venue Information: