Writing on Instagram, Homotopia said: “We are working closely with Liverpool ONE to find out both how and why the artwork was destroyed. We’ll work to restore the piece as soon as we can. We’re heartbroken to be honest. Homotopia is run by a small but incredibly passionate and committed team. It feels a lot like hard work being thrown back in your face.”
The UK has seen a surge in violence against LGBTQ+ people and a piece of artwork put up in defiance of the attacks in Liverpool has been torn down.
Liverpudlian artist Rosa Kusabbi’s ‘Hate Has No Place In Liverpool’ was one of three artworks installed as part of Homotopia Festival’s ‘Queer The City’ outdoor exhibition. The artwork was commissioned by the UK’s longest running LGBT+ art and culture festival in support of the queer community.
Char Binns, director of the festival, said she is “gutted” by what happened: “It had been up less than 48 hours, and it’s a beautiful piece that we were really excited about. We were hoping it was going to be up for three or four weeks. So yeah, just gutted really.”