Remembering Rainbow

A physical tribute memorialising the names of LGBTIQA+ people across Australia we have lost to suicide.

At Switchboard we celebrate the legacy of community activism, ceremony, and ritual within LGBTQIA+ communities.

We continuously draw inspiration from the ways our communities come together and make change, show care for one another and create spaces to acknowledge the challenges we face. From the AIDS quilt to Transgender Day of Remembrance, our communities have a history of creating tangible ways to honour those we have lost, and advocating for change in the process. 

With this sentiment in mind, the Switchboard Bereavement team created Remembering Rainbow. 

Remembering Rainbow is a mobile installation honouring LGBTQIA+ people we have lost to suicide. We embroider and tie ribbons with the names of loved ones as a way of physically memorialising them, their legacy and our friendships and relationships.

We bring Remembering Rainbow to vigils, community events and other ceremonial spaces, encouraging an intentional ritual of remembrance for those we have lost. It’s a ritual rooted in community, one that aims to directly address our unique identities and experiences in our grief. 

If you would like us to bring Remembering Rainbow somewhere, or if you’d like to embroider and tie a ribbon at our office, send us an email at bereavement@switchboard.org.au or text/call 0437 918 239.