VICTORIOUS VOICES x SURVIVORS WEST YORKSHIRE

Challenging the Silence: Wakefield, 2026

On 29th May 2026, the tenth Victorious Voices exhibition was presented at The Hepworth Wakefield for the fourth Challenging the Silence: Male Survivor Needs seminar. For one day, survivor portraits and testimonies were part of a gathering that brought lived experience, specialist support and research together.

Showing the work at The Hepworth was a milestone for Victorious Voices. Since its first exhibition in Glasgow, the project had moved through universities, a coffee shop, a city-centre shopfront and community arts spaces. Bringing the portraits into one of Yorkshire’s major cultural venues marked how far that journey had travelled. The display accompanied the seminar rather than occupying The Hepworth’s main galleries, but it placed survivor-led photography within a setting dedicated to art and public encounter.

As at the earlier seminars, the black-and-white portraits brought survivors of different genders into view alongside a discussion focused on male survivor needs. The testimonies gave each person space to speak beyond the assumptions that can shape how childhood sexual abuse is recognised. Together, the work asked visitors to see both the barriers survivors share and the distinct ways each person lives beyond abuse.

The day also brought a personal connection to the exhibition: Debbie Riley, one of the first people photographed for Victorious Voices, came along for the morning. Her presence was a reminder that the project is made with people whose trust and continued involvement give the work its meaning.

Wakefield was an important step, and it opened up a possibility for the future: that these portraits might one day be shown in The Hepworth’s main gallery spaces. For now, the exhibition made its place within the seminar and carried the conversation forward—towards a cultural life in which survivor voices are seen, heard and taken seriously.