IN HER STEPS THE CARD GAME

Margate artist Mercedes Lucy transforms handmade ceramic tiles into a playable celebration of extraordinary women and queer icons. The exhibition debuts two card game decks - The Feminist Card Game and The Queer Card Game - with every card recreated as a unique ceramic tile, forming an interactive installation where portraiture meets participation. Each figure is scored across categories inspired by their life, achievements and impact, designed to spark conversation and debate rather than provide definitive answers.

"I've always believed that art should be for everyone - something we interact with, question and talk about, not just something we look at," says Mercedes. "I wanted to create something that families, friends and classrooms could enjoy together while discovering the remarkable people whose stories have shaped our world."

The project evolved from Mercedes' earlier installation Turner's Female Contemporaries, first shown at Liminal Gallery, which celebrated over 100 largely forgotten women artists who lived and worked during the lifetime of J.M.W. Turner. Following that exhibition, Mercedes began tiling the front steps of her Margate home with the portraits, transforming a private threshold into a public artwork.

That ongoing project, In Her Steps, has since grown into a permanent installation of over 600 handmade ceramic tiles depicting more than 400 women born before 1900 - drawn from Margate, Kent and further afield - with particular attention paid to working-class women and women of colour whose histories have often gone unrecorded. In Her Steps: The Card Game marks the next step in that ongoing exploration.

The Queer Card Game launches to coincide with Pride Month. Ten percent of proceeds from every card game sold will be shared between Oasis Domestic Abuse Service and trans-led, nationwide charity Not a Phase, supporting vital work within the local community and beyond.

Individual ceramic tiles will be available to purchase, alongside complete card game decks - allowing conversations begun in the gallery to continue at kitchen tables, in classrooms and among friends.