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Corona virus strikes again, this time cancelling many Pride parades but fret not there are several indoor celebrations that you can partake in.
Amnesty International, UK Black Pride, Gendered Intelligence, Stonewall and ParaPride have all joined forces to bring the celebration inside. If you visit prideinside.uk you’ll be able to celebrate in style from your own home, bringing parties, performances and workshops from ‘a kaleidoscope cast of LGBT+ activists, performers and artists’. TimeOut have described it as keeping Pride alive in our homes and our hearts’ It will take place from tomorrow Sunday 28th July and run until July 10th. The launch party kicks off June 28th @7pm – 8:30pm and you can follow all the updates here: https://prideinside.uk/
If like me you love a podcast, then Anthems Pride would be great for you, each day in June a new episode is released over on Broccoli: content that’s good for you. The anthems is not your usual podcast, it is a collection of original manifestos, speeches, stories, poems and ‘rallying cries written and voiced by exceptional people, that celebrate and contemplate what it means to be human. Our beauty, our failures, our heritage, our rage and our power’. The episodes are short but binge worthy and there is a fantastic amount to choose from. They will get you talking, thinking and celebrating; what I love about this platform is that it was built in response to the lack of opportunities for minority talent both in front and behind the mic. At Broccoli ‘they aim to make great content and break through industry barriers’. Have a listen here: www.broccolicontent.com/anthems
Pride 2020’s theme is You! Me! Us! We! and sadly LGBT+ communities are more isolated and divided than ever under lockdown. Pride in London is combatting this by launching a brand new digital community hub to ‘galvanise people into making much-needed “Acts of Allyship”’ for those in other LGBT+ groups. Their aim is for 30,000 acts of allyship – this number is representative to the expected numbers who were due to march in the parade. Whilst Pride can be a wonderful flamboyant celebration, it is at its heart a protest, a protest for your right to ‘be’ and this years annual campaign film highlights the importance of continuing the spirit of protest and activism to ‘raise up every LGBT+ community member and ensure that all identities are coming together in unity’ You can join and get involved in their digital hub here: prideinlondon.org/you-me-us-
Do you want to go back to the roots of Pride and learn a bit more about the history? There is a huge variety of online exhibitions that trace the history beyond the flag and parades.
50 years of pride is an online exhibition celebrating the last 50 years of Pride in San Francisco , it showcases and celebrates several of the photographers who have been present over the years. The array of pictures are amazing and being able to see how something so small has grown over the last 50 years is truly incredible: ‘Through politics, alliances, celebrations, demonstrations, drag or the arts, queers embrace all our identities while we celebrate Pride’ See the exhibition here: https://www.glbthistory.org/50-years-of-pride
There is currently an online exhibition of Gilbert Baker, the man behind the rainbow flag. This exhibition examines how Baker blurred the lines between artist and activist, protestor and performer ‘emphasising his intuitive understanding of the ways art can serve as a powerful means to address political and social issues.’ I have throughly enjoyed learning about him and love his ethos that ‘when all else fails, art is the ultimate weapon. Visit his exhibition here: https://www.glbthistory.org/gilbert-baker-exhibition
I have included a full list of the websites I have mentioned below, there are hundreds more so please do share any of your faves. Happy lockdown Pride guys
Pride Inside: https://prideinside.uk/
Anthems Pride: https://www.broccolicontent.com/anthems
Pride in Lockdown: https://prideinlondon.org/about-us/campaigns/you-me-us-we
50 Years of Pride: https://www.glbthistory.org/50-years-of-pride
Performance, Protest & Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker: https://www.glbthistory.org/gilbert-baker-exhibition
