This year’s Pride season marks a unique period in history for the journey towards queer liberation.
For the first time in more than 50 years, LGBTQ+ people who live in the Global North won’t be able to march in a Pride parade, celebrate with their community in big numbers, and be able to support and uplift each other in physical spaces like we have been able to in the past.
This period of time will give many the opportunity time to reflect on what matters most to them, a moment to reassess the current state of Pride events, and to recognise that while we may not be able to march this year, for many of our queer siblings across the globe they have never been able to safely celebrate who they are.
This year, activism and campaigning will be focused in digital spaces, moments of visibility will rely more heavily on the support of allies and advocates, and LGBTQ+ voices will need to be amplified louder than ever before.
GAY TIMES has been at the forefront of the Pride movement for more than 40 years, reporting on parades and celebrations across the country since 1974. Our archives chronicle the progression of the early LGBTQ+ liberation movements right through to the big city-dominating events of today.
For 2020, GAY TIMES will capture this current period in history by collating a multimedia capsule to document the experiences, challenges, unity and advocacy that will result from this moment in time, in order to preserve it for future generations to look back on.
We’re calling it 2020CAPSULE: A unique year in Pride, documented.
Our 2020CAPSULE will include the experiences of LGBTQ+ people across the country during this time through letters, photo essays, playlists, poetry, short films and social media to build a rich multimedia tapestry of this unique summer of Pride.
GAY TIMES will work closely with new and existing brand partners as well as engage with community-led organisations, charities, activists and our audience to contribute to the 2020CAPSULE and offer everyone the opportunity to be a part of a unique and memorable moment in time.
These organsisations will help empower LGBTQ+ storytelling and uplift queer voices during a period of uncertainty, enabling them to record their part in a moment of queer history.
Following the three-month campaign, GAY TIMES will donate the 2020CAPSULE to Queer Britain; the UK’s first museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ stories and experiences. It will live on in their archives for future generations.
“To mark this year’s Pride season we knew we had to approach it differently. With the parades cancelled, we saw it as an opportunity for the focus to solely be on the voices and experiences in our community during this time,” said Lewis Corner, Editorial Director of GAY TIMES.
“But we didn’t want these stories to disappear once the campaign was over. Donating a curated capsule to Queer Britain allows this moment in time to be accessible for us all to look back on, and for new generations to reflect upon.”
“Queer Britain is really excited to be able to offer the time capsule a permanent home,” said Joseph Galliano, CEO and co-founder of Queer Britain.
“The experience of queer people in the time of pandemic is such an important set of stories to capture and we are glad GAY TIMES are working to do this.”
Over the coming months, you will see all of the campaign content signposted with our new 2020CAPSULE branding.
We will also be asking you, our audience, to get involved through a series of call outs for artwork, poetry and video diaries, which could ultimately find a home in the archives of Queer Britain.
Latest
