With this year marking 50 years since the UK’s first Pride march, GAY TIMES put the theme of ‘future queer’ at the core of its annual Honours event. Although exactly what the next five decades could hold is unclear, the night was used as a chance to imagine where the LGBTQ+ community could be by the 100th anniversary in 2072. As such, eight artists and two AI bots took the opportunity to create a club night poster set 50 years in the future given that nightlife, music and self-expression have always been a through line for LGBTQ+ people. These were then printed and displayed at GAY TIMES Honours sponsored by Meta Quest on 25 November, which saw more than 1,500 LGBTQ+ community members and allies pack out Magazine London. Below, you can view all of the posters and hear directly from the designers about what inspired their work and their hopes for the future of LGBTQ+ people.
Designer: Anisa Cleaver
What inspired this poster?
“It was mostly the name of the club night ‘Chew Me Up & Spit Me Out’ that was my source of inspiration. I thought, what do you chew up and spit out? Bubblegum! So that was really the starting point for the design.”
What are your hopes for LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture over the next five decades?
“I’d like to see different cultures and music styles coming to the forefront, I think acts such as Hungama and The Cocoa Butter Club are great examples of the types of performers that should be taking centre stage. I hope that in the future as a society, we’re able to experience queer life from all sides.”
Designer: Elise Rose
What inspired this poster?
“I was given the club name ‘LGBTQ AI SOUNDSYSTEM’. I think that whether you love it or hate it, AI technology is becoming more and more advanced by the day, and it’s really fascinating. I would love to see AI and similar tech used in more ways to bring people together. Nightlife could be an awesome way to utilise it more.”
What are your hopes for LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture over the next five decades?
“I’d like to think that we could be at a point where safe spaces are completely possible. Where the nightlife is thriving and free from threat. Hopefully that comes a lot sooner!”
Designer: Hannah Dickins
What inspired this poster?
“Over the past 50 years the LGBTQIA community has fought against things we find hard to conceive now like Section 28, not being able to get married or start a family, to name just a few.
“I wanted to look back at the present 2022 in the hope that by 2072 the things our commity are fighting for, like recognition of trans rights and a ban on ‘conversion therapy’ for all. will feel like a bad dream… Maybe in 2072 we will ALL live freely.”
What are your hopes for LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture over the next five decades?
“I have had some epic queer ravey experiences in the past year, we’re doing great. I would like to see more diversity and representation at every level from punters to promoters. Less smartphones more dancing and more unity. Also, inclusivity for ageing ravers because I’m getting on a bit, and I’m still thirsty for a rave.”
Designer: Jack Rowe
What inspired this poster?
“Post-language. Maybe in 50 years time we’ll all be communicating just through 0s and 1s. If you zoom right into the poster you’ll see it’s only made of tiny glyphs. It’s exploring the idea of how something that communicates in a physical sense can be formed from code.”
What are your hopes for LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture over the next five decades?
“That there are even more queer inclusive safe spaces to dance.
“That there is proper funding for groups to set up their own space they feel safe to party and stay independent.
“That the local councils lift the restrictions on nightlife so everyone can be free to party as they want to until any time and in any place.”
Designer: Liv Lawrence
What inspired this poster?
“We were given the names of the clubs, the name of mine was ‘Deliverance’ which happens to be one of my favourite horror films. The film also came out in 1972 which felt like such a sign! I decided to take inspiration from the film which is about a group of friends taking an extremely treacherous canoeing trip down a river. I took a still from the film of a hand reaching out of water and manipulated it to give it a more ’70s punk feel. Trends go in cycles so I thought maybe in 2072 people will look back 100 years ago for style. Queerness is also such an integral part of the horror genre, with so much of the early books and films being metaphors for living with the shame of having to hide being queer. I wanted to honour that by making this poster feel a bit spooky and dark, but still taking it into the future with bold fonts and photo effects.”
What are your hopes for LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture over the next five decades?
“I hope it becomes more inclusionary and safer for marginalised groups within our community. I think some queer clubs can often be geared just towards white gay men and I’d love to see more of the more welcoming nights for everyone, like Adonis.
“I can see it becoming even more fun and outrageous! Minimalism is out, maximalism is in, more glitter, more fur, more gloss, more opulence just for the sake of it. In the words of Marc Jacobs: no matte surfaces, no flat shoes and no natural looks. Long live tacky extravagance and bad taste. We’ve come a long way but there’s still more work to do!”
Designer: Michael Morton
What inspired this poster?
“My poster is inspired by the likes of 90s rave flyer designs and the acid graphics aesthetic, using experimental typography that plays with legibility and form. These different sets of letterforms are used to emphasise the diverse spectrum of the Queer community, using vibrant colours and 3D rendering to bring them to life.”
What are your hopes for LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture over the next five decades?
“Looking into the future, I hope the queer nightlife scene and queer culture continues to grow, evolve, and inspire us, representing all types of people in our community. Safe spaces that allow for queer folk to come together and feel celebrated are so important, especially for queer and trans people of colour. Collectively, I hope we can continue to make room for every type of queer person to be feel at home, and like we belong.”
Designer: Rory Donnelly
What inspired this poster?
“This poster is inspired by the club kids from New York within the London club scene. A futuristic inspired figure carrying accessories of a modern human being’s face. Electric lights, disco balls and all things chained and studded are really things that inspire a lot of my creative work so that had to be in there. I wanted it to be bold and playful but really wanted it to look like the inside the club on my dreams.”
What are your hopes for LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture over the next five decades?
“For me, nightlife has always been at the heart of queer culture. I remember doing my dissertation at uni about how the club kids of the 1980/90s really impacted queer nightlife. I hope that in the next few decades we continue to embrace those who really shaped what queer nightlife is now.”
Designer: Solly Warner
What inspired this poster?
“For me it was about the power of music and language. Using something quite technological like a brain scan to see how, whoever you are, music and language can cause something very innate and natural, with a chemical reaction and release of hormones. It’s about learning new words, experiencing new sounds, and how all the unique people who create and develop these areas continue to hold such power into the future.”
What are your hopes for LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture over the next five decades?
“As an ally, I hope that more people are able to embrace and celebrate the sheer creativity and innovation that comes from the LGBTQ+ community. For so many years, queer individuals have been leading the scene for nightlife and culture with many cisgender, straight people not even realising or giving the deserved recognition or credit. Whilst it’s vital that these spaces remain in place for queer people and created by queer people, I hope that those on the exterior of the queer nightlife scene can become more progressive and educated, and enter into these incredible, culture shaping spaces in a safe, respectful and celebratory manner. In doing so, it may play a small part in queer nightlife thriving more than ever before.”
Designer: 10 Days
This poster was designed by Ad Intelligence, the AI arm of 10 Days, using old covers from GAY TIMES magazine to envision what it could look like in 2072.
Designer: 10 Days
This poster was designed by Ad Intelligence, the AI arm of 10 Days, using old covers from GAY TIMES magazine to envision what it could look like in 2072.
