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Billboards in Bristol will celebrate LGBTQ+ people for Pride month
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in Pride going online for 2020.
One such event, Pride Inside, will see a national digital campaign celebrate the LGBTQ+ community across the UK.
More than 1,000 digital billboards will feature queer figures from across the country, including two from Bristol.
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The campaign will represent the full spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community, with more than 120 queer contributors and photographers teaming up to create the photos.
Bristol featured figures, activist Shrouk El-Attar and research fellow at University of Bristol, artist and Kiki Bristol member Dr Myles-Jay Linton, will light up billboards across the UK, and dozens of electronic billboards in Bristol will be taken over by queer people living in all corners of the country.
Shrouk is a design engineer, activist and belly dancer from Eygpt. Photo: Pride Inside/Emli Bendixen
Founded by writer, performer and drag artist Ginger Johnson, Pride Inside will feature everyone from artist Travis Alabanza to original members of the Gay Liberation Front.
“Usually we take to the streets for Pride,” says Ginger. “We take to stages, demos and dancefloors. We climb onboard floats or walk shoulder to shoulder with our families and friends but this summer that just isn’t possible. So, it’s crucial that LGBTQ+ people from all walks of life are visible and proud in our public spaces.
“Pride is also a chance for our community to reach out to the people who haven’t found pride in their lives yet, who don’t feel safe, who are hidden. It’s our chance to say to them, ‘You are not alone, we are here and we are proud of you’.”
The photos will be on billboards from Monday, June 15 for two weeks and will encourage people from the UK’s LGBTQ+ community to celebrate Pride at home and create their own images, posting them using the #PrideInsideUK hashtag.
The campaign aims to reach ten million people. Photo: Pride Inside
Pride Inside also aims to raise awareness of grassroots LGBTQ+ charities, partnering with LGBT+ Consortium to collect donations to be distributed to organisations across the UK who provide vital services for the queer community.
Global events such as Far & Pride and Global Pride are bringing the queer community from across the world, Pride for All will two weeks of events for LGBTQ+ people throughout the UK, and events such as Bristol Pride Online will cater to Bristol’s queer community.
“Covid-19 is having a real impact on our LGBTQ+ communities,” says Paul Roberts, chief executive of LGBT+ Consortium. “Pride would ordinarily be a time for the visibility and increased awareness of issues facing our communities.
“This campaign offers a digital alternative and Consortium is delighted to see the diversity and intersectionality of our communities captured through these photographs.
“I hope this campaign lets LGBTQ+ people know: you are not alone.”
Main image: Pride Inside/Emli Bendixen
Read more: Bristol Pride goes virtual for 2020
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