9 minute read
Kings Heath, Birmingham, named LGBTQ+ friendly neighbourhood
Kings Heath, Birmingham has been recognised – alongside Canal Street in Manchester and The Castro in San Francisco – as one of the world’s most LGBTQ+ friendly neighbourhoods.
The Gayborhood Foundation, which released the list for the first time in 2021, was set up earlier this year to recognise, celebrate and champion LGBTQ+ friendly areas across the globe. The criteria to make it into the exclusive list of 33 areas includes; • Having a higher than average LGBTQ+ population who are able to live visibly in the area; • “A local dedication to LGBTQ+ rights and issues amongst residents”; • Visible support for the community such as murals, street art, Pride flags; • Considerably lower risks of homophobic, transphobic, queerphobic crimes; • Regular LGBTQ+ performances in local spaces such as theatre, music, drag, and cabaret; • Local Pride events. The Gayborhood Foundation does also note, however, that fulfilling all criteria does not necessarily guarantee inclusion on the list. A spokesperson said: “Kings Heath in Birmingham stood loud and proud alongside our other Gayborhoods for its incredibly vibrant LGBTQ+ community, and we’re delighted to officially recognise it within our 2021 contingent.” They added: “This is notable recognition for such a fantastic area and in such an exquisite city as Birmingham.” In particular, the judges praised Kings Heath for its gay nights at the Hare and Hounds, a locally renowned venue. They also highlighted the suburb York Road for being “a thriving, bustling area full of diversity, not just from the LGBTQ+ community”.
Nominations for National Diversity Awards now open
The nomination process for the National Diversity Awards is now open and Birmingham has an extensive list of nominees for the Positive Role Model (LGBTQ+) category. At the time of writing, the LGBTQ+ positive role models located in Birmingham are journalist and activist Adam Yosef, freelance journalist Lydia Greatrix, David Nash, creator of proudly blog Aaron Spencer, wildlife filmmaker and broadcaster Adam O’Hare, Avery Cunningham who focusses on LGBTQ+ people in STEM, Martin Smith (AKA drag act Miss Marty), trans activist and blogger Eva Echo, and Marvel at the Magic’s Nathan & Craig. To read more about the nominees, visit
www.nationaldiversityawards.co.uk
where you can also nominate others or vote for those who've already been nominated. Voting closes June 4; a shortlist will be revealed in September and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in 2022.
West Midlands-based LGBTQ+ clothing company releases It’s A Sin-inspired line
Ash O´Toole
Grey Icon Androgyny, based in Solihull, is a small LGBTQ+ business that was launched in September 2020 by Ash O’Toole. “Grey Icon’s mission is to bring fresh new designs to the androgynous, transgender & genderneutral community,” Ash explained to Scene magazine. Ash had worked as a bar manager on Birmingham’s LGBTQ+ scene for many years but was sadly made redundant – alongside their colleagues – in October 2020, just a month after starting Grey Icon.
Like much of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, Ash and their partner watched Russell T. Davis’ heart wrenching series It’s A Sin that told the story of a group of friends during the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s. After watching the first episode with their partner, Ash says they were soon “inundated with requests from friends to create a ‘La!’ T-shirt”. “Over the next couple of days, I sat down and put a design together, working out how many I could afford to produce, along with being able to give a 25% donation of each tee to charity.”
Those limited-edition new designs that became part of Grey Icon’s collection included a pink T-shirt with the word ‘La!’ printed in yellow writing and a white t-shirt with pink writing. Ash then spent some time researching various HIV/AIDS charities, as well as having a brief conversation with Russell himself, before they finally settled on the charity that Grey Icon would be donating to with the profits from their new ‘La!’ line. “It was a no-brainer for me that I would donate to the George House Trust based in Manchester,” Ash explained.
“The T-shirts went on pre-sale as soon as the artwork was approved,” Ash tells us, “and they arrived with us just in time for the airing of the final episode of It’s A Sin, which meant anyone who pre-ordered received them that weekend, which worked out really well.” Grey Icon Androgyny’s original target with the ‘La!’ tees was to raise £450 for George House Trust. So far, it has raised £350 for the charity (£300 of which has already been handed over).
“It would, of course, have been lovely if the business was better established to have been able to donate a larger amount as others have been able to,” Ash explained, referring to companies and designers such as Philip Normal who have been able to raise over £250,000 so far for Terrence Higgins Trust. Ash added: “Hopefully with people’s support the business will continue to grow and, in the future, we can make this happen with something similar!” For anyone who missed out on the original pre-order of Grey Icon Androgyny’s It’s A Sin-inspired tees who wants to support this small West Midlands-based business and the George House Trust, there are still some T-shirts available to purchase via www.greyicon.co.uk/.
SHOUT Festival 2021 seeks artists and support
SHOUT Festival is a programme of queer arts and culture events for Birmingham and the West Midlands that aims to “amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ people and communities from across our city and region, and start new conversations and tell new stories about LGBTQ+ life”.
In 2020, the festival – like many others – was forced to move online to accommodate the coronavirus pandemic. This year it will be returning in November 2021 – hopefully in person – and organisers have already begun their plans by looking for LGBTQ+ artists, creatives, and anyone with an imaginative idea to be part of their commissioned programming. In particular, they would love the hear from “artists and creative makers from communities that have often been underrepresented in SHOUT festival, including LGBTQ+ people who are black, Asian and global majority; Romany or Irish traveller; deaf, disabled or neurodivergent; people with lived experience of migration; working-class or older people”.
SHOUT is looking for new creative work, ideas, and projects – to showcase as part of the festival – that explore “queer life in all of its beautiful variety”. These works may include personal stories, political projects, explorations of aspects of LGBTQ+ history or culture that deserve to be in the spotlight, or even look forward into the future. They would also “love to hear from artists who are working with grassroots communities to tell queer stories drawn from the lived experience of LGBTQ+ people; and we’d love to hear from communities with a story to tell.” SHOUT is particularly keen to hear about new work from LGBTQ+ voices based in the West Midlands, however it is open to ideas shared from anywhere in the world. To be part of SHOUT’s upcoming festival, your work does not need to be completely polished, perfect, and fully formed, it is just as interested in ideas as it is finished works.
SHOUT is keen to “work with artists and community partners to develop ideas collaboratively”. It explains that it is interested in art of all forms and simply “want to start conversations and get to know new people”. While it is currently looking for artists and creatives to be part of the 2021 festival, SHOUT is also looking ahead to future events so it is urging people to get in touch even if their idea might take a year or two to develop further. It’ll even pay you for your time if it asks you to continue developing the idea. “Artists taking part in the festival, or commissioned to develop projects, are paid fairly for their time, expertise and ideas,” says the website.
The festival is due to take place in November this year, by which time SHOUT is hopeful that face-to-face events will be allowed to go ahead instead of done digitally as they were in 2020. However, during the pandemic, it learnt that a lot of people actually valued the online experience, so will still be aiming to develop online aspects and if a lockdown does end up being our reality once again, it has the contingency plan of bringing SHOUT Festival to the digital world. If you’re an artist or creative who would like to submit work to SHOUT for consideration, then email shoutfestival@blgbt.org. Organisers add: “There’s no template or form to fill in, but please make sure to tell us a bit about yourself and what you’ve done before; and about your idea and what you think might be needed to make it a reality.” D For more info and other opportunities, visit: www.shoutfestival.co.uk
Plans announced for Leamington Spa’s Rainbow Pride crossing
BIRMINGHAM RAINBOW WALK
A rainbow Pride crossing in Leamington Spa – much like the one already located in Birmingham’s Southside – has been agreed with Warwickshire County Council. The crossing will be installed between Jephson Gardens and Pump Room Gardens, where Warwickshire Pride Festival usually takes place. Daniel Browne, chair of trustees at Warwickshire Pride, said: “It will be painted in time for this year’s virtual Pride and it will be a permanent crossing. “A local councillor is funding the initial painting of the crossing. As she is up for re-election in May we are not naming her at the moment in case it influences the vote.” Meanwhile, “Warwickshire County Council will cover the cost of maintaining the crossing” and council contractors will be tasked with the painting. Daniel told us: “It will be the six-stripe rainbow flag and send DANIEL BROWNE a positive message that LGBTQ+ people are welcome in Leamington Spa, that the council supports LGBTQ+ people, and of course it’s nice for Pride too. “We hope it will be embraced and that many LGBTQ+ people will enjoy seeing it.” D For more info on Warwickshire Pride, visit:
www.warwickshirepride.co.uk
Birmingham Unicorns LGBTQ+ cricket club seeks new members
On Sunday, May 23, Weoley Hill CC in south west Birmingham hosted a very special cricket match – the debut outing of LGBTQ+ cricket club, the Birmingham Unicorns. Birmingham Unicorns was established in 2020 as a proudly LGBTQ+ inclusive cricket club, providing a place for people passionate about cricket to come and play and socialise. It welcomes everyone, including allies, who want to enjoy cricket in a friendly, supportive community environment.
Birmingham Unicorns play home games in Selly Oak, Birmingham and during 2021 will be playing friendly fixtures on Sundays with the occasional mid-week T20 fixture. The club caters to all playing levels, whether you have played cricket before or are totally new to the sport. Speaking to Sports Media LGBT, club founder and chair Lachlan Smith said: “We're starting out small this year with eight fixtures and I’m grateful to the support of Weoley Hill Cricket Club who have offered us the use of their second ground to play our matches. “We are excited to be on the cusp of something new which can help change the face of cricket. We know it’s a great sport but like many sports, LGBTQ+ people don’t always feel at home in cricket. As a club, we really want to change that. “We encourage anyone who is interested to know more, or who wants to play, to get in touch.” ) To contact the club, follow @bhamunicorns on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, visit www.bhamunicorns.co.uk, or email
