LGBT History Month 2014
February once again brings the celebration of Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans history month and the theme chosen for 2014 is music.
It is an opportunity to celebrate LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) lives and culture by exploring our own and others’ histories in an LGBT context. It is also an opportunity for learning, discussion and debate around the continued fight for LGBT liberation.
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans History Month takes place every year in February with the objective to celebrate the lives and achievements of the LGBT community. The organisers are committed to celebrate its diversity and that of the society as a whole and encourage everyone to see diversity and cultural pluralism as the positive forces that they are and endeavour to reflect this in all we do.
LGBT History Month has been welcomed by the government. However, its origins lie with the grass roots. The idea came from School’s Out!, a campaigning organisation of LGBT people involved in education. They took their inspiration partly from the US, where LGBT History Month has been celebrated since 1994
Every year a range of arts, cultural and educational events take place both nationally and within our local area. Revealing Stories, Bristol’s first ever exhibition of LGBT history was staged at Central Bristol’s M Shed during History Month 2013, and this year exhibition will be displayed throughout the month at Southmead Hospital in North Bristol.
Meanwhile in Wiltshire, a Celebratory Display will be in place in Trowbridge’s County Hall from 3rd – 7th February, and a display will also be in place in Swindon’s Central Library.
The other events planned in our area include :
Sunday 2nd February
Bristol Pride LGBT History Quiz
Organiser: Bristol Pride
Time Start/Finish: 6pm Start
Charge: £1 entry pp all going to Bristol Pride 2014 Community Area funding.
Venue: The Old Market Tavern, 29 Old Market Street BS2 0HB
Website for more info: http://pridebristol.co.uk/events
Friday 7th February
LGBT History 80s POWER HOUR: MADONNA
Organiser: Bristol Pride
Time Start/Finish: 10pm til late
Charge: suggested donation £3 all going to Bristol Pride 2014 family area.
Venue: The Queenshilling, Frogmore Street, BS1 5NA
Power Hour brings you the best of the 80s or 90s whilst fundraising a little money each month for Bristol Pride. February is special LGBT History 80s edition of Power Hour so expect a night filled with 80s club classics, dance floor fillers and a healthy dose of cheese! The 80s saw the LGBT coming into its own after The Stonewall Riots, Birth of Disco and liberation of the 70s but also brought with it Section 28 and AIDS. Come along and find out more about the movement and music that defined a generation with our LGBT History set featuring LGBT artists from the 80s and with a special theme Power Hour of one of THE LGBT icons: MADONNA!
Website for more info: http://pridebristol.co.uk/events
Friday 14th February
Researching LGBT History in Somerset
Organiser : Somerset County Council
Time Start/Finish : 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Charge : £5 for the talk, tea and cake!
Venue : The Museum of Somerset , Taunton Castle Castle Green, Taunton. TA1 4AA
Jane de Gruchy, an archivist with Somerset Archives & Local Studies, will discuss how to go about researching LGBT history in Somerset. She will also introduce some Somerset case studies, including that of Mary/Charles Hamilton, whose marriage to another woman in 1746 caught the national headlines.
Website for more info : http://www.somerset.gov.uk/irj/public/services/directory/service?rid=/guid/50561…
Saturday 15th February
ORGANISER: OutStories Bristol
TIME START/FINISH : 2.30pm-4pm
CHARGE : Free event: but donations to OutStories Bristol project gratefully received
Venue : M-Shed, Princess Wharf BS1 4RN
The Killing of Sister George premiered at the Bristol Old Vic 50 years ago this year. The play was made into a legendary film, part of which was filmed at the equally legendary Gateways club in London. Jill Gardiner, author of From the Closet to the Silver Screen, will be giving a talk about the club and the movie, and showing some clips from the film, too.
MORE INFO: Book via eventbrite.co.uk or visit http://outstoriesbristol.org.uk/
Saturday 15th February
Walk Out Special
Thursday 20th February
Tea Dance @ Trinity 2-4pm
Saturday 22nd February
Mystery History Tour led by Andy Foyle
Organiser : OutStories Bristol
Time Start/Finish : 1.30-3pm
Charge : Free event: suggested donation of £3 to support OutStories Bristol.
Venue : Meet outside the Register Office (Old Council House), Corn Street; nearly opposite the Exchange and the Nails
Bristol historian and author Andy Foyle leads an easy stroll (lasting around 1.5 hrs) through the city, lifting the curtain on our own peculiar and sometimes outrageous histories.
MORE INFO: Book via eventbrite.co.uk or visit http://outstoriesbristol.org.uk/
Sunday 23rd February
Cheryl Morgan on gay superheroes
Organiser : OutStories Bristol
Time Start/Finish : 2.30-3.30pm
Charge : Free event: but donations to OutStories Bristol project gratefully received
Venue : M-Shed, Princess Wharf BS1 4RN
Anyone old enough to remember the Adam West Batman TV series will know that it would be hard to imagine anything more camp. And yet at the same time superhero comics were strictly controlled with regard to content for fear of corrupting the youth of America (and doubtless the rest of the world as well). A lot has changed since the 1960s, and occasionally the mass media gets all excited about a superhero coming out as gay. But do those men in tights still expect us to believe that their dress sense is purely utilitarian? And how about the rest of the LGBT spectrum? Do they get a look in? Cheryl Morgan takes on a tour of a world in which we have been asked to believe that a man can fly, but not that he might fall in love with his teen sidekick.
MORE INFO: Book via eventbrite.co.uk or visit http://outstoriesbristol.org.uk/
Friday 28th February
What’s the Time, Mr Wolfenden?
Organiser : OutStories, Bristol
Time Start/Finish : 8pm – 1am
Charge : TBC
Venue : Toto’s
Take a trip back in time to a 1960s gay club. Music comes all the way from London with dsc jockeys from Unskinny Bop.
MORE INFO: Book via eventbrite.co.uk or visit http://outstoriesbristol.org.uk/
