Celebrating 45 years of LGBT Humanists
This year, Conway Hall partnered with Humanist Heritage to celebrate 45 years of LGBT Humanists, a pioneering organisation that established places for the non-religious to freely express their gender and sexuality.
These activities are a part of the collaborative project with Humanist Heritage and Conway Hall, Doers, Dreamers, Place Makers, which is generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Show Me Your Pride: Banner Making with Alice Gabb
The programme of events began in April, with Show Me Your Pride, a banner making workshop with activist and artist Alice Gabb. In the workshop, Alice shared a short history of activist banners, before working with the participants to design a unique banner that would be marched with by LGBT Humanists at Pride 2024, before taking its place in the Picturing Nonconformity exhibition at Conway Hall.
No One Left Behind: IDAHOBIT 2024
On 17 May, to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, Conway Hall welcomed pioneering LGBT and civil rights activist, Ted Brown for an evening of reflection on the past and present of intersecting discriminations faced by the LGBT community. He shared his pioneering work in combating phobia in religious contexts, ranging from homophobic pastoral support in care homes to transphobia in the media, and recounted his rich memories of LGBT activism since joining the Gay Liberation Front in 1970.
You can download and watch a free recording of the talk by clicking the button below.
Lead Me Into Temptation, Please
On Saturday 13 July, the historic spaces of Conway Hall were transformed into an LGBT festival, inspired by the annual fairs hosted LGBT Humanists in the 1980s.
We welcomed the brightest and best of the creative LGBT community in London, with activities throughout the day and night. We had stalls and activities from local makers and creatives, including Housmans Bookshop, LGBT Humanists, Shaven Raven Designs, and more. We had workshops from River Manning, Beth Watson, Tomara Garrod and Alexander Williams – and DJ Prinx Silver provided the perfect soundtrack to the day.
Photographs by Alavari Jeevathol
Picturing Nonconformity: LGBT Humanist Heritage
The culmination of the celebration was the landmark exhibition, Picturing Nonconformity, which featured protest imagery, snapshots of lively group gatherings, testimonies from LGBT Humanists members, as well as equally amusing and inspiring articles and illustrations from the community’s newsletter. The curated collection, ranging from textiles to illustrations to photographs, featured works by EM Parry, SL Grange, River Manning, Alice Gabb and Claire Mead.
Photographs by Alavari Jeevathol
