Homotopia is an international

LGBTQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

arts festival held annually in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The festival takes place in late-October and throughout November every year and features a mixture of theatre, dance, film, photography, art, cabaret and debate at numerous venues across Liverpool. Homotopia is the longest running annual LGBT arts and culture festival in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

Homotopia was launched as a pilot project on 1 November 2004, in response to Liverpool's successful bid to become

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

. The festival was commissioned by the Liverpool Culture Company's Creative Communities project, and started life as a ten-day programme of film, theatre, photography, art, comedy, storytelling and heritage designed to bring together an assortment of artists. Heavily supported by

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...

, the initiative was hailed as a sign of the city's 'growing maturity' in the run up to Capital of Culture and as an opportunity for the gay and lesbian community to play a vital part in the region's rich and diverse cultural life. The first event was attended by some 2750 people, but by the following year its visitor numbers had doubled, partly due to the high calibre of guests who had featured including prominent gay rights activist

Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian-born British human rights campaigner, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Parliament of the United Kingdo ...

. By 2008, the festival had showcased the largest

Tom of Finland Touko Valio Laaksonen (8 May 1920 – 7 November 1991), known by the pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a Finnish artist who made stylized highly masculinized erotic art, and influenced late 20th-century gay culture. He has been called the "mos ...

art retrospective in the UK as well as the first ever

North-West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

Grand Vogue Ball and visitor numbers had climbed to over 12,000. City leaders praised the celebration as a highlight of Liverpool's cultural calendar. 2009 marked a new chapter for Homotopia, when a youth visit to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

helped to forge new international partnerships. The visit became instrumental in the development of the festival's international arts programme and burgeoning social justice work. The trip also inspired an anti-homophobia documentary and education pack, which was rolled out to 100 schools and youth centres across Liverpool, gaining notable support from out gay

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

actor

Sir Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cul ...

. Since 2010, in addition to offering its diverse Liverpool schedule, Homotopia's work has expanded internationally and attracted audiences at various functions in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. In 2011, Homotopia was granted National Portfolio status by

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

. In 2018, Homotopia founder and long term Artistic Director, Gary Everett, parted ways with the organisation. Guest Curator, Cheryl Martin, led the programming of the 2018 festival. After a period of uncertainty, the Board of Trustees appointed Char Binns as Festival Director in early 2020. Alex Ferguson was appointed as Producer to lead the organisation into a new era. The pair had previously managed the festival in a freelance capacity.

Structure and governance

Homotopia was founded in 2004 as an

unincorporated association Unincorporated association refers to a group of people in common law jurisdictions—such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand—who organize around a shared purpose without forming a corporation or similar legal entity. Unlike in some ...

, with a small grant from

. In 2012, in the same year it was included in the Arts Council England National Portfolio of organisations (NPO), it became a

private limited company A private limited company is any type of business entity in Privately held company, "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a Public company, publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Example ...

limited by guarantee, with charitable aims. Its main annual funders are

and Liverpool City Council. As of 2023, it is governed by a nine member

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

who volunteer their time to run the festival and oversee its finances. The board members are (as of 2023): *Jess Shannon (Chair) *Daniel Kilbride (Deputy Chair) *Darren Begley *Joan Burnett *Gillian Clotworthy *Tabitha Lamb *Sinéad Nunes *Francesca Peschier *Stephen Welsh Additional staff include: *Alex Ferguson - Executive Director *Alice Holland - Festival Programmer *Olivia Graham - Marketing and Development Manager *Josiah Worth - Creative Partnerships Producer *Jess Gallie-Daly - Marketing Officer *Al Matthews - Finance Officer Board members do not have to identify as

LGBTQIA LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

, but must have a good understanding of the challenges faced by the community and share a 'passion for queer culture'. The board meets every two to three months in

Liverpool City Centre Liverpool city centre is the administrative, commercial, cultural, financial and historical centre of Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region, England. There are different definitions of the city centre for urban planning and local government; ...

and/or via Zoom meetings. Board members are required to maintain a minimum of 50 percent attendance at meetings. They must be willing to attend key events, launches and performances, be an advocate and ambassador for the festival and must serve for a maximum term of 4 years (2 x terms of 2 years).

Past festivals

Gallery

File:Fenella Fielding at Homotopia 2015.jpg,

Fenella Fielding Fenella Fielding (born Fenella Marion Feldman; 17 November 1927 – 11 September 2018) was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lady of t ...

, Homotopia 2015 launch at Camp and Furnace File:Lily savage wardrobe 2011.jpg, World premiere of 'Savage Style', 2011 festival: Outfits worn by

Lily Savage Paul James O'Grady (14 June 1955 – 28 March 2023) was an English comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained ...

File:The Liverpool Grand Vogue Ball, Homotopia Festival (2008).jpg, The Liverpool Grand Vogue Ball, 2008 festival File:April ashley @ homotopia 2008.jpg, An Evening With

April Ashley April Ashley (29 April 1935 – 27 December 2021), styled as The Honourable April Corbett from 1963 to 1980, was an English model, author, and LGBT rights activist. In the 1950s, upon being discharged from the Merchant Navy, she performed und ...

, 2008 festival File:Federation @ homotopia 2006.jpg, Club Federation @ 2006 festival File:Lady Sian @ Homotopia.png, Lady Sian @ The Lavender Club ( Unity Theatre), 2004 festival File:Homotopia 2004.png, Homotopia 2004 Closing Party @ The Masque, Liverpool

Global impact of the festival

Over the years, the Homotopia festival has forged links with groups and organisations around the world and its international work includes the following... * Homotopia 2012, in association with the Finnish

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

, developed a new human rights led project in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. 'Art As Social Change' chronicled the emergence of gay rights movements in the UK and Europe through photographs, testimonies and film. * Homotopia brought its

exhibition to

Kulturhuset House of Culture (Swedish: Kulturhuset) is a cultural center situated to the south of Sergels torg in central Stockholm, Sweden. The House of Culture has been described as a symbol for Stockholm as well as of the growth of modernism in Sweden. ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in June 2012. * In 2012, Homotopia launched the world's first IDAHO 50, a collaboration with 50 of Liverpool's leading companies, organisations and institutions to support action against

Homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

Transphobia Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to socia ...

. * In 2011, Homotopia's

exhibition formed part of the official programme for Turku's

year. It attracted a record audience of 90,000 to the Logomo space. * In November 2011, Tranny Hotel was held in Liverpool as part of the European-wide transgender arts festival. The city was one of only 11 cities in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to hold the event. * In December 2010, Homotopia produced a series of interventions, debates and research culminating with the Pansy Project in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

as part of its

year. Hundreds of pansies were planted to symbolize the ongoing international struggle for LGBT rights and equality. * In 2009, 12 young people from Homotopia's Project Triangle went to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

to learn about the Holocaust. A group of young LGBTQ people from Poland's KPH travelled to Liverpool to learn from

Merseyside Police Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police o ...

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service is the statute, statutory Fire service in the UK, fire and rescue service covering the county of Merseyside in north-west England and is the statutory Fire and Rescue Authority responsible for all 999 fire br ...

and

. The visit inspired a training programme for Polish police.

References

External links

Official Homotopia website

Homotopia's queer TV station
{{LGBT topics in the United Kingdom LGBTQ culture in Liverpool LGBTQ events in England Festivals in Liverpool LGBTQ organisations in England Annual events in England LGBTQ festivals in the United Kingdom