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‘My costume drama’ celebrates 365 days of fundraising for MindOut, Brighton’s LGBTQ mental health project

My Costume Drama came to an exciting climax with a celebratory party and fundraiser at Charles Street on Friday, September 30.

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For the previous twelve months student and chef at the Bedford Tavern, Aaron Lawrence aka entertainer Spice had dressed every day in different fancy dress to raise money for MindOut, the LGBTQ Mental Health Charity. The Charles Street event marked his 365th day dressing up and raised £645.00.

Entertainment on the night was provided by Spice, Sally Vate, Tabitha Wild, Trudi Styles, Miss Treated, Lydia L’Scabies, The Sea Serpents, Cherry Shakewell, Lee Burridge (magician) and The Dilemma Girls who all donated their services.

During the year todate Spice has raised £13,600 with My Costume Drama for MindOut, the LGBT Mental Health Charity.

Although Spice’s 12 months of dressing up every day are over, there are another couple of fundraising events still to come in October, before a grand total of the amount of money raised for the project will be announced during November.

The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Pete West had a prior function booked into his diary and could not attend.

He sent a message of commendation along to acknowledge Aaron’s achievements during the last 12 months.

Cllr Pete West
Cllr Pete West

In it the Mayor wrote: “On behalf of the City of Brighton & Hove I commend your compassion, energy and selflessness.

“I am very sorry that I cannot be with you this evening to celebrate your fantastic achievement and join what I feel sure will be an amazing night. I will however be giving my robes an extra swish in your honour and I wholeheartedly commend your initiative.

“Statistics suggest that the LGBT community are particularly vulnerable when it comes to mental health and though our city is a welcoming haven for many, a great place to be does not necessarily confer great mental health.

“The pressures on individual LGBT persons in terms of identity, family, self-awareness and sexual health can each and all give cause for concern, so it’s no surprise that some find themselves in need of support. In many of those cases MindOut are a lifeline, both a friend and advocate and a kindly ear for problems that might otherwise be hard to articulate.

“Your year in fancy dress has not only raised significant amounts of money, but has provided a gateway to the service, raising its profile and remove some of the anxieties people might have about it by you positive and joyful way of fundraising.”

For more information about My Costume Drama, click here:

For more information about MindOut, click here:

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PREVIEW: Brighton Photo Biennial 2016 -Matthew and Matthew – Screenings and Talk

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“Hey Matthew, I hear you’re a gay filmmaker?”

“Yes Matthew, I am. And you’re a queer/femme filmmaker – maybe we should have a chat sometime?”

Join learning disabled artists and filmmakers Matthew Hellett (Brighton) and Matthew Kennedy (Glasgow) as they show their films and share their experiences of how identity shapes their work.

Matthew Hellett is a Carousel artist. Carousel supports learning disabled artists to manage, produce and promote their creative work. This includes the international short film festival Oska Bright (November 2017), several bands and solo artist Daniel Wakeford (currently on UK tour)and Creative Minds, the national conversation about learning disability arts’ place in culture and society.

Carousel is funded by Arts Council England (as a National Portfolio Organisation), Brighton and Hove City Council and a range of trusts and foundations. It is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.

For more information about Carousel, click here:

Eyes Wide Open Cinema is a queer film strand founded in 2012 out of a desire to bring a regular film series to Brighton exploring the lives and work of sexual and gender minorities in film.

For more information about, click here:

Oska Bright Film Festival is funded by the BFI. In partnership with Oska Bright Film Festival and Eyes Wide Open Cinema


Event: Brighton Photo Biennial, Oska Bright Film Festival and Eyes Wide Open Cinema present: Matthew and Matthew – Screenings and Talk

Where: Sallis Benney Theatre, University of Brighton Galleries , Grand Parade

When: Sunday, October 16

Time: 2pm-4pm

Cost: £5/£3 (concessions and Photoworks Members)

 

 

PREVIEW: Brighton Photo Biennial 2016 screening of LOEV

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Two men reconnect in this emotionally raw and politically radical gay love story, banned in India upon its release.

When hot shot, Wall Street deal-maker Jai thinks of putting some pleasure into his 48 hour business trip to Mumbai, Sahil, his young, music producer friend, drops everything, including his reckless boyfriend Alex, to help him execute the perfect getaway.

Hiking the hills and canyons of Maharashtra, amidst half-attempted conversations and sudden silences, business calls and old jokes, the friends discover there is more than just time-zones keeping them apart. Things take another turn when Alex shows up with a new male companion at his side, throwing up old conflicts and bringing unanswered questions to the fore.


Event: LOEV with live introduction by Director, Sudhanshu Saria

Where: Sallis Benney Theatre, University of Brighton Galleries, Grand Parade

When: Wednesday October 12

Time:  6pm-8.15pm

Cost: £6/£4 (concessions and Photoworks Members)

2 days to go to support ‘Hating Peter Tatchell’ Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign

 

The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to help fund the making of the documentary Hating Peter Tatchell still needs £1,400 to reach its target.

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With just 2 days to go, 206 people have donated £8616. The project will only be funded if at least £10,000 of the films total £80,000 production budget is pledged by Wednesday, October 12 at noon.

How can you offer support?

You can pledge,  tweet, status update, send to your newsletter list or email friends and family to make sure this important documentary gets made.

Narrated by film actor and human rights campaigner Sir Ian McKellen, Hating Peter Tatchell is the inspiring true story of world-renowned human rights activist Peter Tatchell, his 50 years of human rights activism and the resulting immense personal price he has paid.

Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights organisation the Peter Tatchell Foundation, said: “This documentary is not just my story, it is also a snapshot of the struggle for human rights over the last half century. Your support in getting this film made is greatly appreciated.”

Filmmaker Chris Amos, Director of Hating Peter Tatchell, added: “Having known Peter for 15 years, I have come to appreciate Peter’s eccentricities, his meticulous organisational detail and bravery defending human rights and witnessed his passion working around the clock on campaigns. Despite his efforts, he has come under severe criticism. He is the person who for decades the media and critics loved to hate. Through this documentary you have the chance to meet the real man and hear the true story.”

Peter was at the forefront on gay marriage issues in the UK. His campaigning started back in 1992 when five same-sex couples applied for marriage licences. As we all know, this finally came to fruition in the UK in 2014 – 24 years later. Peter never gave up campaigning for this to happen.

To make a pledge, click here:

Police Scotland launch network of LGBTI Liaison Officers

Equality Network, the Scottish LGBTI equality charity welcomes launch of Police Scotland’s LGBTI Liaison Officers training programme.

web-600National lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) equality charity the Equality Network has welcomed the launch at the start of Hate Crime Awareness Week of Police Scotland’s network of LGBTI Liaison Officers.

Earlier this year the Equality Network delivered a training programme for police at locations around the country.

Tim Hopkins
Tim Hopkins

Tim Hopkins, Equality Network Director said: “We were happy to provide training on LGBTI hate crime issues to nearly 100 police officers across Scotland earlier this year, and it’s great to see that Police Scotland have now set up a national network of Liaison Officers. This will help LGBTI people have the confidence to report hate incidents to the police, and will mean that there should always be a police officer they can make contact with who has an understanding of LGBTI issues.”

The Equality Network is currently surveying LGBTI people’s experiences of hate crime in Scotland, with interim results from over 1000 respondents showing that 61% of LGBTI people have been the target of a hate crime, the majority of which happened in the last year. 70% of LGBT+ people who have experienced a hate crime however, did not report the incident(s) to the police.

Chief Constable Phil Gormley
Chief Constable Phil Gormley

Police Scotland Chief Constable Phil Gormley, said: “Tackling all forms of Hate Crime remains an absolute priority for Police Scotland. Every incident has a significant impact on the victim, their family and wider communities.

“Hate Crime can manifest itself in lots of different ways, for example, offensive graffiti, having your property vandalised, having your belongings stolen, people swearing or making abusive remarks making you feel intimidated or harassed, through online abuse, being threatened or being physically attacked.  All of this behaviour is completely unacceptable, and whether criminal or not, Police Scotland wants to know about in order to avoid behaviour escalating and being unchallenged.

“Examples of Police Scotland’s commitment to tackling Hate Crime include work with the ‘I Am Me’ charity to provide support for people with disabilities through our ‘Keep Safe’ scheme in partnership with the public and private sectors; and the recently developed training for more than 90 officers to work with the country’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) communities to help prevent Hate Crime.”

Cathleen Lauder, a transgender woman from Edinburgh, said: “In April 2015 I was the victim of transphobic abuse while using public transport. Soon afterwards, I reported what happened to the police. I was in a state of shock, despite managing to keep a cool head during the incident. When I reported the incident my nerves gradually kicked-in. I had to wait around for an hour to give my statement, but when I did the two officers were ever so nice. The following day I went back to the station and handed in some evidence.

“A week or two after, I had to give my statement again to another officer who visited me at my home. This officer visited and called me several times to keep me updated on the situation over the following few months. I did feel confused that I had to give my statement twice, but overall I felt I was being taken care of by the police”.

Referring to the new LGBT Liaison Officers, Cathleen added: “I do think most people in the LGBTI community would feel safe talking to them”.

The Equality Network’s hate crime survey of LGBTI people in Scotland is still open.

To complete online, click here:

National Hate Crime Awareness Week runs from October 8-15.

 

 

 

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