New UK grassroots campaign Pride Inside, launching nationwide in partnership with Clear Channel, will see the LGBTQ+ community taking over 1,000 digital Out of Home screens with striking images of what Pride means to them instead of taking to the streets.
The images started appearing across the UK this week with a potential reach of 10 million. The campaign was the brainchild of writer, performer and drag star Ginger Johnson and aims to represent the full spectrum of the diverse LGBTQ+ community, with more than 120 queer contributors and photographers teaming up to create images from their homes or local public spaces while socially distancing.
They include the lead singer of a Belfast queer punk band (together with her pet rat), a Newcastle drag king, an NHS nurse in south London, original members of the Gay Liberation Front and an award-winning engineer who came to the UK as a refugee and went on to be named one of the BBC’s top 100 influential women in the world.
Ginger Johnson, resident MC at Sink the Pink, the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ collective, and co-presenter of breakfast TV show Wakey!, said “Usually we take to the streets for Pride. We take to stages, demos and dancefloors. We climb onboard floats or walk shoulder to shoulder with our families and friends but this summer that just isn’t possible. So it’s crucial that LGBTQ+ people from all walks of life are visible and proud in our public spaces even if we can’t be there together in person!”
“Pride is also a chance for our community to reach out to the people who haven’t found pride in their lives yet, who don’t feel safe, who are hidden. It’s our chance to say to them, ‘You are not alone, we are here and we are proud of you.’ Pride has always been an opportunity for us all to learn about each other – to honour our shared experiences, our differences and our collective resilience. It’s taken the combined efforts of a whole team of amazing queer people from all over the UK to get this project off the ground and we can’t wait to share it with everyone.”
The photography was co-ordinated by award-winning music and events photographer Corinne Cumming. Clear Channel’s Chief Marketing Officer Martin Corke told us “As part of Clear Channel’s on-going commitment to support and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, we are proud to be partnering with Pride Inside this year to showcase people from all parts of the community celebrating at home. While Pride events may not be happening on the streets, we hope to create a sense of shared experience and bring that community spirit Out of Home with our very public medium”.
Pride Inside hopes the campaign will inspire other queer people across the UK to carry on the Pride celebrations at home and create their own images, posting them online under the #PrideInsideUK hashtag.
The campaign also seeks to raise awareness of the work of grassroots LGBTQ+ charities, with Pride Inside partnering with LGBT+ Consortium to raise funds for organisations across the UK who provide vital services for the queer community.
A specially designed website will feature resources to allow people to learn more about Pride, those taking part in Pride Inside and how they can engage with each other.