This snapshot of gurning ravers was taken at the largest illegal rave in UK history. Alan “Tash” Lodge had been attending free festivals since the 70s. On a sunny bank holiday weekend in May 1992, he joined about 30,000 partiers gathered beneath the Malvern Hills. It was meant to be a small event for new age travellers, but the news had spread. A crackdown followed, resulting in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which famously targeted events with music “predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”. GS
Photography turned 200 years old today, September 16, according to French photography publication Réponses Photo.
In its latest issue, number 373, the longtime magazine marked photography’s 200th birthday. There are a lot of candles on that bicentennial birthday cake. The obvious first question to ask is, “Why today? Why this year?”
“But why this date of 1824 precisely? To do this, we must go back in time, now more than two centuries ago, and focus on the life of Nicéphore Niépce. A brilliant engineer, he was born in the middle of the Age of Enlightenment in Chalon-sur-Saône, the epicenter of the birth of photography,” Réponses Photo writes in a translated article.
Portrait of Nicéphore Niépce
In 1816, Niépce resumed late 18th-century experiments on capturing light to create an image. Contemporaneously, others were hard at work on the same thing — including English scientist John Herschel, who would eventually create the cyanotype in the early 1840s. Herschel is also credited for the creation of the word “photography.” For his part, Niépce instead went with “heliography,” which is “writing with the Sun.”
More importantly, over the proceeding years, Niépce made progress on his experiments, testing different equipment and chemicals, finally cracking the code on September 16, 1824.
In a letter to his brother, Nicéphore described his first successful photograph, although that’s not the word he used.
“With the help of the improvement of my processes, I have managed to obtain a point of view such as I could desire, and which I hardly dared to flatter myself with, because until then, I had only had very incomplete results. This point of view was taken from your room on the Gras side […] The image of the objects is represented there with astonishing clarity and fidelity, down to the smallest details, and with their most delicate nuances,” Nicéphore wrote.
The original photograph, “View from the Window at Le Gras,” captured in 1826 or 1827 by Nicéphore Niepce. It is, for now, the oldest known surviving photograph. | CC BY-SA 4.0.
September 16, 1824, was a momentous day, to be sure. Beyond it being the day photography was born, it was also the day Louis XVIII of France died — the last French monarch to die in reign.
Although this first photo no longer exists, according to one of the inventor’s descendants, some historians still hope to find one of the engineer’s earliest photographs, perhaps in a French attic. It wouldn’t be the first time a significant historical artifact was discovered after a long time in hiding somewhere.
If Niépce captured the first photograph in September 1824, why do some people photography’s bicentennial is still a few years away?
A colorized version of the photograph, “View from the Window at Le Gras.” | CC BY-SA 4.0.
In large part, it’s because that first referenced image was not preserved. Niépce recorded early photographs to stone and then sanded them down to reuse them. The earliest surviving photograph is Niépce’s View from the Window at Le Gras, created in 1826 or 1827. This original photograph was found in 1952 and has been on display at the University of Texas at Austin almost continuously since 1963. It has occasionally made its way on the road for special exhibitions.
However, conflating the oldest surviving photograph with the first photograph is a mistake, per some experts, including Bernard Perrine, former editor-in-chief of Le Photographe, Pierre-Yves Mahé, director of the Spéos school, and Manuel Bonnet, a direct descendent of Niépce himself.
Mahé hopes to find a photo earlier than View from the Window at Le Gras, but even without it, he is confident that today is photography’s 200th birthday.
Two years after the new anti-Traveller laws came into force, many Gypsies and Travellers; who still go out travelling and who regularly camp ‘roadside’ with their trailers, are increasingly fearful of travelling because they are worried about losing their homes – say researchers who have been speaking to Travellers in West Yorkshire.
The Narrow Margins research project is based at Birmingham University and has been studying the effects of the increasing criminalisation of trespass on both Gypsies and Travellers – and also on homeless people – and how land use is regulated specifically to further marginalise these groups. Supported by Leeds GATE, as part of their research, they have been interviewing Travellers both living on Traveller sites and living roadside in West Yorkshire.
Part of the increasing criminalisation of trespass that specifically affects Travellers in England and Wales, is the new ‘anti-travelling law’, which are the new police powers contained and described in section 60 of the the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which came into force through amendments contained in the Police Act in June 2022.
Under the new law, a criminal offence is triggered once a ‘section 60C’ notice is served on a group of Travellers on an unauthorised or ‘roadside’ camp and they then refuse to – or can’t – leave. The criminal offence is punishable by six months in prison, and/or a £2,500 fine and/or the impounding and confiscation of vehicles and trailers. However, the police can only use section 60C, official guidance says, if they believe that the camp has caused, or will be likely to cause, significant damage, disruption, destruction, or distress.
The Travellers’ Times can also reveal that despite parts of the new anti-travelling law being found unlawful and in breach of human rights laws, by a High Court Judge earlier this year, police forces across England are continuing to use the law to evict Traveller camps – and in at least one case the Travellers’ Times came across – to also seize Traveller’s homes.
Fear and misinformation about the new law is common among the Travellers they spoke to, say researchers, and this is what is known as the ‘chilling effect’, which means that the threat of the law is stopping people from travelling and stopping roadside, even though not many arrests or seizures of vehicles were made by police using section 60C in the first travelling season after the law came in to force. In most cases where section 60C was used, the Travellers’ Times revealed in July 2023, the Travellers moved on when directed to – and no arrests or seizures of property were made. Yet the chilling effect is pernicious and is deterring Travellers from travelling, say the Narrow Margins researchers.
“There’s not enough sites, not enough sites to fit people on,” one former roadside Traveller told the Narrow Margins researchers. “There’s not even enough transit sites,” the Traveller added. “and with the new Police Act that’s come out, you can’t travel, so you’re basically stuck there. We’ re just rotting away on that site.”
This chilling effect is in danger of disrupting the Gypsy and Traveller way of life, as many still regularly travel. Some are on the road permanently; some are out for the late spring and summer months, often escaping crowded permanent Traveller sites, or winter only bits of land that they own but which do not have residential planning permission, and some Travellers hook up their trailers to escape bricks and mortar housing for the travelling season. Many Gypsies and Travellers will travel for work; to visit extended family in different parts of the UK or Ireland, often attending big family events like weddings and funerals; and also for the freedom that a life on the road can bring.
Gypsies and Travellers also travel to visit cultural events like fairs and horse fairs, and some may even travel to attend the big Light and Life Pentecostal Christian gatherings that are becoming increasingly common. It is well established in UK law that Romany Gypsies and Travellers have a right to their ethnic heritage – and travelling is part of that. It is this way of life, practised in some families for generations, that is seen as under threat by many Gypsies and Travellers.
“Last year, we’re not allowed to stay roadside anymore, and if you do, you get your caravan taken off you, and you might be going to get fines or get locked up,” one Traveller told the Narrow Margin researchers. “Obviously, that’s what made my dad get his yard — because he wasn’t allowed his yard — it wasn’t for living on,” they added. “But because this law came out, and Gypsies and Travellers weren’t allowed to live roadside, we had to live on there. He said he’s got nowhere to go.”
“Some people did say the police act is the final nail in the coffin (for travelling),” Narrow Margins researcher Isabella Pojuner told the Travellers’ Times. “They might say ‘this is the end of the Gypsies and Travellers way of life, but in the same interview they might also say, ‘but I’m still travelling roadside’, or, ‘I have hope that in the future, future generations will be able to,’” added Pojuner.
“A lot of people expressed that they want to continue travelling roadside, or they’d like to start again because it’s part of their identity. It’s synonymous with, for some – a lot of people – it’s synonymous with being a Gypsy or a Traveller. Even if that means breaking the law in some cases, there’s that defiance and resistance to the law.”
The chilling effect is compounded by the police often not telling Travellers which powers they are using to move them on, and because many Travellers have a culture of just shifting on when confronted by the authorities, as they see challenging evictions through the courts as a “futile exercise,” say the Narrow Margin researchers.
“(The Travellers) knowledge of the law varied quite widely,” says Pojuner. “Some people recognized section 60C, and all the other different sections and different provisions, and some people didn’t, and some people just spoke about how they were just moved on (by the authorities) who didn’t cite the law at all, which is of concern,” adds Pojuner.
“The way that the new laws are used – or not used – varies across England and Wales, which also compounds the chilling effect, even in areas where the local police force isn’t using the new law – or only using it in exceptional circumstances as a last resort.”
This is backed up by an investigation using freedom of information laws undertaken by Jake Bowers for Drive 2 Survive, a Romany Gypsy-led campaign group originally set up specifically to challenge the new anti-Travelling laws.
Bowers found that, in total, the new powers to evict and seize caravans parked on land without permission were used just 33 times in the first nine months from the date that they had come into force in June 2022. The investigation also revealed that large parts of the country from Wales to Durham and to Suffolk have not used the new powers at all, but one force alone – Thames Valley Police – used the powers a staggering 19 times.
Of the 43 forces surveyed 20 responded with information about the use of the new powers and 10 forces did not respond at all despite being legally required to do so within 20 days. Six forces said they held no information at all about the use of the new powers, while seven forces refused to respond saying it would take them too long to gather the information without charging a £450 fee.
“West Yorkshire Police, for example, have designed their own policy that says that the enforcement of the Police Act can’t be done unless it’s (taken) with the decision of a senior police officer,” says Pojuner.
“The police around Yorkshire, and the council, are more understanding (towards roadside Travellers) than other parts of the country,” says Pojuner, adding that for example, Leeds City Council will drop toilets, more than likely a skip, and bring black bags down for rubbish and Travellers always get at least a week.
“However, what it doesn’t do is reduce the fear and the chilling effect that communities experience knowing that those powers are available to be used (because) even though the police forces can take these different stances, what it doesn’t do is necessarily take away from the chilling effect of these police powers, (because) if you’re traveling across the country, it could be really unclear which jurisdiction you’re in.”
One Traveller confirmed this with the Narrow Margins researchers, telling them that some were different than others. “In Brighton they had a force that would use it, they’d give you an hour to be gone,” the Traveller told the researchers. “If yous weren’t gone, a couple of trucks were waiting at the gate to remove your stuff.”
The new powers lasted just over 18 months before they were partly successfully challenged in the High Court in January earlier this year by Wendy Smith, A Romany Gypsy, and her lawyers. Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) and Liberty were also involved in the case, and the Narrow Margins researchers provided evidence of the chilling effect to FFT, who presented it to the court. The judgement, which was made public two months ago in May, declared that parts of the new police powers; in particular the no return within 12 months or face arrest clause, were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights – which the UK is signed up to – and therefore amounted to unlawful discrimination. The judgement also recognised the ‘chilling effect’, with the judgement stating:
“The Claimant contended that the provisions had a “chilling effect” – i.e. the existence of section 60C and 60D would serve to dissuade Gypsies from stopping from place to place, as is their custom. There is some support for this in the evidence on the use of the new powers so far. An article in the Travellers’ Times of 18 July 2023 refers to the police using the new provisions to encourage Gypsies to move on, without actually resorting to the use of the power to arrest or the power to seize property. Further, research published in August 2023 by academics at Birmingham City University is to the effect that the possibility of arrest under section 60C has resulted in Gypsies stopping at unauthorised encampments for shorter periods and moving more frequently.”
Yet the Travellers’ Times can reveal that police forces across England are still using the new powers. Our recent search of local media reports shows that section 60C has been used at least six times in the last five months to evict camps in Bristol, Nantwich and Leamington Spa, among others. And that’s just section 60C, because it’s important to note that the previously existing police powers of sections 61 and 62 – which police forces are continuing to use – now also contain the unlawful discrimination of the ‘no return with 12 months’ clause, thanks to the amendments in the Police Act.
We asked Pojuner what could be done about the chilling effect and the new anti-Travelling law in general.
“What we’d like to see (under the new Government) is those (unlawful) provisions being either amended through a remedial order or new legislation replaces them,” answered Pojuner. “It’s not usually normal for those things to be repealed, though we’re hoping that we can brief the government to repeal those provisions because we consider them wasteful.”
Pojuner also pointed out that the National Police Chiefs Council said in a consultation response that they did not want the new anti-Travelling law, adding that they already had enough powers to deal with ‘unauthorised camps’.
“After we’ve received the High Court decision that says that these new powers are incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights, we can hope that a new Labour government will listen to that and respond to what The High Court has done because (the new Government) acknowledge the importance of the European Convention of Human Rights,” says Pojuner. “And here, (Prime Minister) Starmer himself, being a lawyer, should be more inclined to, to protect human rights and recognize those human rights. So, by speaking to the new Labour Government, we’ve got more chances of building on this decision.”
The Travellers’ Times approached the government for comment and asked them why a law that has been found to be discriminatory and unlawful was still being used, and when were they going to bring it back to Parliament to be fixed.
In a statement released to the Travellers’ Times, a government spokesperson said:
“The government fully acknowledges the High Court’s decision. As with all decisions of this nature, we will be taking the time to consider the ruling and determine the most appropriate next steps.”
The government acknowledging the High Court decision and taking time to decide what to do about, is probably the tiniest of possible steps forward towards at best repealing the new law – and at worst only reverting the unlawful ’12 month no return’ clause back to the previous (lawful) time frame of no return in three months. Either way, until amending the unlawful Police Act reaches the top of the new government’s ‘to do’ list, the chilling effect will continue.
In the meantime, the best advice that we can give to Travellers that are facing eviction by the police is to ask them which police powers they are using.
If it’s section 60 that they are using to evict you, then ask the police what makes them believe that the camp is causing – or is likely to cause – significant damage, disruption, destruction, or distress, because – in theory anyway – that’s the only time the police should use those draconian new powers.
And as to the chilling effect? Remember that the Police can’t just wade in and seize your homes and your vehicles under section 60. They have to ask you to leave first and the criminal offence is only then triggered if you don’t.
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A free festival promoting ways to live more sustainably is returning for its 31st year.
Nottingham’s Green Festival will take place at the city’s Arboretum on Sunday.
The annual event, which involves food stalls, crafts and other activities, was initially known as the Peace Festival when it was first staged in 1992.
Organisers say they expect “about 2,000 people” to attend.
The Peace Festival was launched by a group of activists and used to take place at The Embankment, Nottingham.
Adam Smith, a spokesperson for the festival said, over time, the organisers’ “social priorities changed” and the event focused on sustainable living.
The “grassroots, volunteer-led” event will include food stalls, local businesses, lectures, children’s games and crafts, Mr Smith said.
“It’s so important that festivals like this remain accessible to everyone and that’s why we’ve moved to the Arboretum, so it’s available by public transport,” he added.
“So again, that’s another way we’ve managed to lower the carbon emissions of even running the festival,” Mr Smith added.
Image caption,The festival will include stalls from local businesses, organisers said
Organisers hope keeping the festival free will also allow families to enjoy a day out during the “ongoing cost of living crisis” and help to share their message further.
Mr Smith added that the event addressed the topic of a sustainability in a “fun and entertaining way”, showcasing how people might impact the environment in ways they were “not aware of”.
The festival, which is independently funded through fundraising, will run from 12:00 BST to 18:00 on Sunday.
Nottingham celebrated the opening of a brand-new green space today (Wednesday 4 September) in a key milestone for the wider Broad Marsh regeneration project.
Local schoolchildren from Mellers Primary School were among the first to explore the area, learning about the ten types of native trees planted, along with the types of plants which have been added to attract pollinators and other wildlife.
The new green space is a place to enjoy nature with 38 trees, 34 of them newly planted, plus areas of colourful planting, a new marsh pond area, two rain garden areas and several footpaths and places to sit.
A diverse range of trees have been planted from different species, to help make sure that as many of the trees as possible can cope with and survive potential disease or extreme weather. Varieties including acers, and nyssa slyvatica will add beautiful autumn colour while other varieties that can cope better with the wet conditions around the marsh such as salix and alnus glutinosa have been added.
The Green Heart contains three distinct planting areas, a superbloom with a variety of colourful and striking plants providing nectar to insects and wildlife year-round, a flowering meadow, and a marsh and rain garden areas featuring wetland planting. These areas are complemented by lawned spaces.
Pathways created from sandstone wind around the Green Heart, allowing residents and visitors to wander through the new public space, sitting amongst the plants and enjoying nature. The main path through the Green Heart serves as a clear and direct route connecting the train station with the bus station and city centre, and will be well-lit at night.
A brand-new sculpture by Rachel Carter, ‘Standing in this place’ will also be unveiled in the Green Heart this November. The sculpture will give voice and recognition to the contributions of thousands of unnamed women who were the driving forces behind the East Midlands cotton textile industry during Industrialisation.
More progress on the ongoing regeneration of the wider Broad Marsh area is still to come, with a state-of-the-art NHS Community Diagnostic Centre set to open in the area, as well as plans for new homes and offices.
The Green Heart is made possible by funding through the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities fund, a £161million package of funding given to Nottingham and Derby in 2020 to keep cities moving and improve connections between and around cities.
The Green Heart is the latest step in the plans to regenerate the area, following on from the radical transformation of Collin Street from a three-lane traffic choked road to a peaceful pedestriansed area with a playground in front of the new Central Library, as well as the new Broad Marsh car park and bus station.
Councillor Neghat Khan, Nottingham City Council Leader and Executive Member for Strategic Regeneration, Transport and Communications, said: “I’m proud to officially open this beautiful new green space for the city. It’s wonderful to see so many people already enjoying it. Following the collapse of the intu Broadmarsh shopping centre, we asked people in Nottingham what they wanted to see in this space… they overwhelmingly asked for a new green park.
“I’m pleased that something amazing has bloomed, creating a wonderful new space for people and wildlife alike. Thank you to council colleagues and partners who have brought this to life.
“The Green Heart is just the latest step in regenerating the Broad Marsh area, following the new Central Library, pedestrianised streets, and the bus station and car park. New homes and offices will follow in the future – providing a complete revamp for this part of the city.”
Nick Heath, Director at Wilmott Dixon, said: “As a business with strong roots in Nottingham, we’re incredibly proud to have played a role in this project.”
“Creating a vibrant green space in the city centre has not only opened up routes between our different quarters, but it also provides a space for children, shoppers and workers to enjoy.”
“We look forward to seeing both local people and the local wildlife benefitting from the Green Heart.”
Gary Alden at Townshend Landscape Architects who developed the concept design for the Green Heart said: “The overall concept was to create a wildlife-rich green space as part of a ‘nature first’ approach. Key to our design was incorporating a wetland area that would absorb rainwater from Colin Street, reflecting the importance of wetland habitats and that the area was historically a marsh. It is fantastic to see that wildlife is already finding its way there and making a home in the pond. The colourful planting is attracting bees and other pollinators too. It was important to create a place unique to Broad Marsh, with the seating boulders referencing the sandstone, which is the same rock on which Nottingham Castle was built.”
Ares Landscape Architects are completing the design on behalf of Contractor Willmott Dixon. Associate Director Kate Shearer said: “It was important that the detailed design proposals were faithful to the concepts established by Townshend Landscape Architects. We worked collaboratively to support Willmott Dixon with their construction activities. Much of the design was bespoke and great attention to detail and care had to be taken executing the works to ensure the imagination of the concept became a reality on site”
Speaking ahead of the opening of the Green Heart, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Chief Executive Paul Wilkinson said: “Once it became clear that there was an opportunity to transform the Broadmarsh area, we focused on highlighting our vision and encouraging everyone involved to raise their ambitions about what could be achieved for wildlife and people.
Our ‘nature first’ approach had significant support from the public and we are delighted that what started out as aspiration has become a reality. We congratulate everyone that’s been involved in this transformation and look forward to seeing the Green Heart evolve.
We also look forward to working with Nottingham City Council and other partners to ensure that nature and wildlife-rich green space remain key elements of future phases of the redevelopment.”
Oliver Hatton, director at Pick Everard who have contributed project management, surveying and design work to the project, said: “The completion of the Broad Marsh Green Heart scheme represents a significant milestone in the quest to redevelop a key part of Nottingham’s public infrastructure.
“Our team has collaborated closely with project partners to ensure the delivery of a vibrant community space, which reflects changing attitudes to the way we view our towns and cities, with plenty of accessible greenery that contributes positively to modern sustainability goals.
“Having been a key part of the team that has delivered several Broad Marsh initiatives, including the car park, adjacent library and Collin Street revamp, we’re proud to be continuing to lead the charge in transforming Nottingham’s future, and look forward to the Green Heart becoming an integral part of the city’s Southside area.”
Ben Hensman, Commercial Director at ATV Contract Services, who will look after the Green Heart as the plants bed in, said: “The wetland area will become a much-needed haven for nature, providing a great spot for wildlife to thrive. With the addition of water plants that help oxygenate the pond area, we’re excited to see more urban wildlife, like insects, birds, and other pollinators, making this their home. It’s amazing to already see signs of amphibian life, showing just how important this space is for the city.”
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An exhibition in Broadway’s Gallery Featuring work by local photographer Alan Lodge and memorabilia.
Learn about the festival’s history and community. Find out about how you can support this year’s festival by becoming a volunteer.
The exhibition will run from Wednesday 28 August to Saturday 1 September.
Opening times WED 28 AUG 4–7PM: Join the opening event in Broadway Gallery (access via Broadway’s main entrance or via Heathcoat Street). Featuring short talks with Alan Lodge and guest speakers from 6–7PM.
THU 29 – SAT 31 AUG
12–7PM: Open to public visitors (access via Broadway’s main entrance or via Heathcoat Street).
About Nottingham Green Festival 2024
The Arboretum, Sunday 8th September 2024
Nottingham Green Festival is now in its 31st year and is organised by grass roots community-based volunteers, not-for-profit and with no statutory funding. The ethical standards and sustainability / environmental / human / animal rights ethos of the FREE one-day event are long established, having evolved from the pre-history of Nottingham Peace Festival from which it evolved in the 1980s.
The event this year will be on Sunday 8 September between 12noon and 6pm, providing the place for everyone to learn, explore and try the latest in everything environmentally friendly and ethical, while having lots of fun in the beautiful setting of the Arboretum Park.
Outdoor entertainment and adult & children’s activities and workshops include stalls from small green businesses, craft workers, community groups, charities, campaigns, artisan food producers and vegan caterers. Stalls share information about domestic energy saving, insulation and reducing carbon emissions. Re-use, repair and recycling are encouraged. Sustainable and energy-saving technologies, transport and information are promoted.
The Green Festival has addressed these issues since the 1991. We organise and prepare for the event throughout the year. Beyond the local and community groups currently involved, in future we hope to include staff, students and societies from our universities and colleges in projects to help educate and inform those attending the event about the urgency of our situation, and offering positive and practical actions that individuals and communities can take.
Broadway’s Gallery is located on the lower ground floor of Broadway Cinema, nestled within Broadway’s design and innovation studio spaces behind Screens 3 and 4.
Street level access from Heathcoat Street (NG1 3AF) or via Broadway’s main entrance on Broad Street (NG1 3AL). Broadway’s spaces are fully wheelchair accessible, with ramps and lift access from Broadway’s Box Office.
A show introducing the Nottingham Green Festival and its history. Photography by Alan Lodge http://alanlodge.co.uk and memorabilia. Exhibition will run from Wednesday 28th August to Sunday 1st September 2024
Nottingham Green Festival :: The Arboretum, Sunday, 8th September 2024
Nottingham Green Festival is now in its 31st year and is organised by grass roots community-based volunteers, not-for-profit and with no statutory funding. The ethical standards and sustainability / environmental / human / animal rights ethos of the FREE one-day event are long established, having evolved from the pre-history of Nottingham Peace Festival from which it evolved in the 1980’s. The event this year will be on Sunday 8th September between 12noon and 6pm, provides the place for everyone to learn, explore and try the latest in everything environmentally friendly and ethical, while having lots of fun in the beautiful setting of the Arboretum Park. Outdoor entertainment and adult & children’s activities and workshops include stalls from small green businesses, craft workers, community groups, charities, campaigns, artisan food producers and vegan caterers. Stalls share information about domestic energy saving, insulation and reducing carbon emissions. Re-use, repair and recycling are encouraged. Sustainable and energy-saving technologies, transport and information are promoted. The Green Festival has addressed these issues since the 1991. We organise and prepare for the event throughout the year. Beyond the local and community groups currently involved, in future we hope to include staff, students and societies from our universities and colleges in projects to help educate and inform those attending the event about the urgency of our situation, and offering positive and practical actions that individuals and communities can take. Please help us if you can. ‘Think globally, act locally’
Green Festival, Broadway Gallery Edit. 60mins Slideshow announcing 30 Years of the Nottingham Green Festival …. continuing from the ‘Peace Festival’. Show to accompany an exhibition at the Broadway Gallery, Nottingham. August 28th to 1st September.
The Nottingham Carnival is a superb multi-cultural event held every summer. This event is a not-for-profit community organisation, supported by sponsors, stallholders, advertisers, performers, troupes, supporters and volunteers who help make the Nottingham Carnival the successful event it is every year. Particular thanks go to the Arts Council of England and Nottingham City Council for their on-going support. The Carnival has been going from strength to strength, developing local artists and practitioners and improving year on year.
A number of different groups, clubs, schools and societies get involved every year, bringing a together a diverse mix of arts, music and culture. Hundreds of young people from across the city get involved, bringing together different communities for a great celebration.
A great deal of voluntary community effort goes into creating the carnival weekend each year, especially by those involved in the preparation of the carnival costumes, worn by hundreds of young people from all different backgrounds and communities in Nottingham.
Carnival represents the largest participatory arts form in Nottingham and we aim to continue to bring all communities together for an artistic spectacle, of colour and excitement. We aim to continue working on our vision of developing a truly inclusive and free public event which promotes the best of carnival arts.
From Thursday 25th July to Sunday 4th August 2024 we put on an exhibition at Broadway Cinema Gallery to coincide with Nottingham Pride. We worked with our regular collaborators, People’s Histreh and photographer Alan ‘Tash’ Lodge, and also our fab new friend, journalist and author CJ DeBarra. CJ has just submitted the manuscript of their new, two-volume work entitled Queer Nottingham, forthcoming in early 2025 from Five Leaves. They also gave a sell-out talk at Nottingham Central Library on Thursday 1st August.
This has been our second exhibition at Broadway Cinema Gallery, following 2023’s event Regime Change Begins at Home – Nottingham Opposition to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The exhibition could not have taken place without the generous support of so many people, including everyone who promoted the event and the veterans of the liberation movement who provided invaluable feedback during installation, especially on the more disturbing subjects such as homophobic violence and the AIDS epidemic. Many thanks must also go to David Edgley who opened the exhibition with an informative and entertaining talk on local LGBTQ+ history, as well as Nottingham’s White Rose Outlet store who provided us with a mannequin so we could scare new generations with Chris Richardson’s nightmarish Thatcher mask. We tried to offset the bias in our archival collections towards materials produced and donated by white gay men by including materials e.g. focussing on lesbians and LGBTQ+ people of colour, but especially trans people are almost invisible in our twentieth century materials. As such we are very thankful that The Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health allowed us to display their enormous trans flag and a beautiful painting celebrating Brianna Ghey (Rest in Power!). Our very heartfelt thanks must of course also go to all the incredibly supportive workers at Broadway Cinema, notably Lee Nicholls who enabled us to use Broadway Gallery.
Of course there would be no archive of local LGBTQ+ struggles if it had not been for the many persons who collected materials over decades, most notably our dearly missed friend and comrade Chris Richardson and his partner Richard McCance. Richard was the first openly gay person ever elected to public office in Nottingham and Chris was instrumental not only in producing many of the exhibited artefacts, but crucially also in preserving them for the future, with their archive eventually being kindly donated to the Sparrows’ Nest.
Finally, we are incredibly thankful to every single one of the 505 visitors of all ages, backgrounds and genders who visited over the course of ten days (we sadly lost one day when Broadway closed as a fascist mob descended on the City Centre). We were amazed how long people spent looking at the various exhibits and grateful for the feedback and encouragement, new contacts, donations of new materials, and all the stories relating to the exhibits and peoples’ life experiences. The visitors’ engagement, humbling feedback and heartfelt contributions made the event the huge success it was.
The title of the exhibition reflected the focus of the exhibited materials. It was not just about celebrating Nottingham Pride by displaying Tash’s wonderful photos of local events going back to the early 2000s, but focussing more generally on LGBTQ+ struggles, activism and solidarity since the 1970s.
Key exhibits were the cover pages of Nottingham’s many local LGBTQ+ community newsletters, such as Chimaera, Outlook, Gay East Midlands, Diversion, and many more. They contextualised the other photographs and artefacts, recounting the struggles of local LGBTQ+ people, who always stood shoulder to shoulder with others, ever pushing back against a tide of bigotry and hatred, whilst creating vibrant communities that not only survived, but thrived.
The exhibits depicted both heartbreaking and heartwarming stories which clearly made an impact on our visitors, both on the veterans of the movement as well as on younger persons. Many of the former stressed how younger generations need to remember the struggles fought and many of the latter were visibly moved and upset by discovering this side of their history, sometimes for the first time. We hope we have contributed to keeping these stories alive, offering an opportunity to old and young to learn from and be inspired by the past to better fight the struggles of our day.
As such it seemed an appropriate end to these remarkable two weeks that on the last afternoon a young protester, engaged in a lone LGBTQ+ vigil outside a restaurant a few doors down, was spontaneously reinforced by older activists who had been visiting the exhibition.
Once more many thanks to all of you who made the exhibition possible.
Open from 7.00pm tonight : chance to see the extra material, add to the photos, that I’d like to see for Green Festival show there
Broadway Cinema @BroadwayCinema We’ll be sharing the work of @tashuk from today in our Broadway Gallery as part of Under the Rainbow an exhibition hosted by SparrowsNestLib displaying a time capsule of resistance The photographs will compliment a rich collection of LGBTQ+ materials from independent media🌈
Posted in.|Taggedbroadway, lgbt, nottingham, Photography, rainbow, Tash|Comments Off on Under the Rainbow : Documents and Artefacts From Five Decades of LGBTQ+ Struggle and Liberation
Made a presentation at the KISMIF Conference about my photography, travellers, festivals etc, University of Porto, Portugal More about it all here – https://alanlodge.co.uk/blog/archives/24354
…. but then spent a few days as a tourist, gadding about in Porto. Here are a few piccys.
The KISMIF Conference (2014-) is an international academic/cultural/artistic event based in Porto (Portugal) focused on the discussion and sharing of information around underground cultures , DIY practices, urban arts and related themes. KISMIF focuses on cultural practices that are used to counter more massive and uniformized forms of cultural production/creation/mediation, activating an anti-hegemonic ethos centered around an aesthetics and politics of the “ arts of making ” of everyday life.
KISMIF is , to date, the only conference that examines the theory and practice of underground scenes and DIY cultures as increasingly significant cultural forms in the global context of precarity and uncertainty.
The KISMIF Conference has a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach , and is open to contributions from the global community of researchers, artists and activists working in all aspects of the underground and DIY cultures, and is based on a pluralistic methodological approach . The aim is to discuss not only music, but other artistic fields such as film and video, graffiti and street art, theatre and performing arts, literature and poetry, radio, artistic programming and publishing, graphic design, drawing, architecture, or even cartoons and comics.
The first edition of the KISMIF Conference was held in 2014 and focused on “ Underground Music Scenes and DIY Cultures ”. The second edition (2015) was dedicated to the theme “ Crossing Borders of Underground Music Scenes ”. The third edition (2016) promoted a discussion around “ DIY Cultures, Spaces and Places ”. The fourth edition took place in 2018 and focused on the theme “ Gender, differences, identities and DIY cultures ”. The fifth edition took place in 2021 and focused on the theme of “DIY Cultures and Global Challenges”. The sixth edition (2022) focused on the theme of “DIY Cultures, Sustainability and Artistic Ecosystems”. The seventh edition, which will take place in 2024, will focus on the theme of “DIY Cultures, Democracy and Creative Participation”. Every edition of the KISMIF Conference offers an advanced Summer School/Seminar, in which participants can discuss/analyze in greater depth specific issues around these themes.
Each edition of the KISMIF Conference, in addition to its scientific programme, consists of a diverse social and cultural programme , consisting of a set of artistic events, with a particular focus on underground music and its artistic expressions . The aim is to provide all participants with a unique sensory and scientific experience at the level of global DIY cultures.
An ongoing diary of stuff, allsorts, and things wot happen ……
I am a photographer with a special interest to document the lives of travelling people and those attending Festivals, Stonehenge etc, what the press often describe as ‘New Age Travellers’ and many social concerns.
With my photography, I have tried to say something of the wide variety of people engaged in ‘Alternatives’, and youths’ many sub-cultures and to present a more positive view.
I have photographed many free and commercial events and have, in recent years, extended my work to include dance parties (’rave culture’), gay-rights events, environmental direct actions, and protest against the Criminal Justice Act and more recently, issues surrounding the Global Capitalism.
Further, police surveillance has recently become a very important subject for me!
In recognition of this work, received a ‘Winston’ from Privacy International, at the 1998 ‘Big Brother’ Awards. The citation reads: “Alan Lodge is a photographer who has spent more than a decade raising awareness of front-line police surveillance activities, particularly the endemic practice of photographing demonstrators and activists”.
I am based in Nottingham, UK.
Quotes & Thoughts
“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance.
In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock!!”
Harry Lime [Orsen Wells] The Third Man 1949
“Civilization will not attain to its perfection, until the last stone from the last church, falls on the last priest.”
Emile Zola
“….I have an important message to deliver to all the cute people all over the world.
If you’re out there and you’re not cute, maybe you’re beautiful, I just want to tell you somethin’- there’s more of us ugly mother-fuckers than you are, hey-y, so watch out now…”
Frank Zappa
Tash on YouTube
