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.
Bumped into the wonderful documentary photographer of the UK counterculture 1970s-90s @tashuk @KISMIFpunk last night. I’d love to see a hi-quality photography book of his unique body of work across decades from free festivals & parties, new travellers, punks ravers & squatters…
10th JULY || 11h45 — 12h30: PLENARY LECTURE 📍 Room 2, Casa da Música, Porto
Alan Lodge “Photographing and Documenting Counter-Cultural Culture”
Alan Lodge, Documentary Photographer, Photo-Journalist and Storyteller, United Kingdom Chair: Andy Bennett, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Australia
I am invited to be a keynote speaker at the conference in July University of Porto, Portugal Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto • Via Panorâmica, Portugal
In terms of topic, an account of your work photographing protest events and similar gatherings in the UK would be great. There will be audio-visual equipment for you to use on the day.
Professor Andy Bennett School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science Gold Coast Campus Griffith University
Thus, have prepared this presentation of photographs >>
KISMIF Conference is an international academic/cultural/artistic event based in the city of Porto (Portugal) and focused on discussing and sharing information about underground cultures, DIY practices, urban arts and other related topics. KISMIF focuses on cultural practices that are used to face more massive and uniform forms of cultural production/creation/mediation, by activating an anti-hegemonic ethos centered around the aesthetics and policies of the daily ‘arts of doing’.
KISMIF is, so far, the only congress in the world that analyzes the theory and practice of underground scenes and DIY cultures as increasingly significant cultural forms in a global context of precariousness and uncertainty.
The KISMIF Conference has a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspective, open for contributions from the global community of researchers, artists and activists who work on all aspects of underground scenes and DIY cultures and conduct their research within a plural methodological approach. The objective is to debate not only about music, but also other artistic fields such as cinema and video, graffiti and urban art, theater and performing arts, literature and poetry, radio, 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 about ‘DIY Cultures, Spaces and Places’. The fourth edition took place in 2018 and was focused on ‘Gender, differences, identities and DIY cultures’. The fifith edition that took place in 2021 focused on the theme of ‘DIY Cultures and Global Challenges’. The sixth edition happened in 2022 and it was about ‘DIY Cultures, Sustainability and Artistic Ecosystems‘.
The next edition will occur in 2024 and it will be focused on ” DIY Cultures, Democracy and Creative Participation’. All editions of the KISMIF Conference also offer a summer school / advanced seminar, where participants can discuss/analyze in more depth some specific issues around these themes.
Each edition of the KISMIF Conference, in addition to its scientific program, also consists of a diverse social and cultural program formed by a set of artistic events, with a focus on underground music and its artistic expressions. It is intended, therefore, to provide all participants with a unique sensory and scientific experience in terms of global DIY cultures.
Alan Lodge is a freelance photographer with interests in the press, social concerns, youth and multicultural subjects, and ‘alternative’ lifestyles. His photo library includes 40+ years of editorial and commercial photography of events, social and environmental issues.
A photographer who deals with aspects of “alternative” lifestyles and subcultures. Photographing many free and commercial events, “free party” (‘rave culture’), travelers, environmental protest, land rights with surrounding social concerns. Aims to present a more positive view of people and communities that are often misrepresented.
Unlike so many press photographers looking for a dramatic story; he wants to give a more insightful view that only people who have been accepted into a community can truly achieve. Such events often involve police operations.
He has provided images to illustrate articles for publications such as the Guardian, Independent, iD Magazine, etc., and has contributed to a number of TV projects with the BBC and Channel4.
Member of the National Union of Journalists, he is a documentary photographer, photojournalist and ‘storyteller’.
Lecture Title:
Photographing and Documenting Counter-Cultural Culture
The event, where I’ll present, will be at the Casa Da Musica, Porto, Portugal
📆 10th JULY || 11h45 — 12h30: PLENARY LECTURE 📍 Room 2, Casa da Música, Porto
Alan Lodge “Photographing and Documenting Counter-Cultural Culture”
Alan Lodge, Documentary Photographer, Photo-Journalist and Storyteller, United Kingdom Chair: Andy Bennett, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Australia
Prof George McKay Bumped into the wonderful documentary photographer of the UK counterculture 1970s-90s @tashuk @KISMIFpunk last night. I’d love to see a hi-quality photography book of his unique body of work across decades from free festivals & parties, new travellers, punks ravers & squatters… https://www.facebook.com/share/p/mDgUNtVBagu4utcP
We are in revolt against all the anally-retentive,
repressive, patriarchal, hierarchical bullshit that is passed off by our rulers as the culture of our country and as the natural human way of life.
We insist on our right to celebrate the amazing beauty of life on this planet in a way that feels right to us.
We insist on our right to freely and fully feel and express our emotions and our spiritual selves.
We insist on our right to gather together, to celebrate, to show our love, to be unashamed of our beautiful bodies, to make music and dance, to live according to the directions of our hearts, to live in freedom and joy.
We reject the notion that we should all direct all our energies according to someone else’s will in return for the crumbs off their table.
We reject the ridiculous idea that only by doing this will we be worthy and valuable members of society.
We reject completely the claims of the thieves and murderers, and descendants of thieves and murderers, who say they own this land and that they have the right to control its use and our access to it, and even to abuse and destroy it if they so wish.
We reject without exception the arrogant philosophies of so-called “economists” who believe that we should base the running of our society around the production and exchange of useless rubbish, and that it matters not what is produced and exchanged – only that money is made, and that we can only survive by all competing with each other; with our neighbours and friends around us; with our fellow countryfolk and with our brothers and sisters in other lands.
We reject wholeheartedly the claims of bullies in suits and uniforms that harmony amongst human beings can only be maintained by force.
We are frightened and worried by the horrifying thought that these are the people being allowed to make decisions about the running of our collective affairs.
We are inspired by our own and others’ experiences to believe that people coming together collectively with mutual respect and a willingness to work together can run their own affairs very effectively without the need for any rulers, leaders, hierarchy or excessive bureaucracy.
We are convinced from simple observation that those who set themselves up as the leaders of the people of this land do so for their own benefit, not for the benefit of those they claim to lead.
We refuse to accept their outrageous claims.
We refuse to put up with their attempts to enforce their perverse and life-denying ways upon us.
I introduce you to a variety of events. I am interested in festivals, music, community and multi-cultural events. In this set I show something of the Asian Mela, Chinese New Year, Sikh Vaisakhi, St Patricks’ Day, St. Georges’ Day, Mexican Day of the Dead and a Malaysian Festival in Nottingham. All in colourful national dress. Light-night in Nottingham shows a variety of lighting installations, music, theatre and stages.
Originating from a free festival and traveller background, Alan Lodge has worked as a photographer for over fifty years, with a particular special interest in ‘alternative’ lifestyles and subcultures. Having covered Pride events for several decades, we thought we’d share some of his best images and ask him a few questions about life behind the lens…
Tell us a bit about yourself and your work as a photographer…
I am a photographer dealing with aspects of ‘alternative’ lifestyles and subcultures, photographing many free and commercial events, ‘free party’ events (‘rave culture’), environment protest, land rights with surrounding social concerns. I aim to present a more positive view of people and communities that are frequently misrepresented. I also cover political actions, concerns about civil rights and protest involving policing operations, especially in relation to surveillance.
A graduate of Nottingham Trent University with a BA degree in Photography, I specialise in issues surrounding representation, both in print and audio-visual format. I completed an MA in Photography, also at NTU, and have recently been presenting an exhibition of large-scale work at the Bonington Gallery there.
How long have you been photographing Pride and what does it mean to you?
This set of photographs covers twenty years back to 2003. However, I had been photographing Pride events for years before digital photography, thus previous events covered will have been on black and white negative stock. Pride is clearly a gathering not only designed for fun but to highlight issues around the civil rights of the individual.
You seem to get into the thick of things and interact with the groups you photograph. How does this differ from being an observer on the sidelines?
I started in photography to counter much of what a ‘press photographer’ would see, having just parachuted into any situation. You have to spend time with people to better understand who they are and what interests them. This lets you see more honestly people’s behaviours with each other. I generally can’t stand posing people for a photo. If you miss a more natural shot, with a little anticipation sometimes you get a second chance.
Do you think Pride successfully continues to be a civil rights protest and a celebration while also increasingly adopted by commercial enterprises?
I have attended Pride events in Manchester, Brighton, London, Derby and Nottingham. As with any events, in the UK we have some quite strict laws and regulations on entertainment: notifying police, local authority licensing, insurance, booking acts, etcetera. It all costs money to put on even modest community events. Hence, they have to work within a budget and the money raised somehow. However, the commercial entities that sponsor events can sometimes overwhelm the contribution by smaller grassroots groups. I do sometimes wonder, for their contributions, if some companies [and authorities] might be engaged in pink-washing. It can drown out the central message of these events in standing up for individual freedoms and their civil rights. Prejudice still exists in wider society. Issues need to continue to be highlighted and stood up for.
Posted in.|Taggedgay, leftlion, nottingham, pride, protest, Tash|Comments Off on Twenty years of photographing Pride Festival with photojournalist Alan Lodge
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
