QueerSpace is a
volunteer-led organization based on collective planning and action
which serves the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Community of
Belfast and Northern Ireland by raising its visibility, supporting its
activities, providing it with
resources and
facilitating
communication
while adhering to the principles of community orientation, freedom of
identity, ethical funding and accessibility.
After a very successful 2008 (including a sold out concert
during the Outburst festival), Quire is looking to recruit even more
female singers to balance the blend of voices.
Quire's Ladies Night recruitment event will
take place on Thursday 15th January 2009 (details above).
Belfast Pride 2008 culminated in a fantastic Parade and
Party in the Square on Saturday 2nd August. Over 7,000 people took part in
the biggest Belfast Pride ever!
In our 10th birthday year, QueerSpace was delighted
to play a major part in this year's Belfast Pride with the launch of our
photographic exhibition and the staging in Black Box of Life
After Queen's in conjunction with the Drama Divas. Our volunteers
also ran the InSpace coffee stand at the Community Fair at Custom House
Square on Parade Day.
To coincide with Pride, QueerSpace
commissioned a series of eye-catching sandwich boards (see photo above)
which combine thought-provoking messages with humorous images. The
sandwich boards certainly received plenty of attention during the parade -
check
this video on Belfast Telegraph TV. Our thanks to
Stratagem whose
financial support made the sandwich boards a reality.
QueerSpace congratulates everyone concerned
for a hugely successful Belfast Pride Festival!
Photos online here.
'Underexposed' is a collection of images which challenge
the existing perceptions of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans life in
Northern Ireland and was produced by members of the QueerSpace collective.
Junior Minister Gerry Kelly MLA and Lord Mayor of
Belfast, Cllr Tom Hartley also attended the event.
They were joined by over 100 guests including members of the LGBT
community, local political figures and representatives of statutory and
voluntary bodies, who heard all the speakers protest against
discrimination in its various guises.
Baroness Blood said "I’m here not just to support
lesbian and gay people, but because I am against discrimination in any
form".
Junior Minister Gerry Kelly
said that the vision of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First
Minister was a vibrant society free of discrimination which embraces
diversity. He congratulated QueerSpace on its work to heighten the
visibility of LGBT people here.
Photos from the launch event are
now available. QueerSpace thanks everyone involved in making the launch a
success.
The 'Underexposed' exhibition runs at Belfast Central Library from 24 July
to 31 August as a special Pride event
during QueerSpace's 10th Birthday year.
Thanks to everyone who joined us in Dubarrys Bar on Friday
25th January for our 10th Birthday Party - the first of a series of
special events to celebrate 10 years of QueerSpace!
It was
fantastic to catch up with so many people who've played a part in our
history (including a number of our illustrious Queers of the Year). We
were treated to music from the
Quire, nibbles and
some yummy birthday cake.
The evening saw the recognition of two very special people
- our Queers of the Decade, Mairéad
McCafferty and Gareth Lee - for their enormous contribution to the lives
of LGBT people in Northern Ireland over many years.
On Friday 25th January, during our 10th
Birthday Party, QueerSpace was delighted to launch a new service with the
help of the
Information Commissioner's
Office - a Community Information Line.
The Community Information Line is a phone
line with a regularly updated recorded message containing details of
forthcoming LGBT community events.
QueerSpace has joined the
YouTube age! Well done
to Ken for putting together this movie which charts the history of
QueerSpace and gives you a flavour of what we're all about - volunteering,
collective action, events, LGBT activism and above all, FUN!
Feel free to share the movie on your own social networks,
whether Facebook, Bebo, MySpace etc and help spread the message. There's
more video in our new Belfast Pride
2007 photo gallery.
Have
you suffered an assault or attack because you are gay? Did
you know you can report it to the police as a homophobic incident? You
didn't? Well you can.
If you are the victim of any crime and you
think you were targeted because of your sexuality, then the police want to
know about it. When you report the crime to the police in the normal way,
make sure you tell them that you want them to fill in a Form 80 about the
incident. If you don't want to report it to the police
directly, or you want to remain anonymous then you can report it via
Cara-Friend,
GLYNI,
Lesbian
Line,
Rainbow or
NIGRA (visit our links page for full contact details).
All incidents should be reported as this will
help the police and the community to spot any patterns in the crimes and
could also help ensure that more resources are given to combat homophobic
crimes in Northern Ireland.
As part of Belfast Pride 2003, the
Institute for
Conflict Research launched its study: An Acceptable Prejudice? Homophobic Violence and
Harassment in Northern Ireland at Clanmil Housing on Tuesday 29th
July. One of the authors, Neil Jarman, appeared on various media outlets
during the day, highlighting the findings of this important report.
You can download a copy in Adobe
Acrobat (PDF) format
here.
QueerSpace
is a member of the Coalition on Sexual Orientation.For more information, visit the CoSO
website.
The
appearance of anyone’s image on this website is not an indication of their
sexual orientation.
Last updated:
21 December 2008
Want more info, to pass on a compliment or
complaint or to
volunteer? Email QueerSpace
and let us know. We want to hear from you - make QueerSpace your space.
It was
fantastic to catch up with so many people who've played a part in our
history (including a number of our illustrious Queers of the Year). We
were treated to music from the
On Friday 25th January, during our 10th
Birthday Party, QueerSpace was delighted to launch a new service with the
help of the
