A new portrait photography project celebrating the people who make up Brighton & Hove's LGBTQ+ community has launched to mark the 35th anniversary of Brighton & Hove Pride.
Proud Brighton – We Are Community, commissioned by Brighton Pride CIC and created by photographer Chris Jepson, features portraits of people from across the city's LGBTQ+ communities, with each participant sharing a single sentence about what Pride means to them.
The exhibition is now on display at Jubilee Library from 27 July - 15 August and can also be seen across Brighton & Hove on lamppost banners. The portraits will additionally appear on placards during this year's Brighton & Hove Pride Parade.
The project forms part of United in Pride, a collaborative initiative bringing together Brighton & Hove Pride, Trans Pride Brighton and Brighton Bear Weekend. Participants have been drawn from all three communities, reflecting the diversity of Pride as it is experienced across the city.
Created by award-winning community photographer and Proud Studios CIC founder Chris Jepson, the series brings together long-standing members of the community alongside first-time Pride attendees, performers, volunteers, organisers and parade-goers.
The project also aims to highlight people who are often underrepresented in Pride imagery, including older LGBTQ+ people, disabled community members, people of colour, and trans and non-binary people.
Chris said the exhibition builds on more than three decades of work documenting LGBTQ+ lives and experiences. "This project continues my long-term commitment to photographing LGBTQ+ lives. For over 30 years, my work has centred on visibility, authorship and who gets to be seen.
"One of the things I care most about is removing the gatekeeping of who appears in photography, allowing for a more democratic, community-led curation.
"Proud Brighton – We Are Community is a portrait exhibition marking the 35th anniversary of Brighton & Hove Pride. These portraits are a reminder that our community has never been a single story – and that Pride belongs to everyone who shows up."
Brighton Pride CIC managing director Paul Kemp said the exhibition was designed to celebrate the people at the heart of Pride's success over the past three and a half decades.
"Thirty-five years is a remarkable milestone, and we wanted to mark it in a way that felt genuinely true to our community. Proud Brighton does exactly that.
"At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under pressure across the world, visibility matters more than ever, and the portraits that Chris has created are a powerful act of representation.
"This is not a celebration of an idea of Pride, it is a celebration of real people, real lives and a community that continues to show up for each other."
Paul added that the project reflects the spirit of Brighton & Hove as one of the UK's most diverse and inclusive cities.
The exhibition runs until 15 August at Jubilee Library, with portraits also featured throughout the city and during the Pride celebrations.
More information is available via Proud Studios CIC.
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