Homotopia (festival)


Homotopia is an international LGBTQ+ arts festival held annually in Liverpool, England. The festival takes place in late-October and throughout November every year and features a mixture of theatre, dance, film, photography, art, cabaret and debate at numerous venues across Liverpool, UK.

History

Homotopia was launched as a pilot project on 1 November 2004, in response to Liverpool's successful bid to become European Capital of Culture. The festival was commissioned by the Liverpool Culture Company's Creative Communities project, and started life as a ten-day programme of film, theatre, photography, art, comedy, storytelling and heritage designed to bring together an assortment of artists. Heavily supported by Liverpool City Council, the initiative was hailed as a sign of the city's ‘growing maturity’ in the run up to Capital of Culture and as an opportunity for the gay and lesbian community to play a vital part in the region's rich and diverse cultural life.
The first event was attended by some 2750 people, but by the following year its visitor numbers had doubled, partly due to the high calibre of guests who had featured including prominent gay rights activist Peter Tatchell.
By 2008, the festival had showcased the largest Tom of Finland art retrospective in the UK as well as the first ever North-West Grand Vogue Ball and visitor numbers had climbed to over 12,000. City leaders praised the celebration as a highlight of Liverpool's cultural calendar.
2009 marked a new chapter for Homotopia after a youth visit to Poland helped to forge new international partnerships and was instrumental in the development of the festival's international arts programme and burgeoning social justice work. The trip inspired an anti-homophobia documentary and education pack, which was rolled out to 100 schools and youth centres across Liverpool, gaining notable support from out gay Hollywood actor Sir Ian McKellen.
Since 2010, in addition to offering its diverse Liverpool schedule, Homotopia's work has expanded internationally and attracted audiences at various functions in Turkey, Finland, Sweden and Russia.
In 2011, Homotopia was granted National Portfolio status by Arts Council England.
In 2017 Homotopia collaborated with the Museum of Liverpool to curate a major exhibition looking at 50 years of LGBT+ life in the city. "Tales from the City" will run until 31 March 2019.
In 2018 Homotopia founder and long term Artistic Director Gary Everett parted ways with the organisation. Guest Curator Cheryl Martin led the programming of the 2018 festival.
After a period of uncertainty, in early 2020 the Board of Trustees appointed Char Binns as Festival Director and Alex Ferguson as Producer to lead the organisation into a new era. The pair had previously managed the festival in a freelance capacity.

Past Festivals

2004: Pilot Festival

1–11 November 2004
31 October – 12 November 2005. Over 50 events including:
26 October – 18 November 2006. Over 70 events including:
1–19 November 2007. Over 70 events including:
1–30 November 2008. Over 50 events including:
1–30 November 2009. Over 30 events including:
1–30 November 2010. Over 50 events including:
1–30 November 2011. Over 30 events including:
October 30 – 25 November 2012. Over 20 events including:
30 October – 25 November 2013. 10 year anniversary events include:
23 October – 23 November 2014. Over 30 events including:
October and November 2015. Over 50 events including:
October and November 2016. 19 events across Liverpool including:
26 October – 26 November 2017. Over 50 events including:
2 November – 1 December 2018. Over 30 events including:
31 October – 10 November 2019. Over 20 events including:
Over the years, the Homotopia festival has forged links with groups and organisations around the world and its international work includes the following...