OUT BRISTOL MAY JUNE 2024

OUT BRISTOL

“The definitive destination for the LGBT+ communities in the dual city region of the West of England.”

OUT BRISTOL

Welcome to Out Bristol an independent community magazine and website for the LGBT+ communities of the West of England.

Established in 2008 as an independent free access website and guide that joins up the dots to create a hub linking to further support and information.

The website and guide quickly turned into a magazine with the same aims as the website as a hub, showcasing what’s on in the region for LGBT+ people. This developed to linking with the tourism board to showcase the great things happening in the city region. The site is now the LGBT+ tourism site for the region, with links to information on where to stay, attractions, festivals and the LGBT+ Scene.

We have an open source policy for the site, magazine and social media which means all content comes directly from the source as they have sent it #nofilter. Our communities are diverse and editing content to one single voice when we are many voices does not allow for free expression.

Out Bristol has many contributors via its social media, website and magazine over the years and we welcome people to contribute to the website and magazine as the more voices the better.

Out Bristol is your virutal community centre, home of your Out Bristol Magazine. We’re a hub hosting a space to plug your events, social groups and news and we’re 100% independent and non for profit.

We’re whatever you want us to be.

We would like to thank you for visiting us and supporting Out Bristol.

OUT BRISTOL

08 Charley Williams

18 QPOC Socials

MYCELIUM is a love letter to the Bristol queer community.

Creating spaces & community for Queer People of Colour (QPOC)

The Dan Daw Show

show about care, intimacy and resilience, about letting go

22 Bristol Bisons Match update & Bingham Cup News 20 Easton Cowgirls

Catch up on all the match news from the Cowgirls recent games 21 Bristol City Panthers

The Panthers have been working hard in the league check out all the news.

Love,Lies, Bleeding Gym manager Lou falls for Jackie, a bodybuilder enroute to compete in Las Vegas.

Literature Queer Art

Music Queer Choir

WILLIAMS CHARLEY

/ Stylist / Artist

Tell us a little about yourself and why you love photography?

I’m a portrait and event photographer working in Bristol and the South West. I was born near London and grew up here, there, and everywhere before landing in Bristol to study for my Photography degree. I specialise in artistic portraits of creative people and documentary style event coverage. This can include anything from weddings, fashion, live music, editorial, business branding, nightlife, food + drink and studio and location work.

I love to photograph the wacky and interesting, anything that pushes new boundaries. I love to shoot portrait photography as it embodies my love of people watching and my need to document everything! I hope you enjoy having a nosy through my portfolio, drop me a message today if you would like to find out about prices and availability, or just to tell me about your photography plans!

Where do you get your inspiration from ?

It comes directly from the people I’m shooting. I always consider my photography, especially the portrait work a translation practice. I’m not projecting my ideas onto the subject in the way you might with a model, I want their natural essence and character to come through. I’m just there to capture it. Its the same with the documentary work, I’m trying to capture the energy in the room and highlight the connections between people.

Photographer

FEATURE: CHARLEY WILLIAMS

Photographer / Stylist / Artist

What kind of camera do you use?

I use a Fujifilm xt2 and alternate between 23mm and 56mm lenses. Fuji camera bodies are really compact so it lends itself to my fly on the wall approach for documentary work. When I’m shooting studio portraits I use a Godox flash and a huge octobox that makes the most gorgeous soft lighting.

How much creative freedom do you have on an editorial shoot?

It depends. When I’m shooting editorial stuff the client usually has a rough idea in mind which I do my best to stick to while adding my own personal flair. Its important to me that the clients vision comes through so I keep them involved in the process to make sure its fully realised.

How important are personal projects to you ?

I think if you want to get your foot in the door shooting something you’re usually doing it out of your own time to begin with. So yeah I think its important to shoot stuff you’re passionate about as well as what’s going to bring the money in. I’m very fortunate that nowadays I get paid to shoot the same work I would want to make anyway, but that came over time after putting in the time and energy to build a reputation.

How much preparation goes into a shoot?

For me not a huge amount, I just need to turn up with the right equipment! I’m usually photographing live shows and taking portraits backstage at the same time so its just a case of making sure I’ve offered a portrait to everyone. Sometimes I get to chat to a lighting tech beforehand but mostly its being able to adapt to different conditions throughout the show. For a full studio shoot with a drag performer I usually ask for a mood board of what vibe they’re after, we pick out some lighting setups and discuss wardrobe options beforehand and then go for it on the day.

How much do you do in post production?

I do the basics like balancing exposure, white balance, light and shadows and do some tactical cropping and spot editing to remove distractions from the edges of the frame. I don’t do any retouching besides removing things like fluff on clothes, a stray wig hair if its pulling attention from the face, that kind of thing. I don’t do anything to change a persons natural skin texture or face shape but if there’s an angry spot that appeared that morning then of course I’ll remove that!

Photographer / Stylist / Artist

Photographer / Stylist / Artist

Among your works, which one is your favourite? Why?

Oh my god what a hard question! I could never choose, I’m so emotionally attached to too many of my photos! I guess I can pick one that sums up my body of work, which has always explored the interconnectedness of the drag scene. There’s one particular photo of Haem gazing into the camera while a friend ties her shoelaces. That one has always felt so iconic to me. I feel like it sums up how we elevate and help each other to create these super human, larger than life drag personalities. They wouldn’t exist without the support from the community.

Whose work has influenced you most?

I’ve always been inspired by Damien Frosts project, Night Flowers. He takes these absolutely gorgeous portraits of drag, burlesque and fetish characters on the London scene. They’re like paintings, absolutely stunning.

Photographer / Stylist / Artist

Do you think a photographer needs a philosophy to do good work ?

I think it helps if you are making a large body of work to have a philosophy or overarching idea to guide the process. But when you’re just starting out or exploring something new just have fun with it and the message behind it will follow. Some of the best work happens when you’re not taking things too seriously.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?

When I first started out I was really struggling feeling like an imposter in a queer space. Through following my passion for drag and making my own connections on the scene, I slowly came to realise I was also queer, so I wish I knew that at the start as it would have saved a lot of pain, but ultimately I’m grateful for my journey panning out the way it did, my own story being interconnected with stories I’m telling add an extra level of meaning.

Describe your photographic style? How did you develop your style?

My style is split between atmospheric, fly on the wall documentary photography and more thoughtful portrait work. The documentary stuff invites you to feel the queer joy shining through while the portraits invite you to take a little longer to look at the character in front of you, usually they are staring right back.

My style developed over time. Years ago I really struggled to direct when I was taking portraits but now its second nature. I think confidence naturally grows the more you practice and it really helps to have a close connection to the people you’re photographing

http://linktr.ee/bristolqpoc

QPOC Zine Collab Workshop

Date: 6th May 2024

Venues: Cloak Bristol

Introducing Bristol’s first ever QPOC Zine Collab Workshop!

Times: 18:30

Tickets: Free

Come join us at Cloak for a creative and empowering event where Queer People of Color (QPOC) can come together to express themselves through art-making. Whether you’re a seasoned zinester or a newbie, this workshop is for everyone! Let’s share stories, artwork, and experiences in a safe and inclusive space. No need to bring anything except your creativity and an open mind all materials will be provided so we can make a zine together. Let’s make some magic! If you’re a QPOC living in Bristol and want to meet other QPOC, come join us at Cloak on Monday 6th May 6:30PM onwards and let’s make some zines!

Please make sure to book a free ticket on Eventbrite as we have a maximum capacity of 24 people!

Agenda:

6:30PM-7PM: Arrivals and setting up

7PM-9PM: Workshop faciliated by @kaarokaaroart and @catthedalia

9PM onwards: Loose social / Keep on doodlin’

We are running this in collaboration with DIASPORA!, a new arts festival for Bristol and the South West, presented by the Diverse Artists Network (DAN). Taking place this year for the very first time, 3-6 May 2024, this four-day, multi-venue event will platform and celebrate the wide variety of talent reflected in the region’s underrepresented cultural communities. Sign up to DAN’s newsletter and follow them on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest DIASPORA! news and updates.

Accessibility: Unfortunately the Cloak is not currently wheelchair accessible All of Cloak’s toilets are gender-neutral. There is a one on the ground floor of the venue (the living room) and a series of gender-neutral stalls in the basement (the closet).

If anyone would like to join but is a bit nervous about walking in, send us a message and we can arrange for someone to come out and meet you

Match day results from 20th April

Easton Vaqueras took on Shaftesbury and played a full game with no subs! Big shout out to Rachel who made her debut to the casual league and absolutely smashed it on the wing, making lots of chances as well as smashing it in defence. Annie won player of the match after giving centre mid a go. The defence was relentless and we saw some amazing saves from Maria but Shaftesbury took the victory. Well deserved!

AC Moolan played a blinder this week, with everyone working together beautifully! So many shots on goal, but Cardiff Dragons keeper was a brick wall! Maeve got player of the match for outstanding performance on every inch of the pitch! Big shout out to Nat who played half in goal, then came out to score an epic header! Well done captain Nat. Unfortunately we don’t have many details from the Moonatics game since and couldn’t pin them down or find a team pic, in classic cowgirls fashion but ‘herd’ that they did very well and had a great time! Will get more info next time.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!

Following last weeks promotion celebrations, we took it one further and have won the league - undefeated!

It’s been a long ol’ season but we rounded out it off with a 9-0 win over @soho_fc to take the title your goal scorers below…

Mike G. 3

Dom M. 3

Russ K.1

Matt S. 1

Harvey J. 1

Thank you to Soho FC for making the trip and playing in some blistering sunshine and heat!

A huuuuuge congratulations to every single player who has put on the jersey this season - it’s been an unbelievable effort but we have stuck at it like a family and that’s what makes us who we are

The Dan Daw Show

Date: 17 & 18 May 2024

Venue: Bristol Old Vic

Time: 19.30

Ticket price: Pay what you can

A show about care, intimacy and resilience, about letting go and reclaiming yourself.

After having spent a lifetime being an inspiration to others, Dan is finally seizing the moment to inspire himself. Taking ownership of the beautiful mess that encompasses all that he is, Dan lets go of who he once was to make room for who he wants to be.

Dan is joined in an intimate evening of play by performer and collaborator Christopher Owen (Joe Moran, Scottish Dance Theatre) where Dan takes back the power by being dominated on his own terms.

Nominated for the 2021 National Dance Awards, the 2022 UK Theatre

Achievement in Dance Award, and directed by Mark Maughan (The Claim, Petrification), The Dan Daw Show is a peep into the shiny and sweaty push pull of living with shame while bursting with pride.

Fri 17 May. 7:30pm, Captioned, Relaxed, Signed, BSL Interpreter Sherrie Eugene-Hart

Sat 18 May, 7:30pm, Audio Described, Captioned, Relaxed

Love Lies Bleeding classified 15

Venue: Watershed Bristol

Date: Fri 6 - Sat 14 April

Director: Rose Glass

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy M. O’Brian, Ed Harris, Dave Franco

Info: 104 mins, 2024, UK

Bristol Tickets: www.watershed.co.uk

Join The Watershed at the 18:00 screening of Love Lies Bleeding on Mon 13 May which will feature Descriptive Subtitles and an introduction from Chloe Meineck, a queer artist, designer, researcher and queer community builder.

This will be followed at 20:00 by a post screening discussion in the Café & Bar with audience members and Chloe. The evening will be hosted by Deaf artist, performer and filmmaker David Ellington and will feature BSL interpretation throughout.

Director Rose Glass follows up her debut filmSaint Maud with an electric 1980s set crime thriller filled with blood, sex and brawn.

Reclusive gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) falls hard for Jackie (Katy M. O’Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.

A refreshingly untraditional, unhinged and unpredictable love story that flirts with paranormal body horror, filled to the brim with droning beats and neon lights - one not to be missed!

Please join us after the screening in the Café & Bar for an informal discussion, which will include BSL interpretation. You’ll receive 10% off drinks with your cinema ticket – so grab a glass or a mug of something and let us know your thoughts about Love Lies Bleeding.

ART QUEER

We love and strongly recommend this beautifully curated book. Celebrating the massive and lasting global impact of LGBTQI+ artists, a book like this is long overdue! Russell Tovey & Robert Diament, co-hosts of Talk Art podcast.

Celebrate the LGBTQI+ community with this vivid collection of artworks that charts queer voices from around the world.

The twentieth century saw key shifts for the LGBTQI+ community across the western world: from the Stonewall uprising to the first pride parades and homosexuality law reforms. The years following these milestone moments have seen queer life face new challenges, celebrations, injustices and liberations.

As ever, this journey has been closely mapped by art and culture. Artists working across all mediums – from painting, performance, digital and beyond – have captured key moments, from the HIV/AIDS crisis and the rise of drag, to marriage equality and the fight for trans liberation. The artists include:

• Andrew Logan, sculptor and founder of the Alternative Miss World party

• Leading artists David Hockney, Nicole Eisenmann and Zanele Muholi

• Late greats Greer Lankton, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon and Tom of Finland

• Pioneers of Queer Cinema Derek Jarman and Sir Isaac Julien

• Ground-breaking photographers Nan Goldin, Ajamu X, Wolfgang Tilmans and Catherine Opie

• Contemporary art stars Sin Wai Kin, Zackary Drucker and Clifford Prince King With nearly 200 artworks selected by leading LGBTQI+ curator Gemma RollsBentley, this book mixes the high-brow with the low, gallery stalwarts with Instagram stars, and the racy with the fabulous. This is a unique celebration of queer life – a must-have for the LGBTQI+ community, art lovers and anyone interested in the culture surrounding queer identity.

Publisher : Frances Lincoln (June 11, 2024) ISBN-10 : 0711282676

CHOIR QUEER

Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol, BS3 1TF / queerspacebristol.com

Queer Choir is a choir for all queer people. A community, a musical break from the norm, a place to be yourself.

Led by queer composer, arranger, and Queer Space co-founder Ellian Showering, and taught completely by ear, we will be learning and singing arrangements of kick-ass songs by queer artists and original compositions by Ellian. All members of the LGBTQIA+ community are welcome to this relaxed event, even if you have never sung a note in your life. Come and make some noise!

Each session will be a stand-alone event with no prior learning required. Queer Space Bristol programmes and produces a wide range of creative and wellbeing workshops and events for members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Bristol & the Southwest.

Access:

The entrance to Tobacco Factory Theatres is on the Raleigh Road side of the Tobacco Factory building. Tobacco Factory Theatres is fully wheelchair accessible with a ramp up into the building and a lift up to the Spielman Theatre where our workshops take place. We aim to offer BSL interpreted workshops where possible, please get in touch if you need an interpreter for this event.

There is a quiet space next to the theatre space we are working in, should you need to take some space away from the workshop at any time you are welcome to.

There is a gender neutral toilet, an accessible toilet, male and female toilets available to participants.

SABOTAGE

Another full-on, boisterous, and audaciously fierce performance with the NoFit State signature style.

SABOTAGE brings a darker, grittier, and more subversive edge to our trademark large scale contemporary circus spectacular. Back in the Big Top with incredible new acts, original music, new apparatus and a more theatrical feel, SABOTAGE challenges the status quo.

This is an energising, uplifting and socially relevant contemporary circus production. Our personal journeys bring us to this place. Our struggles, and privileges, have shaped that journey. And yet we find ourselves in the common meeting ground of the circus tent, with the common language of circus. SABOTAGE explores our separation, and our belonging. Saboteurs stand out. They stand up. They challenge the establishment. They are heard.

Nothing in SABOTAGE makes it unsuitable for children, but it was not made specifically for them.

Directed by Firenza Guidi.

Date: 18 May - 2 June 2024

Time: 11:00 -18:00

Venue: Centre space gallery

Ticket price: £28 Full Price £18 Concession

Info: www.nofitstate.org