Presented by Politics and International Relations Senior Lecturer Dr Daniel Conway and Alex Green, an artist and visiting research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, the exhibition titled Pride Belongs to the People: Images of Soweto Pride was displayed at the official residence of the UK High Commissioner in Pretoria, following the opening of the exhibition at Newington Green Meeting House on 4 August 2022.
The exhibition documents the struggles, circumstances, and demands of Black LGBTQ+ activists in Soweto, South Africa, and the event in South Africa was organised with the Gay and Lesbian Archives of South Africa. The exhibition draws from research on the ‘Global Politics of Pride’ funded by the Leverhulme Trust and material recently published by Dr Conway on Pride in Johannesburg in the journal Sociology. The exhibition was supported by the University of Westminster’s School of Social Sciences and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Knowledge Exchange Fund.
The exhibition and an official reception was hosted by Antony Phillipson, UK High Commissioner to South Africa; Josh Reid, UK Deputy Consul General; Louise Coskeran, UK Social Development Adviser and was attended by John Jeffery MP, South African Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development; members of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni Council; Gauteng Provincial government; representatives from the EU, Argentina, Canada and the US; as well as the organisers of Soweto and Ekurhuleni Pride; the Forum for the Empowerment of Women, One in Nine Campaign and other LGBT activists.
The photographs in the exhibition are to be displayed at the Gay and Lesbian Archives in Johannesburg, where they will stay, and there are plans to display the exhibition at The Rand Club in central Johannesburg. 2022 Soweto Pride took place just over a week after the exhibition and there were a number of important outcomes from the reception. For the first time, there was a large diplomatic presence at Soweto Pride including representatives from the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands. Following the reception, the Forum for the Empowerment of Women and Soweto Pride secured commitments for future from the funding diplomatic missions present.
Dr Conway and Alex Green also attended Ekurhuleni Pride held in the township of Wattville while in South Africa. Speaking about the event at the High Commissioner’s residence and the success of the exhibition, Dr Conway said: “Being able to display the photographs of Soweto Pride and quotes from activists in their presence was very moving. I was also happy that the courageous work of black LGBTQ+ activists in Gauteng Province was acknowledged and honoured by the UK High Commission in South Africa. I’m delighted that the exhibition led to commitments of international support for the important work of the Forum for the Empowerment of Women and Soweto Pride, and I look forward to an ongoing partnership with the LGBT activists and the Gay and Lesbian Archives in South Africa.”
Keval Harie, Director of the Gay and Lesbian Archives, and Linda Chernis, GALA’s archivist commented: “Daniel Conway’s work in documenting pride in the global south is incredibly important. From a South African perspective, his work documenting Soweto Pride in particular is a meaningful contribution to documenting queer lives. It supports GALA’s mission to archive the present, so that those involved in these history-making events and movements can be part of telling their own story… We were incredibly moved by the relationships and trust that Daniel, as a foreign, white, cis male, had formed with the activists and organisers of Soweto and Ekurhuleni Pride. This was clear to see at the event.”
Find out about support available for LGBTQ+ students at the University of Westminster, the Q+ staff network group, and the University’s Diversity and Inclusion research community.
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