Homotopia (festival)
| Homotopia | |
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Festival logo
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| Frequency | Annually in November, some activities all year |
| Location(s) | Liverpool, England and international |
| Years active | 14 |
| Inaugurated | 2004 |
| Leader | Gary Everett (director) |
| Website | |
| Official Homotopia website | |
Homotopia is an international LGBT festival held annually in Liverpool, England and across various parts of Europe. The festival takes place every November and features a mixture of theatre, dance, film, photography, art, cabaret and debate at numerous venues across Liverpool and in other European cities.
Homotopia is a not for profit limited company with its headquarters at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre and is the only lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans combined arts organisation in the north of England.
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.
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