Brighton LGBTQI+ community centre launches Make Your Mark campaign

Make Your Mark initiative. PHOTO: Anthony Edwards

Submitted by The Ledward Centre

A LGBTQI+ community and cultural centre in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, has launched a ‘Make Your Mark’ initiative, to bring the community together.

The campaign offers people the chance to quite literally become a part of the The Ledward Centre, by donating a minimum of £20 in return for a personalised, hand-made tile.

Each of these tiles will form part of a six-metre-long, three-metre-high Progress Pride Flag in the reception area as a permanent reminder of a community coming together to enable the project, and the stories of the community.

Make Your Mark launched at The Ledward Centre with a host of familiar faces, including Brighton resident Adam Ceramic, who many will recognise from Channel 4’s TV show The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Adam will be personally creating each tile, he said: “I am thrilled to be involved in the Make Your Mark campaign.

“To make the Pride Progress Flag feels like it is letting me celebrate not only the person I am but also the community we live in. The flag will be a time capsule of a proud community coming together to support one another.

“As a young gay person my dream of moving to Brighton represented freedom, acceptance, and a safe space to build a future.

"The Ledward Centre is a perfect symbol of why I love this city - a vibrant community where people help one another, creativity is encouraged and differences are celebrated.

"I would have had a happier youth just knowing that The Ledward Centre existed and as an adult I believe we should try to be the change we want to see.”

Those making their mark will be able to choose which colour tile they want, and add a thumb print or dedication.

Each tile will be given a grid reference to make it easy to find and, in addition, they will be able to submit key aspects of their own story which will appear in a physical book at The Ledward Centre.

If donors are from outside the city or can’t visit the Centre in person, this information can be submitted remotely.

All proceeds will go directly towards funding the The Ledward Centre, which will offer a café, cinema, workspaces, cultural activities, performance studios, community radio stations, community meeting rooms and well-being practices.

The Centre’s aim is to be an alternative to the commercial scene – an environment where “birds of a feather” really can flock together and find support and friendship.

Fox and Owl are Brighton-based filmmakers from the My Genderation project, which celebrates trans lives and experiences.

They are also supporting The Ledward Centre’s Make Your Mark campaign, they said: “It's incredibly important that LGBTQI+ people have a place where they can feel safe and call home.

“Being able to come to a space where you know you won't face prejudice or stigma for being who you are is incredibly precious, and something that should not be underestimated.

"By being a part of creating The Ledward Centre, people will feel more that the space belongs to them as well.”

The Ledward Centre’s centre director, Duncan Lustig-Prean, added: “We’re thrilled that the Make Your Mark campaign is enabling our communities to get involved with The Ledward Centre in such a fun and creative way.

"Your tile will be a part of a lasting community project and your contribution will bring this exciting work of art to life in an eye catching and inspiring way.

"Through this campaign we will create a record of the lives of our LGBTQI+ communities, and enable everyone to become part of the foundations of The Ledward Centre.”

The campaign follows the announcement in February that The Brighton Rainbow Fund had signed a lease to secure the Jubilee Street premises for the Centre, which is at the heart of the city.

The Ledward Centre is named after the late James Ledward, who was a dedicated LGBTQI+ activist and editor of the city’s GScene magazine.

The Make Your Mark campaign is now live at www.ledcen.org.uk/mym.

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