‘We’re Still Here!’ is looking for stories celebrating 20 years of Blackpool Pride!

Do you have a story about feeling proud in Blackpool? Have you marched in the Pride Parade along the Golden Mile? Did you dance until the early hours at the Flamingo? When have you felt the strength and togetherness of being part of the community? What does Pride mean today? We want to hear from you!

To celebrate 20 years of Blackpool Pride Festival, ‘We’re Still Here!’ is working in partnership with Blackpool Pride and inviting both our local community and visitors to the town to share their memories from two decades of Pride celebrations which will form part of an exciting new Community Archive for Blackpool. 

We’re interested in your stories and memories in any format – be they photographs, videos, posters, event flyers, voice notes, written memories, or simply an email to start a conversation. These stories will be spotlit in a new online community archive, showcased at one of our History Club events taking place on the week leading up to Pride, plus some of the materials shared with us may even be included in our upcoming ‘We’re Still Here!’ exhibitions, celebrating Blackpool’s rich LGBTQIA+ history, taking place at Showtown and the Grundy Art Gallery in 2027. 

To take part and create a Community Archive with We’re Still Here!, Abingdon Studios and Blackpool Pride, email your story and memories to wsh.submissions@abingdonstudios.co.uk. 

We’ll then get in touch to explain how your contribution might be used in the project and to answer any of your questions.

You can also get involved in our new series of WSH! History Clubs, as opportunities for the community to come together, share stories and contribute to the archive. Save the date! Our first History Club is on 14th April at Showtown where we’ll be looking at photos and articles from Blackpool’s nightlife history circa 1991-1995 with artist and photographer Stuart Linden-Rhodes, aka Linden Archives, who will be in conversation with artists Garth Gratrix and Harry Clayton Wright and show unseen work from his archive. 

Book your free ticket to the first History Club here. 

We’re Still Here!

We’re Still Here! is a groundbreaking LGBTQIA+ Heritage Project from Abingdon Studios, discovering and sharing the hidden heritage of the community in Blackpool, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The project began as an oral histories archive and formed our first public realm exhibition of photographic works by Stuart Linden-Rhodes documenting LGBTQIA+ nightlife in 2022 and reaching over 10,000 people. 

This next phase of the project will see us hosting a vibrant programme of events throughout 2026-27 to celebrate Blackpool’s LGBTQIA+ community and create an archive of Queer Blackpool Stories, with some of the shared items featuring in our two major exhibitions at Showtown and the Grundy Art Gallery, running from February through June, History Month to Pride Month, in 2027. 

Credits

We’re Still Here! is a project delivered by Abingdon Studios. Abingdon Studios operates as a unique bridge between studio provision for artists’ livelihoods, contemporary arts commissioning and community heritage development. 

We’re Still Here! is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thank you to National Lottery players