African photographers on the continent or elsewhere beware: the 2022 edition of the annual Pride Photo Award is now open. This year’s theme focuses on those in the vibrantly diverse LGBTQIAP+ communities who deserve more visibility.
‘In the queer community, things are shifting’, the organisers write in this year’s call for entries. “Decades of emancipation (…) has improved the position of the white, cisgender lesbian and gay community. (...) However, what about other members of the LGBTQIA+ community – particularly BIPOC, transgender, and queer people – who face deeply structural exclusion, discrimination, and marginalisation? Too often they are confronted with racism and xenophobia, transphobia, sexism, intersexphobia, biphobia, ableism, queerphobia, and more, whether or not combined with Afrophobia, antisemitism, or islamophobia. We believe that the experiences of the rich and varied LGBTQIA+ community should be interpreted and accepted in an intersectional way, there is no one-size-fits-all.
To change this and raise awareness of the existence of discrimination within the LGBTQIA+ community, we think that as Artists and as an Art Organisation we must work from the inside out, like a stone to water. Therefore, Pride Photo 2022 welcomes those whose voices often go unheard, focusing on the people who need to be seen the most. We want to rethink what the queer community stands for; what stories should be told, and why? We challenge YOU to submit your work that best fits this exhibition. We want YOU to tell the stories of the queer community that the world should see, centering the voices and experiences of those who too often go unheard.
As an organisation keen to challenge the public's perception of sexual and gender diversity to bring greater acceptance to all of the LGBTQIA+ community, Pride Photo believes that change comes from within and that we must work from the inside out to spotlight the voices of the most marginalised. We want you to feel encouraged to tell stories from within the dynamic queer community, that you think should be told now! Join us for Pride Photo 2022 to celebrate the unseen, and offer Queer Justice to everyone!’
More information about the contest, its rewards and how to enter here.
