Bimini Bon Boulash, Munroe Bergdorf and more pose for queer portrait series

The exhibition will raise funds for LGBTIQ+ Homelessness

Hero image in post
Hero image in post

The exhibition will raise funds for LGBTIQ+ Homelessness

By Jack Ramage01 Jun 2022
4 mins read time
4 mins read time

The Other Eden collection lands this weekend, celebrating queer culture in its most authentic and audacious form as the nation lets loose over the long Jubilee weekend. Is there a better way to kickstart pride month?

Over 25 LGBTIQ+ creatives and allies from the worlds of music, fashion and arts will feature in the limited-edition digital portrait series, created by renowned photographer Luke Nugent.

The project spotlights a wealth of cultural trailblazers, including deep breath... Bimini Bon Boulash, Munroe Bergdorf, The Plastic Boy, Woody Cook, and DJ Fat Tony… to name a few.

The This Other Eden collection is the brainchild of Temporal Shift in association with Palm NFT Studio and Nifty’s. 50 per cent of the proceeds from sales will be donated to The Outside Project, the UK’s first permanent centre and shelter for homeless LBTIQ+ individuals. Research from the homeless charity, Porchlight, has shown that as many as 30 per cent of homeless youth in the UK are LGBTIQ+.

During Winter 2021, the project supported over 60 LGBTIQ+ people into crisis beds and many more through their LGBTIQ+ Centre and outreach in the community. Despite the difficulties encountered by many of those who access the service, The Outside Project stands as a testament to the importance and resilience of queer joy.

Inspired by legendary English artist, filmmaker and gay rights activist Derek Jarman’s cult classic film Jubilee (1978), a now-iconic cinematic reaction to the spectacle of state jubilation, the This Other Eden collection celebrates the creative force of queer culture in the UK in 2022.

The Queen’s Jubilee, 1977, marked tumultuous sociopolitical change; subcultural movements, such as Punk, embraced individual freedoms and anti-establishment views whilst yielding space for unheard stories, the first glimpse of a queer new world in emergence. Although much has changed since this period, this collection showcases the spirit of rebellion and artistic expression through today’s creative landscape.

Queen Lizzie herself has done a fair few things for gay rights over the years too. She gave royal assent to the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, pardoned Alan Turing in 2013 and introduced same-sex civil partnerships during the state opening of parliament in 2003. Yasss Queen!

image-210
Over 25 LGBTIQ+ creatives and allies from the worlds of music, fashion and arts will feature in the limited-edition digital portrait series.

The collection will launch the creative studio, Temporal Shift, founded by Fayann Smith and Jim Warboy. Similar to This Other Eden, Temporal Shift is dedicated to creating projects that platform the unique and diverse range of artists that live and work in the UK, whilst supporting communities vital to them.

You can also support gay rights through crypto too – with NFTs of the project available to purchase from the 9th of June. The limited-edition portraits will be sold at prices ranging from £250 to several thousand. Due to the NFTS being minted on the Palm network, minting each NFT will only require the same amount of energy as sending three emails, fulfilling the creators’ requirement that This Other Eden project will be environmentally sustainable.

“This Other Eden rides the wave of the 4th Industrial revolution with an NFT drop that harnesses the combined strengths of visual art and technology to raise awareness and garner support for The Outside Project,” curator of the project, Alana Lake, said. “This is a distinctly modern style of activism. What we are witnessing here is a temporal shift in consciousness, a ‘coming together’ through advancing technologies, facilitated by new revenue streams.”

“Taking advantage of the spotlight that the Jubilee will shine upon the shifts and disruptions in our culture,” Jim Warboy and Fayann Smith, Founders of Temporal Shift, said. “This Other Eden documents another kind of royalty, the innovators of queer creativity, a force that so often informs the zeitgeist, but whose heroes remain unsung.”

Director of The Outside Project, Carla Ecola, noted the charity was “hugely thankful for the support of the creative community in raising funds and awareness for this vital cause.”

“The Outside Project exists to make space for those in the queer community impacted by homelessness and domestic abuse. The LGBTIQ+ community needs to have secure identity responsive spaces on the city map that aren't just connected to nightlife, and our organisation seeks to support the creation of basic housing and healthcare provisions for our community.” They continued.

The Other Eden launched on 9th June, you can find out more about the event here.

If you’re an LGBTIQ+ person in need of support, or if you want to learn more about The Outside Project, visit their website here.