Photo by Timon Benson, taken at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
We’re Still Here! awarded £235k from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for an exciting series of public exhibitions in Blackpool in 2027.
Abingdon Studios commissioned project We’re Still Here! is delighted to announce it has secured major funding for the continuation of a pioneering LGBTQIA+ heritage project, producing two new major exhibitions at the Grundy Art Gallery and Showtown.
We’re Still Here! was founded in 2021 by Garth Gratrix and Harry Clayton-Wright – two internationally acclaimed artists from Blackpool with deep roots in the local cultural landscape – with the aim to create the first permanent collection of LGBTQIA+ heritage in Blackpool. As well as collecting oral histories, the artists invited Stuart Linden Rhodes, known as Linden Archives, for his first exhibition at the Grundy Art Gallery from February to June 2022 which reached over 10,000 people.
The next phase of the project, which sees the team produce two new exhibitions for Blackpool ties into two anniversaries: The 60th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK in 2027. It is also 40 years since Margaret Thatcher took to the stage at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, at the Conservative Party Conference in 1987, where Section 28 was introduced, and said the much quoted words, “Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay.”
Drawing on their initial pilot in 2021, Gratrix and Clayon-Wright will continue generating a community-built queer heritage collection, shaped by residents past and present. Building a team of community champions they will collect, archive and share these oral histories and personal testimonies through accessible and creative means. We’re Still Here! will also map out the town’s long standing LGBTQIA+ history, working with a historian and community archivist to research Blackpool’s brilliant history which will provide framework for the two exhibitions in 2027, running concurrently, at Showtown and the Grundy Art Gallery.
Garth Gratrix – Project Director, We’re Still Here! said:
“We love a bit of sparkle in Blackpool, and We’re Still Here! brings the stories to match the sequins. As both Founder and Director of Abingdon Studios – and artist/curator who helped bring the town’s first Pride arts exhibition together in 2013 – it’s a thrill to co-lead this project with fellow hometown star Harry Clayton-Wright, founder of Queer Amusements and the artist behind Mr Blackpool’s Seaside Spectacular which just headlined a new festival at the Southbank Centre. Over the past decade we’ve backed artists, filled museums and festivals, and teamed up with brilliant neighbours like Grundy Art Gallery and Showtown, plus Queer Heritage South from Marlborough Productions in Brighton. As well as the town’s amazing entertainment heritage which we all know and love, We’re Still Here is about everyday pride: Archiving joy, care and graft – so more voices are heard, remembered and celebrated.”
Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:
“We are extremely proud to be supporting Abingdon Studios with their ambitious project ‘We’re Still Here!’ to celebrate LGBTQIA+ heritage with two new exhibitions in Blackpool. This grant, made possible by National Lottery players, ensures that the voices and memories of the community can be heard for generations to come.”
Councillor Lynn Williams MBE, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Tourism, Arts and Culture for Blackpool Council said:
“We are thrilled at the news Abingdon Studios has secured this landmark funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for ‘We’re Still Here!’, a project which celebrates and archives Blackpool’s rich LGBTQIA+ heritage. Connecting history with contemporary innovation, ‘We’re Still Here!’ furthers our commitment to inclusivity and representation, celebrating diversity and strengthening our town’s cultural identity.
As well as creating jobs and two brand new exhibitions that will delight and interest both local and visiting audiences, capturing and preserving the stories of LGBTQIA+ individuals through ‘We’re Still Here!’ will ensure that these voices influence future collection policies and programming, strengthening our legacy of relevance and inclusion in Blackpool.”
Last Updated: 5th December 2025 by Abingdon Studios
We’re Still Here! – New Funding Announcement
Photo by Timon Benson, taken at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
We’re Still Here! awarded £235k from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for an exciting series of public exhibitions in Blackpool in 2027.
Abingdon Studios commissioned project We’re Still Here! is delighted to announce it has secured major funding for the continuation of a pioneering LGBTQIA+ heritage project, producing two new major exhibitions at the Grundy Art Gallery and Showtown.
We’re Still Here! was founded in 2021 by Garth Gratrix and Harry Clayton-Wright – two internationally acclaimed artists from Blackpool with deep roots in the local cultural landscape – with the aim to create the first permanent collection of LGBTQIA+ heritage in Blackpool. As well as collecting oral histories, the artists invited Stuart Linden Rhodes, known as Linden Archives, for his first exhibition at the Grundy Art Gallery from February to June 2022 which reached over 10,000 people.
The next phase of the project, which sees the team produce two new exhibitions for Blackpool ties into two anniversaries: The 60th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK in 2027. It is also 40 years since Margaret Thatcher took to the stage at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, at the Conservative Party Conference in 1987, where Section 28 was introduced, and said the much quoted words, “Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay.”
Drawing on their initial pilot in 2021, Gratrix and Clayon-Wright will continue generating a community-built queer heritage collection, shaped by residents past and present. Building a team of community champions they will collect, archive and share these oral histories and personal testimonies through accessible and creative means. We’re Still Here! will also map out the town’s long standing LGBTQIA+ history, working with a historian and community archivist to research Blackpool’s brilliant history which will provide framework for the two exhibitions in 2027, running concurrently, at Showtown and the Grundy Art Gallery.
Garth Gratrix – Project Director, We’re Still Here! said:
“We love a bit of sparkle in Blackpool, and We’re Still Here! brings the stories to match the sequins. As both Founder and Director of Abingdon Studios – and artist/curator who helped bring the town’s first Pride arts exhibition together in 2013 – it’s a thrill to co-lead this project with fellow hometown star Harry Clayton-Wright, founder of Queer Amusements and the artist behind Mr Blackpool’s Seaside Spectacular which just headlined a new festival at the Southbank Centre. Over the past decade we’ve backed artists, filled museums and festivals, and teamed up with brilliant neighbours like Grundy Art Gallery and Showtown, plus Queer Heritage South from Marlborough Productions in Brighton. As well as the town’s amazing entertainment heritage which we all know and love, We’re Still Here is about everyday pride: Archiving joy, care and graft – so more voices are heard, remembered and celebrated.”
Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:
“We are extremely proud to be supporting Abingdon Studios with their ambitious project ‘We’re Still Here!’ to celebrate LGBTQIA+ heritage with two new exhibitions in Blackpool. This grant, made possible by National Lottery players, ensures that the voices and memories of the community can be heard for generations to come.”
Councillor Lynn Williams MBE, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Tourism, Arts and Culture for Blackpool Council said:
“We are thrilled at the news Abingdon Studios has secured this landmark funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for ‘We’re Still Here!’, a project which celebrates and archives Blackpool’s rich LGBTQIA+ heritage. Connecting history with contemporary innovation, ‘We’re Still Here!’ furthers our commitment to inclusivity and representation, celebrating diversity and strengthening our town’s cultural identity.
As well as creating jobs and two brand new exhibitions that will delight and interest both local and visiting audiences, capturing and preserving the stories of LGBTQIA+ individuals through ‘We’re Still Here!’ will ensure that these voices influence future collection policies and programming, strengthening our legacy of relevance and inclusion in Blackpool.”
Blackpool 1991, photo by Stuart Linden Rhodes.
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Category: News & Events, Uncategorised