Kimpton Clocktower Hotel announced a brand new free art exhibition, a celebration of the power and beauty of queer artistry, in partnership with queer art collective Friends of Dorothy, which opened in June in line with Pride month.

Under the guidance of Rob Devlin, Friends of Dorothy is an innovative art project focussed on inclusivity and artistic expression, dedicated to amplifying the voices of queer artists and fostering connections within the LGBT+ community. From its humble beginnings as a lockdown-inspired project in 2021, Friends of Dorothy has evolved into a dynamic force, showcasing the vibrant tapestry of queer artistry within the vibrant cities of Manchester and Los Angeles.

A proud partner of the LGBT+ community and supporter of Northern talent, Kimpton Clocktower will host an art collection by 16 of Friends of Dorothy’s Manchester-based artists, a diverse mix of established and new and emerging talent. 

Out In The City organised a private viewing which included a complimentary tea or coffee in the wonderful surroundings of the Refuge Building and a tour of the amazing Refuge Building by Fran.

Kelly Andreasson, Hotel Manager of Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, said: “As part of the Kimpton family and neighbours to Manchester’s iconic gay village, we are honoured to be hosting this collection of artworks by LGBTQ+ creators. We are grateful to Rob and Friends of Dorothy for the opportunity and can’t wait for our guests and customers of Refuge to experience it between June and our annual Clocktower Pride celebration, the Come as You Are weekend in August.” 

The Friends of Dorothy exhibition will be free and open to the public on the walls of Refuge, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel until 1st September. 

Lots of great photos can be seen here.

Pride and Joy

The first person I came out to was my friend Brenda, who I walk to church with. It was September 2005 and I’d just started seeing my first boyfriend, who I’d introduced to friends at church as “my Irish friend”. Brenda and I were walking home from church when she said, “So who’s this Irish guy, Jim, then?” I couldn’t keep the lie up. I was apprehensive when I said, “I’ve been meaning to tell you, I am gay, Jim is my first boyfriend and I am very much enjoying being gay!” She was shocked but absolutely delighted. It was a great relief.

From the age of 14 I knew I was attracted to boys, but at that time it was illegal. Suppressing that emotion over the years has been terrible. I remember being a teenager and going to the beach where I was surrounded by half-naked men and I didn’t know where to look. I was terrified that someone would catch me looking at them. I had to hide it all the time. I felt such fear and embarrassment.

In 1963 I got married because it was what everyone did. We moved to Manchester in 1967 – the year that being homosexual was legalised in England. We had two children. We quickly found out that my wife was bipolar – she had deep depressions followed by manic highs. A psychiatrist told me that she may never get better.

My wife and I had a group of gay Christian friends. She was a musician and we used to have the Gay Christian Movement to summer teas with music and strawberries every July. She noticed I was a little uncomfortable and assumed I was slightly homophobic – I must have given that impression just to protect myself. At that time Aids was in the news and the stigma around being gay was horrific.

My wife was wonderful and caring but her depressive periods – sometimes two years long – were awful for her and us. There were times I had to take the children out of the house while I dealt with her situation and my work. It was dire. I’d never bothered with what I wanted and I never wanted to put my needs first. I pushed being gay out of my head.

I was never going to leave her because I don’t think she would have coped on her own. In those days you promised to stay together in sickness and in health. I just learnt to live with my desires and repressed them. I became type 1 diabetic in 1965 and that was hard for her too. In my late fifties I became incredibly depressed and sad and I still longed for men. I worked hard both in my life at home and in my work and tried to remain positive.

In 2003 my wife developed oesophageal cancer and it was very quick. In nine months she died and it was a shock to everyone. After the grief I knew I had the opportunity to come out and my whole life changed. Laws were changing and public attitudes were progressing.

After telling Brenda I was gay, I made visits to each of my friends, one by one, to tell them. I was received with total happiness by all of them – we even had celebration drinks. There wasn’t a scrap of homophobia in any of them. Then I started joining every gay group imaginable in Manchester. I went to my first Pride, joined a reading group, a poetry and writing group, and I started volunteering at the LGBT Foundation on the helpline and with its befriending programme. I became a trustee and served for nearly ten years.

When I came out to my children they had no idea what had been going on in my head. They told my grandchildren too. My daughter, who is now 56, has gay friends and has been to gay weddings in London. I think she loves having a gay dad.

I never got to the point where I could do what everyone seems to suggest you should be able to do and “love yourself”. I think that’s a crazy idea. Maybe it’s my age, but I find it an impossibility.

I have had several boyfriends over the years. I was seeing Jim for about nine months, but after my life with my wife I was just not ready to settle down. He’s still one of my best friends and we support each other.

All of my friends – lovely people – are gradually dying. But thanks to the groups I have joined, I have a wide community. We go for lunches and days out. I have never wanted to settle down and I still don’t.

At 84 I can’t offer anyone a long-term relationship! I often think that I could have had a wonderful gay marriage. I would have been ready to love someone very warmly. I still have dreams about it sometimes, but I know it’s too late now. It’s not going to happen.

I don’t regret not telling my wife, we had a tough life as it was. We married before it was legal to be gay, so I had no choice. I regard the past 20 years as a bonus – I never thought I’d have this time to enjoy being myself. I can’t worry about anything else I’ve missed while I’m enjoying the life I now have.

An older gay couple comes out to their adult grandchildren after 50 years of marriage in this hilarious new web series

They say it’s never too late to come out, and that maxim gets explored to hilarious effect in the comedic Canadian web series Stories From My Gay Grandparents.

Nearly 50 years ago, Russell and Barbara Butters got married, started a family, and led your typical, suburban heteronormative lives – at least that’s what it always looked like to their queer grandkids Mason and Rebecca Michelle.

But after a near-death experience, they decide it’s finally time to ditch the “beards” and live their lives to the fullest. So, they show up at Mason and Rebecca Michelle’s door in Toronto with the big news …

Surprise! They’re gay! Extremely gay. And they always have been. In actuality, they’re longtime gay besties who, half a century ago, decided to “cover for each other” and just sort of, well, stuck with it.

Mason and Rebecca Michelle are shocked, to say the least, and also overwhelmed as they find themselves playing both babysitters and mentors to their grandparents who are effectively “baby gays” in our modern queer world.

Oh, sure, Russell and Barbara have had their secret flings over the decades, but now they’re finally ready to live out and proud, looking for guidance from their grandkids as they embrace their authentic “extremely gay selves.” Stories From My Gay Grandparents gives viewers a golden oldie view of today’s LGBTQ+ community, all of its beauty – and absurdities. Check out the official trailer for the web series here:

Over the course of 10 fun-sized episodes (all ranging between 8 to 13 minutes long), Russell and Barbara fret over how to meet people on the apps, learn the lay of the land in Toronto’s historic gay village, try to tie up loose ends with past lovers, experience their first drag show, reclaim the homophobic slurs that have been flung at them in the past, visit the queer nude beach, and find themselves getting competitive over who’s doing “gay” better.

Created, written, and produced by stars Scott Farley and Perrie Voss, the fun and colourful series aims to clear a path for those who have struggled to come out – at any age – to step into their queerness and their power.

“As queer filmmakers, we aim to share our stories on screen so that everyone can feel seen,” Farley and Voss share in their artists’ statement. “For generations, the decision to remain hidden or come out of the closet has been at the centre of the queer community. As more of us become visible and increasingly accepted, a growing number of people have begun to step into the light by sharing their authentic selves.”

They continue: “This late-in-life coming out story is a funny yet truthful look at gay culture through various generations. We hope it makes you laugh, cry and burst with joy as you watch our grandparents, Barbara and Russell, develop new relationships with everyone around them, including themselves.”

Stories From My Gay Grandparents made its world premiere earlier this year to a sold-out crowd at Toronto’s Inside Out LGBTQ+ film festival. And now that web series is online, in all its gay glory, you can check it out for yourself! It’s part of a handy YouTube playlist where you can find all 10 episodes in one place.

The first episode is below. So, binge-watch away!