Through A Queer Lens

On an extremely hot day, we made our way to the Manchester Jewish Museum on Cheetham Hill Road and enjoyed Shorbat Adas (Lentil Soup), bagels from the Bagel Bar and plenty of juices and cordials.

Sue, the Chief Executive Officer, gave an introductory talk about the temporary exhibition Through A Queer Lens – Stories of LGBTQ+ Jews.

The exhibition is a series of powerful photographic portraits and personal stories originally developed by Jewish Museum London.

First exhibited in 2016, the project was created through a unique collaboration between Black queer photographer Ajamu and trans activist and heritage manager Surat-Shaan Knan. Building on the landmark Rainbow Jews project, which documented LGBTQ+ Jewish history across the UK, the exhibition celebrates the richness, diversity and resilience of queer Jewish life.

Bringing these national stories to Manchester, the museum has expanded the exhibition through a local lens, sharing new stories from LGBTQ+ Jewish people with connections to the city – Clem Herman, Simon Asher, Stacie Cohen, Norman Goodman, Jo Lewis and Stephen Miller.

Further contributions are invited throughout the exhibition period, as part of the gallery offers visitors the opportunity to share their own stories, experiences and perspectives, helping to reflect on gaps in LGBTQ+ representation within the museum’s collection and to expand and enrich it for the future.

More photos can be seen here.

Thursday, 2 July – 6.00pm – 7.00pm – Author Event: Who’s The Real Dad?

House of Books & Friends, 81 King Street, Manchester M2 4AH

A candid, humorous and moving account of how two men and their surrogate came together to make a family.

Exploring the long-term impact of growing up under Section 28, changing social attitudes, and the expanding possibilities for LGBTQ+ parents, Who’s the Real Dad? demystifies the surrogacy process and offers a fresh perspective on what family really means in the twenty-first century.

Tickets (£5 ticket only / £20 ticket and book / limited amount of complimentary tickets for this event for anyone who needs it. Please contact bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.com or call 07597 365 380).

Book here.

Upcoming Pride Events

Friday, 26 June – Sunday, 28 June – Sparkle Weekend

From Friday 26 – Sunday 28 June 2026, Sparkle Weekend returns to Manchester’s Gay Village, where it celebrates its 21st year as the UK’s longest running celebration of trans and gender diverse life, welcoming thousands of visitors for a weekend of community, culture, and visibility.

Introduction of Paid Ticketing

Sparkle Charity has made the decision to introduce paid tickets for 2026. Ticket purchase link: spkl.uk/tickets

Upcoming Prides:

Macclesfield Pride (4 July)

Oldham Pride (11 July)

Weaste Pride (11 July)

Veteran’s Pride (24 July)

Liverpool Pride (25 July)

Stockport Pride (26 July)

Trans Pride Manchester (1 August)

True Pride (1 August)

Prestwich Pride (6-9 August)

Wigan Pride (8 August)

Levenshulme Pride (14-16 August)

Manchester Village Pride (28-31 August)

Didsbury Pride (30 August)

Chorlton Pride (12 September)

Withington Pride (19 September)

True Pride

This summer, TRUE PRIDE arrives in Manchester as an exciting new festival experience unlike any other, taking over Hidden on Saturday 1 August 2026. 

Exclusively queer-curated, the inaugural event has been created to place queer artists, voices and audiences firmly at its heart, offering a bold, authentic and fully representative celebration of LGBTQI+ creativity, culture and community.

The headliners deliver three powerhouse queer voices: Planningtorock‘s visionary trans electronic experimentation, jasmine.4.t‘s emotionally charged transfemme songwriting, viral homo cult band The Irrepressibles, with their symphonic, indie-punk-rock, plus Canada’s Joel Gibb (The Hidden Cameras), with intimate, guitar-driven queer anthems alongside the festival’s in-house string quartet.

Spanning day into night, TRUE PRIDE will bring together live music, DJs, comedy, talks, film, wellness, and performance across multiple spaces, from daytime arts and film programming to late-night club culture across rooms and floors.The Acoustic Stage will feature performers from Queer as F*ck, Manchester’s celebrated grassroots open mic platform dedicated exclusively to LGBTQ+ artists, plus a host of other performers. From midnight to 2.00am, the middle floor will host a DILF takeover, with DILF DJs Dan Louder and Nick Charles playing exclusively queer artists and tracks featuring queer vocalists.

Founded and curated by a team of LGBTQ+ curators, including Jamie Irrepressible, with Manchester-based creatives DJ Bollibubbles, DJ Sandra D, Liam Walsh and Sally McFerran, TRUE PRIDE responds to the ongoing underrepresentation of queer artists in mainstream Pride programming.

Born from frustration, anger and love, TRUE PRIDE is a call to reclaim Pride as a space where LGBTQI+ people are centred, visible and represented through music, art, performance and culture.

Artists confirmed for this announcement include Planningtorock, jasmine.4.t, The Irrepressibles, Joel Gibb (The Hidden Cameras), DJ Bollibubbles, Leo Chadburn, DJ Sandra D, Kerry Leigh, Ollie Becker, Run Remedy, Alabaster Queen, Queer as F**k, DILF DJs Dan Louder and Nick Charles, and Jamie Irrepressible (PA/DJ set), with further artists to be announced.

TRUE PRIDE takes place at Hidden, 16–18 Mary Street, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M3 1NH. The festival is presented by Of Naked Design and is strictly for ages 18 and over.

Tickets are on sale now via DICE. Early Bird tickets are priced at £22.71 for students, disabled people and unemployed attendees, and £28.38 for General Admission.

Media enquiries: liam@redalertpr.com and alison@redalertpr.com (Red Alert PR, Comms & Events)

For more information: truepride2026@gmail.com

Ticket links: DICE or eventbrite