Not Going Shopping

Not Going Shopping was a 2013-2014 photographic project in collaboration between Queer In Brighton, socially engaged artist Anthony Luvera, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in Brighton. In 2014 the first same-sex weddings took place, in a step forward for the rights of LGBTQ+ people. However, LGBTQ+ individuals remained largely invisible or misrepresented in the public sphere.

Anthony Luvera invited 11 LGBTQ+ people to meet and to bring along photographs that told ‘their story’. After spending time unpicking ideas to do with ‘family’, ‘place’, ‘politics’, and ‘language’, participants were coached in using their cameras. Participants were encouraged to consider what being queer meant to them, and to photograph their experiences and the things they were interested in.

Regular visits to the photo booth were an important tool to sharpen discussions about photography and identity, and inspire planning to create collaborative portraits. The group created their own photo booth, queer it, and then explode out with a final portrait made on the streets of Brighton.

The phrase 'not going shopping' refers to the chant 'we're here, we're queer, we're not going shopping', which is related to the era of Section 28 and the AIDS crisis. The chant demands political recognition of LGBTQ+ people as more than consumers.