Exhibitions
Everyone Involved by Ian Giles
Everyone Involved is an exhibition by Ian Giles, commissioned by ‘a space’ arts.
Ian enlivens queer archives by collaborating with LGBTQIA+ pioneers to amplify their achievements and legacies. His films and performances grow out of embedded relationships, first hand research and a multidisciplinary studio practice.
Everyone Involved is an immersive installation and film featuring A Gay Song, which is heralded as the first LGBTQ+ protest song recorded onto vinyl in 1972. Ian has reformed the original band to re-record the song 52 years after its inception. This act of reunion is a cross generational gesture of thanks and also an example of the living legacy of the gay liberation movement in the UK.
The song at the centre of the film speaks of self-love and celebrates being gay as part of nature’s natural diversity. It was recorded only 5 years after the partial decriminalisation of sex between men was passed in England in 1967. It encapsulates the spirit of the early gay rights movement which promoted the mantra that ‘Gay is Good’ in counterbalance to centuries of oppression. The song was written by Alan Wakeman and Michael Klein and was originally performed in Soho in a studio used to record foreign language teaching tools. A Gay Song formed part of an album made by Everyone Involved which included environmental and human rights songs. 1000 copies of the album were then given out for free and some were buried in a time capsule in Brazil.
Ian chose to work with the song for his Southampton commission as it nods to the ethos of the 1976 conference for the Campaign for Homosexual Equality that was held at Southampton’s Guildhall and the Polygon Hotel. A special train was chartered from Waterloo to allow delegates to attend this landmark gathering.
The film of the band’s 2024 performance at RAK Studios is shown alongside monumental wall hangings made by the artist from vintage fabrics and found textiles. Ian has hand painted archival cartoons on to the fabrics which highlight the joyful creativity of the gay rights movement. A carpeted conversation pit offers a communal space for viewers to sit together to watch the film and will be a space for workshops and gatherings throughout the exhibition.
Following its exhibition at GHT, the work will enter the collection of Southampton City Art Gallery to help further preserve this important piece of LGBTQ+ creativity.
Along side Ian Giles, God's House Tower will be exhibiting Southampton's Queer Stories.
Southampton’s Queer Stories is an exhibition that celebrates significant moments in Southampton’s LGBTQIA+ history from the 1970s onward. In the Barker-Mill project space, extracts from newspapers and pamphlets are exhibited alongside video clips of local news reports and more personal oral histories and photographs. This exhibition will not only celebrate the queer history of Southampton and the hard-won fight for LGBTQIA+ rights, but will also preserve the legacy of queer people in the area by forming a new collection to be deposited in the City Council’s Museum and Archive collection.
Everyone Involved is an immersive installation and film featuring A Gay Song, which is heralded as the first LGBTQ+ protest song recorded onto vinyl in 1972. Ian has reformed the original band to re-record the song 52 years after its inception. This act of reunion is a cross generational gesture of thanks and also an example of the living legacy of the gay liberation movement in the UK.
The song at the centre of the film speaks of self-love and celebrates being gay as part of nature’s natural diversity. It was recorded only 5 years after the partial decriminalisation of sex between men was passed in England in 1967. It encapsulates the spirit of the early gay rights movement which promoted the mantra that ‘Gay is Good’ in counterbalance to centuries of oppression. The song was written by Alan Wakeman and Michael Klein and was originally performed in Soho in a studio used to record foreign language teaching tools. A Gay Song formed part of an album made by Everyone Involved which included environmental and human rights songs. 1000 copies of the album were then given out for free and some were buried in a time capsule in Brazil.
Ian chose to work with the song for his Southampton commission as it nods to the ethos of the 1976 conference for the Campaign for Homosexual Equality that was held at Southampton’s Guildhall and the Polygon Hotel. A special train was chartered from Waterloo to allow delegates to attend this landmark gathering.
The film of the band’s 2024 performance at RAK Studios is shown alongside monumental wall hangings made by the artist from vintage fabrics and found textiles. Ian has hand painted archival cartoons on to the fabrics which highlight the joyful creativity of the gay rights movement. A carpeted conversation pit offers a communal space for viewers to sit together to watch the film and will be a space for workshops and gatherings throughout the exhibition.
Following its exhibition at GHT, the work will enter the collection of Southampton City Art Gallery to help further preserve this important piece of LGBTQ+ creativity.
Along side Ian Giles, God's House Tower will be exhibiting Southampton's Queer Stories.
Southampton’s Queer Stories is an exhibition that celebrates significant moments in Southampton’s LGBTQIA+ history from the 1970s onward. In the Barker-Mill project space, extracts from newspapers and pamphlets are exhibited alongside video clips of local news reports and more personal oral histories and photographs. This exhibition will not only celebrate the queer history of Southampton and the hard-won fight for LGBTQIA+ rights, but will also preserve the legacy of queer people in the area by forming a new collection to be deposited in the City Council’s Museum and Archive collection.
