LGBT History Month 2026

For 2026 Medway Pride and our partner Nucleus Arts are hosting out Pride is a Protest and a Celebration LGBTQIA+History history exhobition between 20th and 25th of February

This exhibition includes both written and oral information about the formation of LGBTQIA+ equality law and how the delivery of change was brought about. The information is accesable at the exhibition by using QR code links on any internet conected device (Smart Phone, Tablet etc).

The exhibition is the begining of a journey to discover how these changes affected the lives of LGBTQIA+ people their families and friends over the period 1957 to 2025, which will be developed over the comming months for a following exhibition.

Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm at the Halpern Gallery 272 Hight Street, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4BP

National LGBTQIA+ History Month Science and Innovation

This LGBTQIA+ History Month, we’re celebrating queer pioneers in science and innovation. John Maynard Keynes was one of the most influential economists of the 20th century. He was also a gay man whose life intertwined with the Bloomsbury Group’s rich, unapologetically queer culture. His early relationships with men shaped his world long before his economic theories reshaped governments. This History Month, we honour both the brilliance of his ideas and the courage it took to live authentically in a world that wasn’t ready for him.

Michelangelo’s genius shaped the Renaissance — and his queerness shaped it too. The sculptor of David and painter of the Sistine Chapel left behind passionate poems and letters to men, revealing a depth of feeling that traditional histories tried to erase.

His art radiates intimacy, attention, and a reverence for the male form that goes far beyond technique. He was an innovator too: David was carved from a single block of marble. This had never been done before for a statue the this size. He know too that people would view the statue from below, so he ‘forced the perspective’, making David’s head larger in proportion to the rest of him. Celebrating Michelangelo during LGBTQIA+ History Month means reclaiming the truth: queer creativity has always been at the centre of culture, even when the world tried to hide it.

Michelangelo’s genius shaped the Renaissance — and his queerness shaped it too. The sculptor of David and painter of the Sistine Chapel left behind passionate poems and letters to men, revealing a depth of feeling that traditional histories tried to erase.

His art radiates intimacy, attention, and a reverence for the male form that goes far beyond technique. He was an innovator too: David was carved from a single block of marble. This had never been done before for a statue the this size. He know too that people would view the statue from below, so he ‘forced the perspective’, making David’s head larger in proportion to the rest of him. Celebrating Michelangelo during LGBTQIA+ History Month means reclaiming the truth: queer creativity has always been at the centre of culture, even when the world tried to hide it.

A pioneering computer scientist and a trans woman, Sophie Wilson co-designed the ARM architecture that enables billions of smartphones and devices today. Her legacy is one of innovation, resilience, and quiet revolution. Celebrating Sophie means celebrating the trans brilliance that powers our everyday lives.

James Barry was a trans man and military surgeon whose career reshaped medical history. Serving across the British Empire in the 19th century, he championed hygiene, nutrition, and humane treatment in hospitals long before these ideas were standard practice.

Barry performed one of the first recorded Caesarean sections where both mother and baby survived — a landmark moment in surgical history. His life shows how trans excellence has shaped medicine for centuries, even when society refused to acknowledge it.

Sally Ride made history as the first American woman in space, and later, as the first openly gay astronaut. Her achievements in physics, space exploration, and STEM education inspired generations of young people to look upward and dream bigger.

Ride kept her relationship with her partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, private during her lifetime due to the climate of the era. Today, her full story stands as a reminder that LGBTQIA+ people have always reached for the stars and helped humanity reach them too. 

Leonardo da Vinci imagined flying machines, dissected the human body, and painted the Mona Lisa but he also lived a life shaped by queer relationships. When he was 23, he and three other men were reported anonymously to the authorities for engaging a 17 year old male sex worker. No charges were made, as the Florentine authorities didn’t really have a problem with gay sex, plus there was no evidence. Leonardo went on to live and work surrounded by other gay men, and was said to be in a long term relationship with Gian Giacomo Caprotti, also known as Salaì.

His notebooks overflow with curiosity, invention, and a refusal to be boxed in. Honouring Leonardo means recognising that queer brilliance has always pushed humanity forward, imagining futures others couldn’t yet see.

Trans history is science history, and American physician Alan Hart’s story proves it. A trans man and radiology pioneer, Hart was one of the first physicians to use X rays to detect tuberculosis, a breakthrough that transformed global public health. His work helped identify infections earlier, saving countless lives at a time when TB was one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Hart lived authentically in an era of immense hostility in the US, navigating his transition with courage and determination. His life shows how innovation thrives when people are free to be themselves, and how trans excellence has always been part of medical progress.

Medway Pride Radio is 5 years old

Medway Pride Radio is 5 years old on Sunday 1st February 2026

Medway Pride 5th Birthday Show will be broadcast live on Sunday 1st from 12pm. Five hours of fun with visits from our alumni and current DJs, special guests and surprises – this is a not to be missed show.

MPR was formed and first broadcast on 1st February 2021 as part of Medway Prides contribution to the annual LGBTQIA+ history month events. Due to COVID19 restrictions we could not hold our annual exhibition at Nucleus Arts Halpern Gallery in Chatham, so with the help of Shea Coffey, Hilary Cook, Mike Silver and other volunteers we decided to broadcast a week of radio shows that became Medway Pride Radio. It developed into a 24/7 radio station with DJ’s around the world finally changing into its current On Demand / Live Broadcast service. The 5 year anniversary show will be looking at the history of MPR with an alumni of DJs and guests. You can listen to the live show on this link https://www.mixcloud.com/live/Medwayprideradio or by visiting https://medwayprideradio.co.uk

Save The Date For Medway Pride

Medway Pride 2026 Festival will be held at Rochester Castle on Saturday 22nd August. Tickets and prices will be announced and publicised before they go on sale.

We are planning with our partners a fantastic week of events with the Medway Pride Fringe Festival that will include many free to attend events for all ages followed by Medway Pride Parade in Rochester High Street and the Medway Pride Festival event at Rochester Castle Gardens, including an 8 hour stage show, Food stalls and bars for refreshments and a market place with memorabilia, arts and crafts as well as supporting organisations.

Our first event of the year will be Medway Pride’s LGBTQIA+ History Month Exhibition which will be hosted by Nucleus Arts at the Halpern Gallery Chatham from Friday 20th.

Please keep an eye on our social media for updates.

Trans Awareness Week 13th to 19th November

Article Written by Graham Robson published at https://www.scenemag.co.uk/author/graham/

Graham Robson

Trans Awareness Week –

Beyond the Binary: A History of Trans Rights in the UK

As Trans Awareness Week (13–19 November) unfolds, it’s a moment not only to celebrate and uplift trans and non-binary voices but also to reflect on the long, complex journey toward equality in the UK. This week culminates in Transgender Day of Remembrance on 20 November, honouring lives lost to anti-trans violence and reminding us why visibility and advocacy matter now more than ever. 

Trans identities are not new. Historical records show gender non-conforming individuals in Britain as far back as the medieval period, but modern visibility began in the mid-20th century. In 1951, Roberta Cowell became the first known British trans woman to undergo gender confirmation surgery, a groundbreaking moment in a society that barely understood gender beyond the binary.

The 1960s brought further visibility with figures like April Ashley, a model and actress whose life became central to one of the most consequential legal cases for trans rights in Britain.

In 1970, the infamous Corbett v Corbett case ruled that a person’s sex was fixed at birth, effectively denying trans people legal recognition for decades. This decision reverberated through family law and marriage rights, leaving trans individuals in a legal limbo. 

The 1980s and 1990s saw growing activism, notably through trans rights charity Press for Change, and landmark cases such as P v S and Cornwall County Council (1996), which established that dismissing someone for undergoing gender reassignment was unlawful under European law – the first ruling of its kind globally.

The most significant breakthrough came with the Gender Recognition Act 2004, allowing trans people to change their legal gender on birth certificates and official documents. This was followed by the Equality Act 2010, which prohibited discrimination based on gender reassignment in employment, education, and services. 

Yet, progress remains contested. Recent debates over reforming the Gender Recognition Act and court rulings – such as the 2025 Supreme Court decision affirming that a Gender Recognition Certificate does not alter sex under the Equality Act – highlight ongoing tensions between legal frameworks and lived realities. 

Trans Awareness Week is more than a calendar event – it’s a call to action. Despite legal advances, trans people in the UK still face disproportionate levels of discrimination, hate crime and barriers to healthcare. Awareness weeks like this aim to replace performative allyship with meaningful change: challenging misinformation, amplifying trans voices and advocating for inclusive policies.

Written by

Graham Robson

Medway Pride LGBTQIA+ History Month 2026

Each Year Medway Pride holds its first event during February as part of the national LGBTQIA+ History Month. This event takes the form of an exhibition to highlight the history, creativity and issues of the day for the LGBTQIA+ community.

The exhibition is the beginning of Medway Pride 26 and sets the theme we use for the years events.

If you would like to be involved in the creation of any elements of the 2026 or 2027 exhibition please read this page, you can then register your interest on this google form HERE

Medway Pride CIC has set the following themes in recent years.

UNITED IN PRIDE

This theme was used for 2021 to 2024. It was a message of unity to resist the challenge from those who wished to separate the LGB from the TQIA parts of the community. We created exhibitions and events to show how the LGBTQIA+ community had come together to fight for civil and human rights for the whole community. It also acted as a call for all communities of Medway to join Medway Pride as Allies to celebrate diversity and inclusion of all.

PRIDE IS A PROTEST & A CELEBRATION

For 2025 we expanded the theme to highlight the history of the pride as a human civil rights movement. This resulted in the creation of a placard exhibition highlighting the steps forward and steps backward in changes in law affecting the LGBTQIA+ Community from 1957 to 2025.

2026 Exhibition

This February we will be expanding on the theme to create an exhibition with support from Nucleus Arts who have partnered with Medway Pride to host the exhibition from 19^th to 25^th of February 2026.

We are looking for community members to help build an oral / written history project reflecting on how the changes to equality law has affected and changed their lives.

This may be a reflection from the lived experiences at the time these changes, or it may be a reflection on how the historic changes have changed their life experiences.

2027 Exhibition

Looking forward to 2027 we are looking to create an exhibition that aligns with Rochester 900 Anniversary of the building of the castle keep.

We are proud of the connection between Medway Pride & Rochester Castle as the iconic venue for our annual pride festival in 2027 we are planning to research historic figures who would today fit within the LGBTQIA+ community who have links to Rochester, Medway and the surrounding area. This will include people across the historic to modern timeline.

If you would like to be involved in the creation of any elements of the 2026 or 2027 exhibition please register your interest on this google form HERE

Hilary Cooke

Medway Pride CIC

What can you bring to Medway Pride

Medway Pride Sponsors and Partners

Medway Pride CIC would like to thank all our Sponsors and Parners including everyone who donated to our Medway Pride Fund. We would not be able to produce our events without your fabulous support.

Thank you all

Hilary Cooke Chair Medway Pride CIC