LATEST NEWS

OUR QUEER QUARTERLY: We are super excited about the latest bumper issue of our new Somewhere: For Us magazine with its fabulous Unicorn cover, just in time for Festival City! You can get your copy here!

Somewhere: For Us champions LGBTQ+ arts, culture, heritage and enterprise across Scotland and beyond. By becoming a monthly or yearly member you'll receive your very own copy of the magazine, a free gift and you'll contribute to our new LGBTQ+ funds. 

Follow us on Twitter at @Somewhere_ForUs for updates :)

COVID19: We know the LGBTQ+ community has been hit really hard by COVID19, so we are doing our bit to help champion queer spaces and places, and especially to help support LGBTQ+-owned and LGBTQ+-ally businesses.

We launched last November and as lockdown eases so we're building our new Rainbow Enterprise Network, so it's time to get involved! u

Get in touch for more information about how to join the network and access exclusive benefits and opportunities designed to connect up our rainbow business community, includes a magazine subscription for you, your staff and your LGBTQ+ staff network members.

Email kath@somewhereedi.org for details, membership tiers and benefits.

COMMUNITY FUNDS:  Up to 20% of all magazine and Rainbow Enterprise Network membership income goes into our new Somewhere: Funding for You grants scheme. As well as creating a fabulous new quarterly publication, we have founded two new LGBTQ+ funds for Scotland, enabling LGBTQ+ and ally creatives, researchers and business owners to thrive authentically.  

The Somewhere: Arts and Culture Fund has already supported new and emerging LGBTQ+ creatives with paid commissions for our first four issues.

The Somewhere: Enterprise and Research Fund is already  supporting LGBTQ+ start-up entrepreneurs and business owners, and provide a means to create new research. 

JUNE: What business is it of yours? A new blog for the Scottish Centre for Regional Inclusive Growth (SCRIG) about data gaps and the need for LGBTQ+ entrepreneur support and our new Rainbow Enterprise Network.

MAY: We are delighted to have received Heritage Lottery Funding supporting the new Anne Lister Walking Tour of Edinburgh, in partnership with Hands On Consulting.  For more information and to book a tour visit Anne Lister Tours on Insta.

NEW CULTURAL ENTERPRISE LGBTQ+ PHD FOR SCOTLAND

Through our links with the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities, we have been named Partner Organisation in a brand new Collaborative Doctoral Award starting this October, focusing on Cultural Geographies of LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurship in Scotland.

We are delighted to be working alongside our Academic Partners in the Department of Geography  at the University of Edinburgh.

And a huge welcome to Rowan Rush-Morgan, our doctoral research student

SCHOLARSHIP & MENTORING: LGBT+ FIRST FOR SCOTLAND

In 2019, a joint partnership between Somewhere and University of Edinburgh Business School co-created Scotland's first LGBT+ MBA Scholarship and Mentoring Programme. 

After a very successful first year, supporting our inaugural mentee, Teale Failla, this year's recipient Xingjian Wang has just completed his year for 2020/21.

Somewhere is delighted to be continuing the scholarship into 2021/22 - more news to come soon!

SATF 2021: 

A GROWING SUCCESS

Our yearly campaign supporting the 5% of shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe made for, by or about the LGBTQ+ community. Our 2019 campaign built on the success of 2018, with a fantastic team of volunteer interviewers and reviewers.  In 2020, through our funded PhD internship with the University of Glasgow, we carried out a Community Consultation survey to build a more inclusive LGBTQ+ Fringe for 2021 and beyond. 

The legacy of this work is a new Strategic Partnership with the Fringe Society for 2021-2022

NEW LGBTQ+ RESEARCH: 

2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021

Somewhere is a research-led social enterprise and is contributing to research, knowledge and understanding of LGBTQ+ equality, diversity and inclusion issues. 

As well as our Arts and Culture Fund, we also have a new Enterprise and Research Fund and associated initiatives, which will be launched and rolled out from Summer 2021.

We continue to actively expand our research collaborations with HEIs across Scotland and have close links with the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH). 

LAVENDER MENACE RETURNS: 2019, 2020, 2021

Somewhere is delighted to be a community partner in the exciting new plans to reimagine and relaunch the famous Lavender Menace LGBT bookshop as a queer archive and blog. 

The bookshop was a first for Scotland, and its founders, Bob and Sigrid, are much-loved community role models, and a big part of Scotland's LGBTQ+ cultural heritage.

As well as supporting Lavender Menace on their journey to becoming a new community interest company, there are permanent Lavender Menace pages in our Somewhere: For Us magazine.

LGBT YOUTH SCOTLAND'S LGBTQ+ HERITAGE FESTIVAL  

The annual LGBT+ History Month programme of events is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen our knowledge and understanding of LGBTQ+ history past and present. Run by LGBT  

Somewhere is here to join in and shout about all the fantastic work taking place across Scotland each February., and this year was particularly special.

Our collaboration with Beano Studios and LGBT Youth Scotland for Issue Two of Somewhere: For Us magazine has been a huge success, with  % of the proceeds of merchandise sales going to Time for Inclusive Education.