Advertisement
Art

LGBTQ+ icons including Munroe Bergdorf and Bimini Bon Boulash tackle queer homelessness through new portrait series

Icons including Lady Phyll and DJ Fat Tony are part of the series.

Drag royalty Bimini Bon Boulash and activist Lady Phyll are just some of the LGBTQ+ trailblazers featured in a new digital portrait series, which will raise funds for LGBTQ+ homelessness centre The Outside Project.

More than 25 queer icons and allies are part of the This Other Eden photo project, captured by British photographer Luke Nugent, including actress and trailblazer Munroe Bergdorf, author and DJ Fat Tony, and queen of London nightlife Princess Julia.

Munroe Bergdorf is one of the biggest stars in the portrait series. Image: Luke Nugent

The limited edition digital portraits will be on sale from Thursday June 9, ranging in price from hundreds to thousands of pounds.

Half of all proceeds made from the NFT sales will go towards supporting The Outside Project, which operates a community shelter, centre and domestic abuse refuge for homeless and vulnerable LGBTQ+ people in London.

Rapper Neco London and artist Parma Ham. Image: Luke Nugent

Carla Ecola, the director of The Outside Project, said the organisation was “hugely grateful” for the support.

“The Outside Project exists to make space for those in the queer community impacted by homelessness and domestic abuse,” they said.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“The LGBTIQ+ community needs to have secure identity responsive spaces on the city map that aren’t just connected to nightlife, and our organisation seeks to support the creation of basic housing and healthcare provisions for our community.”

More than 60 LGBTQ+ people were supported by The Outside Project’s accommodation services over the last winter period, while many more have used the community centre and outreach support as a lifeline.

DJ Josh Quinton and activist Lady Phyll. Image: Luke Nugent

Homelessness continues to disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, with almost a quarter of people aged 16 to 25 at risk of homelessness identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or non-binary, according to AKT.

The portrait project was put together by creative studio Temporal Shift with Palm NFT Studio and NFT platform Nifty’s to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last week, with the aim of capturing what queer culture looks like in 2022.

Singer Roy INc. Image: Luke Nugent

Mark Moore, who founded chart-topping 80s dance music act S’Express, took part in the project due to his own personal experience with homelessness. “Having been homeless when I was a teenager I am more than happy to be involved with something as important as The LGBTIQ+ Outside Project,” he said.

Director and actress Jeanie Crystal, who also took part in the portrait series, said: “Thinking about methods to distribute wealth to those that need it the most should be one of society’s main priorities.”

Advertisement

Learn more about our impact

When most people think about the Big Issue, they think of vendors selling the Big Issue magazines on the streets – and we are immensely proud of this. In 2022 alone, we worked with 10% more vendors and these vendors earned £3.76 million in collective income. There is much more to the work we do at the Big Issue Group, our mission is to create innovative solutions through enterprise to unlock opportunity for the 14million people in the UK living in poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
An Ordinary Eden: Intimate photos tell stories of home and homelessness
Photography

An Ordinary Eden: Intimate photos tell stories of home and homelessness

As Eurovision takes over Liverpool, 'Izyum to Liverpool' reminds us why it can't be in Ukraine
Interview

As Eurovision takes over Liverpool, 'Izyum to Liverpool' reminds us why it can't be in Ukraine

Grenfell by Steve McQueen review: A powerful and haunting reminder
Art

Grenfell by Steve McQueen review: A powerful and haunting reminder

Intimate portraits of home and homelessness at the new Centre for British Photography
home

Intimate portraits of home and homelessness at the new Centre for British Photography

Most Popular

Read All
How two men outran the KGB to bring Tetris to the world
1.

How two men outran the KGB to bring Tetris to the world

‘We had to turn away a man who hadn’t eaten for two days’: Liverpool café serving homeless people for free broken into twice in two weeks
2.

‘We had to turn away a man who hadn’t eaten for two days’: Liverpool café serving homeless people for free broken into twice in two weeks

Exclusive: Suella Braverman claims to have contributed to a legal textbook. The author says she didn't.
3.

Exclusive: Suella Braverman claims to have contributed to a legal textbook. The author says she didn't.

Cash Carraway on Rain Dogs: 'We always see working-class stories through a middle-class gaze'
4.

Cash Carraway on Rain Dogs: 'We always see working-class stories through a middle-class gaze'