Shout welcomes a new team and plans a new programme for the future focused on celebrating the best of queer culture in the Midlands, building on and learning from the successes of the past which saw the organisation attract over 400,000 visitors and platform over 400 LGBTQ+ artists since 2011, and was part of ACE’s National Portfolio from 2018-2022.

Shout’s new Creative and Community Producers Dr Hannah Phillips and Pheobe Gilmore, will present a year-long programme in 2025 and this Autumn focus on testing work with audiences, artists and producers (established and emerging) and the queer community.

These new roles and new approach were identified via The Shout Reframed Project, funded through Arts Council England and led by Jo Muskett looking at the future of the organisation.

Jo Muskett, Operations Manager Birmingham LGBT said: “We’ve worked tirelessly over the last year to really take stock of what Shout should be, what our queer community needs us to be and how to make it happen. The recruitment of our new Producers is our first step forward to driving our new programme forward to ensure that our queer community is able to access, participate in and create arts and cultural activity throughout the whole year.”

The new producing team will devise and deliver an all-year-round programme running February 2025 – January 2026. This multi art form test programme will make space and celebrate the full spectrum of LGBTQIA+ lives under three interconnected themes – Joyful; Activism; With Care. This new programme is just the beginning, the outcomes will enable Shout to develop a sustainable programme into the future.

The Autumn programme, running from September, will create a space for meaningful and critical conversations around queer arts and LGBTQIA+ lives and will include The Queer Motherhood Project, a live show made from the lived experience of queer identifying mothers at MAC; At The Rainbow’s End by Clare Summerskill, a verbatim exploration of older LGBT experiences of homophobia and transphobia in residential accommodation and their own homes; Comedy at The Glee Club with more projects to be developed and announced.

For more information, visit: shoutfestival.co.uk