We can’t quite believe it’s week nine of GCN’s In And Out Digital Festival of LGBT+ Creativity.

It has been a total joy to spend the last nine weeks curating amazing online content to keep the community entertained, informed and connected. All of these events are live-streamed from Facebook directly into your homes and this week’s programme will not disappoint!

We want to say thank you to all of you who have tuned in and supported us, be that through our support page or by simply clicking ‘like’. We appreciate it and hope that our In And Out Digital Festival of LGBT+ Creativity is helping you through these challenging times.

So what have we in store for you this week?!

Tuesday, 7 pm:Histories and Cultural representations of HIV/AIDs in Ireland

Continuing our series of conversations for GCN’s In And Out Digital Festival of LGBT+ Creativity, our host Dr Mary McAuliffe is joined by Dr Cormac O’Brien and James Grannell, both of UCD, for a fascinating conversation about the histories and cultural representations of HIV/AIDs in 1980s Ireland.

James is an expert on the histories of HIV/AIDs activism in the 1980s and will talk to us about the work of the different organisations, in particular the work of Gay Health Action, which was set up in 1985, making 2020 the 35th anniversary of its foundation.

Cormac will talk about the politics of stigma which ran through much of the representations of HIV/AIDs in Irish theatre, literature and the media.

Wednesday, 7 pm: Workout Like a Warrior Session 3

Our Health, Fitness & Wellbeing strand of In and Out Festival for June is being proudly supported by Lifestyle Sports. This Wednesday, we’re delighted to welcome back out friends from the Emerald Warriors.

The LGBT+ rugby team Emerald Warriors are a testament to the power of inclusivity and determination, proven by their successful bid to host the Union Cup in 2019 – bringing together LGBT+ rugby teams across Europe for a spectacular tournament.

Thursday, 7 30- 10 pm: Dating Amber Watch Party and Q&A

Rounding out week nine of our In and Out offering, we’re delighted to team up with the beauties at GAZE and Wildcard Distribution for a watch-along screening of new Irish film Dating Amber, followed by a virtual Q+A with director David Freyne and lead actors Fionn O’Shea and Lola Petticrew, moderated by GAZE Programmer Seán McGovern.

Dating Amber is a hilarious coming-of-age comedy set in Ireland during the mid-90s. Things begin to unravel when Eddie and Amber, closeted teens and best friends, fake a relationship to stop everyone from speculating about their sexuality. Starring Fionn O’Shea (Normal People, Handsome Devil), Lola Petticrew (A Bump Along the Way) and Irish acting legends Sharon Horgan and Barry Ward.

Tweet along with hashtags #DatingAmberGAZE and join us afterwards for the live Q+A where you can get the chance to join in the conversation. Start watching at 7:30 PM (AMAZON PRIME) Q+A live on Zoom/GCN Facebook at 21:10

As a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model, the coming months will challenging but with your help, we’ll get through this together. If you like what we do here at GCN, you can support us by texting GCN to 50300 to donate €4 or by visiting our support page here. Text costs €4. GCN will receive a minimum of €3.25 per text. Service Provider: LIKECHARITY. Helpline: 076 6805278.

If you are an LGBT+ creative or ally and would like to be part of our In And Out Digital Festival of LGBT+ Creativity get in touch at [email protected]. If you would like to support Ireland’s LGBT+ press by sponsoring one or some of the events email [email protected].

Stay safe xx