All through 2018, GCN is celebrating a momentous three decades of publication in Ireland, and the jewel in the crown will be our GCN30 exhibition at the Gallery of Photography during Dublin Pride week.

Curated by GCN’s co-founder, Tonie Walsh, and funded by the LGBT+ community through a very special Fundit campaign, the GCN30 exhibition will chart the history, not only of GCN, but of Ireland’s queer community from 1988 to the present day, with a fascinating mix of elements, including photography, installations, video pieces, murals, captured events and timelines.

GCN30 A-Z of Queer Irish Life

Amongst other elements, the GCN30 exhibition will feature an A to Z of Queer Irish life over the past 30 years, with each letter of the alphabet representing the huge range of editorials and contributions, highlighting the  scope of GCN throughout its history.

There’ll be an audio-visual display of all the covers, and a special room celebrating every single contributor to GCN over the years. Displays of text and bold graphics will explore both the development of the magazine and  a newly-minted Irish LGBT community finding its voice and confidence from 1988 onwards. Headings under which we’ll be exploring our story will include Lesbian Identity, Trans Identity, HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health, Non-Dublin Identity, Personal Ads, Sex and Sexuality, and Advertising to the Queer Community.

Audio-visual display points will feature all of the video content GCN has produced over the years, along with newly commissioned video work. There’ll also be special talks about the history of the publication and its place within the queer community.

“It’s such an interesting and wide-ranging look back at how Ireland’s LGBT+ community has evolved and changed over 30 years, and how Ireland has changed alongside it,” says GCN’s editor, Brian Finnegan. “For all those years, GCN has been at the heart of the LGBT+ community, it’s a kind of mothership that gives us a sense of our community, given that we are spread across the country and come from all kinds of backgrounds.

“For all those years, it’s striven to be a source of education, information, and positive representation, and as such has told many stories, not only of those in the public eye, but those people who over the decades have changed Ireland simply by being brave enough to be themselves.”

A Fundit.ie campaign is steadily climbing towards a target of €10,000 needed to put on the entire GCN30 exhibition. It finishes on May 17, and if the target is reached, the show will go ahead full steam.

“We want the entire LGBT+ community to come on board to celebrate GCN, and in so doing, celebrate themselves as the amazing, game-changing, vital community they are,” says Finnegan. “We’ve come up with a fantastic roster of rewards, including the chance to star on your very own cover of GCN. So it’s a win-win for everyone!”

“We encourage everyone to contribute to the campaign, to be part of GCN30 with us and put on a landmark exhibition.”

To contribute to the GCN30 Fundit campaign, click here. G’wan, fundit!