Legendary LGBTQ+ activist Lisa Power honoured in new artwork: ‘We can overcome bigotry’

LGBTQ+ campaigning trailblazer Lisa Power MBE – dubbed the matriarch of LGBTQIA+ activism – has been honoured and celebrated for her commitment to queer UK heritage by The National Lottery as it marks its 30th birthday.

To mark the anniversary of the first draw in 1994, The National Lottery is celebrating 30 inspirational people – Game Changers – who have achieved amazing things across the UK in the past 30 years, with the help of lottery funding.

Power has been named as one of seven Heritage Game Changers, who have been chosen for their transformative impact on UK heritage and conservation.

Alongside the other Heritage Game Changers, including Eden Project co-founder Tim Smit, and one of the founders of the Windrush Foundation, Arthur Torrington, Power will be celebrated on Tuesday (1 October) by an art installation at Yorkshire’s Whitby Abbey, created by artist David Popa.

The installation is his largest artwork to date and shows the Game Changers’ hands holding the roots of a tree.

28 of the Game Changers will be revealed across four installations, which will focus on key areas of National Lottery funding, arts and film, heritage, sport, and community, with the final two announced on The National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash, on ITV.

Power, who was appointed MBE in 2011, is a legend of LGBTQ+ activism.

She worked volunteered at Switchboard at the outbreak of the HIV epidemic in the 80s, helped found Stonewall in the wake of Section 28, served as policy director for the Terrence Higgins Trust and secretary general of ILGA, co-ordinated lottery-funded Icons and Allies project – which unearthed trailblazing LGBTQ+ figures and allies across Wales – and was the first openly LGBTQ+ person to speak at the United Nations.

Power has also supported Fast Track Cymru, Pride Cymru and sat on the board of Queer Britain, the national LGBTQ+ museum.

She told PinkNews that receiving the Game Changer title was “very mysterious” at first, before learning it was the work of the Icons and Allies project, which includes Welsh figures such as the Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, miner Dai Donovan, played by Paddy Considine in Pride, and actor and dramatist Ivor Novello.

“What was fascinating when we premiered the exhibition in the Senedd, there were two reactions,” she said. “One was people going, ‘I didn’t know they were gay’, about some of the famous people in there, and the other one was: ‘I didn’t know they were Welsh’.”

Power noted that the reason many LGBTQ+ figures might not be remembered as Welsh is because those who “wanted fame and fortune have always migrated to London… so there were people who didn’t know the Welsh heritage but also people who knew someone was Welsh and famous but didn’t know that they were lesbian, gay, bi or trans”.

Such an exhibition gives Welsh queer people role models who share similar life experiences to them, grew up in the same places and speak the same language.

“It helps to have other people that you know of, that you’ve heard of,” Power added, “it helps to have some people who show that you can be anything and do anything.”

Turning 70 in December, Power is trying to take a step back but still loves being a trustee of Queer Britain.

What she has learned from her life in queer activism and preserving heritage is that “we can overcome bigotry… what I’ve seen is we can fight back, we can get make gains”.

She went on to say: “History is irritatingly cyclical, so we’re going through a bit of a bad time – particularly for trans people, and a bit of a hard time in some countries outside Western Europe – but the lesson is that we can do things about that.

“It’s irritating that we have to keep doing it but we can do it and we can win.”

Power recalled a time she and a friend were at a protest and he was yelling the phrase “let’s hear it for generations of unborn homosexuals” which made her laugh at the time, but she now acknowledges how vital such narratives are for the progression of LGBTQ+ liberation.

“People from my generation shouldn’t be sitting there and going: ‘Oh, we did our bit. Now it’s everyone else’s turn’,” she said. “We’ve got to help young people realise what they can do and actually they’ve got to think about the generations coming after them so that maybe we don’t slide quite as far back next time.”

For any LGBTQ+ people who want to get involved in queer history and heritage, particularly younger queer people, she says: “Get stuck in, there’s loads going on and it’s fun. A lot of people got turned off history at school and don’t realise how much it encompasses.

“One of the things I’ve learned today [seeing the instillation at Whitby Abbey] is how wide the Heritage Lottery actually is because I’ve been here today with [Tim Smit] who started the Eden Project, because that’s our environmental heritage, and [Sandy Bremner, from] the Cairngorms National Park.

“All this is actually heritage and there [are] many ways to get stuck in and make sure that the world’s a better place.”

Commenting on the Game Changers work, Time Team presenter and actor Tony Robinson, who unveiled Popa’s installation, said: “I am deeply honoured to support The National Lottery’s celebration of these extraordinary people.

“Across the spectrum of our heritage and conservation, the impact of the causes and projects championed by these Game Changers is evident, and the role The National Lottery has played has been vital. I’m proud to help celebrate their 30th birthday in such a meaningful way.”

Eilish McGuinness, the chief executive officer of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Our heritage is incredibly diverse, from archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to sweeping landscapes and rare wildlife.

“At the root of each part of our heritage are people, people who believe in the value of heritage, who dedicate their lives to preserving and enriching it for all to enjoy, people who are game changers for heritage.

“The creation of a stunning Heritage Tree installation at Whitby Abbey honours seven of those extraordinary Game Changers and beautifully symbolises the deep roots and ever-growing impact of each, reflecting our shared ambition to strengthen heritage.

“It’s thanks to players of The National Lottery over the [past] 30 years, and those to come, that our shared heritage will be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.”

Since 1994, more than £8.6 billion ($11.5 billion) has been awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support thousands of projects, including those the Game Changers help to run.

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