Art exhibition explores homophobia in football

PinkNews logo with white background and rainbow corners

The work of gay artist Jason Bartholomew-Hall is appearing at an exhibition this week in Brighton.

Entitled ‘Fans, Stands and Homosexuality: Photographic journeys into football’ features the works of three artists.

‘Homosexuality’ by Jason Bartholomew-Hall explores the taboo of being gay in professional football. As a gay footballer and an artist, Bartholomew-Hall is on a personal and political mission to confront the myth that gay men do not play football.

He is also the founder of The Justin Campaign, which seeks to raise awareness about homophobia and homosexuality in professional football.

The campaign is named after Justin Fashanu, the first openly gay footballer who committed suicide in 1998 whilst facing sexual assault charges in America.

It was launched on 4 May 2008, two days after the tenth anniversary of Fashanu’s death.

At the time, a campaign spokesman said, “The FA, in conjunction with Stonewall and the GFSN, are fighting anti-gay prejudice on the terraces, looking to stamp out the kind of chants that haunted Justin,

“But ten years after his death, which the football world refused to mark, there are still no openly gay professional players or managers.”

The current aim of the campaign is to have Saturday 2 May 2009 recognised by the football authorities as ‘Justin Fashanu Day’ and to make the date an annual international day of protest against homophobia in sport.

The exhibition is on until November 28 at The Chelsea School, University of Brighton.

For  more information on the Justin Campaign see : www.thejustincampaign.com

Photo of exhibition:
https://www.outlinegallery.com/Piece.aspx?GalleryParentID=8&GalleryID=34&MediaID=179

Comments (0)

MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.

Loading Comments