NEWSLETTER: 21 August 2025
New exhibitions and we got published! 🌈✨ 21 August 2025 In this eflyer... Attitude Magazine publishes UNCUT Solo exhibition: Beyond…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgYF8_h7LBc
ABOUT US
Based in Brighton and Hove, we celebrate diversity through art across Sussex and the wider South East, building connections and sparking creative collaborations. We're not just about location; we're about weaving stories and forging bonds that transcend boundaries, embracing communities both near and far. Together, we aim to craft a tapestry of inclusivity that paints a brighter, more connected world through free exhibitions, workshops, and cultural events.
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Proud Studios was founded by award-winning portrait, documentary and commercial photographer Chris Jepson, a creative with 25+ years experience working for a diverse range of publications, magazines and LGBTQ+ community campaigns.
OUR MISSION
Proud Studios is dedicated to fostering creativity and inclusivity through socially engaged practices. We passionately collaborate on creative projects with LGBTQ+ individuals and marginalised communities, aiming to amplify diverse voices and celebrate the richness of unique perspectives. Our mission is to create projects where artistic expression become a powerful tool for social change, breaking barriers and fostering a more inclusive and empathetic world.
CROWDFUNDER TO SUPPORT LGBTQ+ ART PROJECTS
Queer art isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline.
Proud Studios exists to make space for LGBTQ+ voices, stories and creativity. Projects like UNCUT bring our community together, tackle isolation and offer vital visibility.
When queer people see themselves reflected in art, it helps build confidence, connection and belonging.
When the wider world sees us, it challenges stereotypes and sparks understanding.
We’re raising funds to deliver more LGBTQ+ creative projects, more exhibitions and more collaborations.
Your support will help cover venue costs, materials, artist fees and outreach work, and support queer people from all backgrounds to take part.
This is about more than art. It’s about mental health, social cohesion and giving our community space to breathe and grow.
If you can, please donate. Share. Spread the word.
Let’s build something powerful – together.
>> Read more and donate here.
Two New Exhibitions At Google UK
Kicking off Pride In London week, I was delighted to be asked to show ‘Beyond The Binary – a celebration of trans joy’ at Google’s two London HQs. A collab with the Trans at Google employee resource group, there are 14 x A2 prints with accompanying text on display at Google UK Kings Cross and Google UK St Giles High St as the ERG Summer Series exhibition for the whole of July.
If you work there or are visiting someone at Google, please do stop by and read the stories of these amazing people.
>> Read more here.
NEW PROJECT – GET INVOLVED NOW
This is UNCUT — a raw, striking portrait series by award-winning photographer Chris Jepson capturing the power and pride of Queer Joy, shot in a barber’s chair. No filters, no retouching, no compromise. Just bold, beautiful people taking up space exactly as they are.
Barbershops have long been places of transformation — places where identities are shaped, confidence is built and stories are shared. But they haven’t always been welcoming for everyone. UNCUT reclaims that space for queer bodies, queer styles and queer joy. It’s about authenticity, visibility and saying this is me without hesitation.
Shooting from March 2025 – Studio in Brighton & Hove.
>> Read more and get involved here.
NEW EXHIBITION (Hove, BN3)
The IDENTITY Project – A Portrait of a Community, by award-winning photographer Chris Jepson, is an exploration of what it means to identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community today.
This ‘Paris Edition’ was created with Espace Canopy, a gallery in the 18th arrondissement, for ‘Marche des fiertés LGBT’ (Paris Pride) 2022 and this is the first UK exhibition of the portraits.
From 1st February 2025 – Hove Hands, First Avenue, Hove (by appointment only).
>> Read more here.
