The first Gay Pride march in the UK took place on 1 July 1972.

To mark Pride's 50th anniversary this year, public artist

Martin Firrell

(he/him) is showing , a series of public art billboards supported by Clear Channel, Alight Media and Mass Media.

Read on to find out more about the artworks and how you can contribute your own memories and photos to the project.

kicks off with four artworks based on true-life LGBT+ coming-of-age stories.

Each story gently satirises the ludicrous view, prevalent in the early 1970s, that people could 'catch' or 'be turned' LGBT+.

In 1972, the last Apollo mission landed on the moon. refers to the true-life story of one teenager's unlikely erotic awakening, prompted by the bulky white space suits worn by the moon mission crews.

Quentin Crisp was well on his way to becoming (in)famous by the early 1970s. Many young people first encountered the possibility of living a queer life through Crisp's autobiography and John Hurt's extraordinary portrayal of Crisp in the TV adaptation of the same title.

In 1972, UK law was altered so that television companies were allowed to broadcast during the day. At least one teenager realised her lesbian identity while watching glossy presenters on the UK's first daytime TV shows.

1972 saw the outbreak of the 'Cod Wars' between Iceland and the UK. News reports of burly trawlermen in conflict over fishing rights led one youngster to realise his identity as a gay man.

Now the artist, working with human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, is inviting LGBT+ people and their allies to take part in the creation of 5 further artworks to be unveiled on the day UK Pride turns 50 - 1 July 2022.

First check if your employer's LGBT+ network has already signed up to take part. If not,

email us

for more information.