PHOTOGRAPHY: Elska Magazine Puts the Spotlight on the Gay Community of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Dec 8

Elska Magazine’s mission is to highlight and showcase the people and stories of gay communities around the world. For its latest edition, the spotlight is on Northern Ireland’s capital city, Belfast.

Every issue allows readers to tour the specific city virtually and get up close and personal with members of the local queer community. Belfast made headlines in 2020 after it adopted gay marriage, six years later than the rest of the UK.

“I knew about Northern Ireland’s unique political legacy but wanted to see beyond it. In reality though, this legacy still has a strong impact, and indeed most of the men I met here brought up the topic in some way, usually decrying how it has held back the LGBTQ community,” says Elska editor and chief photographer Liam Campbell in an interview with ADVOCATE.

The 196-page Belfast edition is divided into 11 chapters, each of which is dedicated to a specific subject who is photographed in their immediate neighbourhood and in their homes. The men also shared stories, with topics ranging from the ever-growing gay community and life before coming out to the political climate and nights out on the town.