We’re looking for a fabulous artist who can create miniature artworks to be part of the geocache trail – either to sit inside the caches themselves, or to travel between caches as a trackable item – as responses to our queer rural stories. Download the full call document using the links below:Download in MS Word formatDownload in PDF formatDownload in MS Word large printDownload as audio file Our ideal artist would: identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community be local to the Staffordshire Moorlands work with materials that connect to the history of the Staffordshire Moorlands, e.g. silk, buttons We expect the trail to contain around ten caches, each of which will explore a theme related to our journey of

The first ever Pride event in the Staffordshire Moorlands took place at the end of June, and it was all the rainbow fabulousness we could have hoped for! Co-created by a steering group of local LGBTQ+ people and with events spread across the Moorlands it was a real joy to be part of. The weekend culminated in a big party on Sunday afternoon in Leek town centre, with market stalls, talks, and lots of live music. Team QueerQuest were out in force chatting with people about the project and collecting stories and memories, favourite places, or places that had significant meaning for them. We had a MASSIVE map of the Moorlands that people could write and draw on, and project

It’s been a little odd leading a pride project as a straight-presenting person. It’s given me an opportunity to reflect on a part of my identity I don’t often let out into the open – not necessarily in a closeted way, but it just never felt like anyone else’s business. I’m really aware of the privilege of being in a straight-presenting relationship and having the choice of whether or not I share that part of myself, but the flip side of that is feeling unable to fully step into queer spaces and feel like I belong there. I’ve always known who I am, but growing up I didn’t know there was a word for it. To be quite honest I

The first thing we need to do to get this project underway is start collecting stories – and OBVIOUSLY the best way to do that is to build a mini-rainbow post box! As you might be able to tell, it’s not quite finished yet but you get the idea! It was decorated by the group of young people at our first meeting last week, we had a lovely time painting and chatting about our plans for the project. We also met with our project artist Jay and brainstormed ideas for a project logo. Jay is going to create an enormous map of the Staffordshire Moorlands which we will have up on our stall at Pride in the Moorlands and be

In this project we will create a new geocaching trail in the Staffordshire Moorlands, celebrating local LGBTQ+ stories and rooting them firmly in the geography of the Moorlands landscape. What is geocaching? Geocaching is like real-life treasure hunting. There is a vast network of ‘geocachers’ all over the world, who love exploring their local areas, hiding things for others to find – or trying to find ones already hidden. The thing you hide is called a ‘cache’ – some sort of container ranging anywhere from Tupperware boxes to tiny containers the size of your thumb. To find a cache, you download the geocaching app which will show you what is available near to you, give you directions to where it’s