CELEBRATING UNTOLD LOVE STORIES OF THE 1980S!
A brand new film, podcast and photographic archive project celebrating different kinds of relationships, people and love stories of the 1980s.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
During the lockdown last year, we launched 'We Found Love In The 80s' and began searching for couples who had an inspiring story to tell about their path to love in the 1980s. We found a brilliant mix of couples who shared their love stories, photos and video footage about their lives together.
We gathered the stories, photos and other memorabilia to make; a short film, podcast series, a soundscape created by musician Martyn Ware - founder of The Human League and Heaven 17! We also launched a brand new photographic archive about love in 1980s Britain.
The inspiring stories we feature are about how couples overcame obstacles together - whether that be racism, homophobia or class prejudice - to build their lives together.
At a time when romance and relationships are often presented as being as simple as a right or left swipe on a dating app, we wanted to know what it takes to find that special person and stay together.
The film will screen at Wolverhampton Literature Festival 2021 on Saturday 13 February and will screen at festivals and special events thereafter. Please subscribe to keep updated!
On Sunday 14 February 2021, we launch a brand new podcast series along with Martyn Ware's soundscape which is available at Spotify under the title 'We Found Love In The 80s'.
We're still looking for inspiring love stories so if you found love in the 80s, or know someone who did - please submit a story and photograph. Or if you just want to say hi, we'd LOVE to hear from you!
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WHY ARE WE EXPLORING THE 1980s?
The 1980s was a memorable decade for so many reasons. It was colourful, eclectic and sometimes strange and bizarre! It certainly produced some of the most spectacular art, music, film and fashion, which continue to inspire younger generations today. Like anything in life, you can’t have the good without the bad. Forty years on and the 1980s has so much resonance and parallels to our contemporary moment, we had a Conservative government, unemployment was high, racism was rife and there was a deadly new virus spreading across the globe.
And yet, in amongst all of this, we still had LOVE. People were still falling in love, although this was easier if you fitted the norms of society. For those who didn’t, falling in love often had to be in secret, especially those in gay or interracial/mixed faith relationships.
After everything we've all been through over the past few months of lockdown, now seems like a perfect time to launch a positive project about love and what unites us.
This project is about celebrating and discovering the unheard stories about falling love in the 1980s. While going on this journey with the couples, we'll also be documenting important British social history.
DID YOU EVER MAKE A LOVE SONGS MIX TAPE FOR ANYONE?
We would love to know which songs you picked!
OFFICIAL FUNDING PARTNERS
This project is co-commissioned by Waltham Forest Council, Barbican (Beyond the Mile) and Future Arts Centres. Funded by Arts Council England to mark The National Lottery’s 25th birthday.
Special thanks to Warwick Arts Centre.
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WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
We're looking to gather as many love stories from the 1980s as possible. If you have any questions or just want to find out more about the project, feel free to get in touch with us.
We'll get back to you as soon as we can.
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