Next year we at YPAS and our LGBTQ+ youth service GYRO are proud to mark half a century of dedicated support and community for queer and gender-diverse young people in our city of Liverpool. The project If These Walls Could Talk traces the many chapters of LGBTQ+ youth work across Liverpool through one of its most historic addresses, 36 Bolton Street.
Led by Homotopia Festival and creative partner Queer Places, this city-wide heritage project celebrates LGBTQ+ spaces and the stories they hold. We are delighted to collaborate on the work focused on 36 Bolton Street, a building that has witnessed generations of community, care and activism. We welcome anyone with stories to tell – whether you were a service user, staff member or volunteer from the 1970s to today.
A Home Full of History
36 Bolton Street has long served as a home for Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ youth work and today the building remains the heart of YPAS’s city-centre hub and GYRO’s weekly drop-in sessions.
GYRO provides safe and supportive spaces for young people aged 11-25 who are exploring their sexuality or gender identity. Through the decades the building has been a place of refuge, creativity and empowerment for young people finding their voice and sense of belonging.
Once home to Friend Mersey, a vital helpline established in 1976 to support LGBTQ+ people during times of stigma and silence, the building is now the base for GYRO, one of the UK’s longest-running LGBTQ+ youth groups. Its history is woven through Liverpool’s wider story of solidarity, resilience and change.
If These Walls Could Talk – A Passion Project
If These Walls Could Talk is a commissioned heritage-art project by Homotopia Festival, created by artist and researcher Luke Fawcett of Queer Places. The project brings Liverpool’s queer history to life through creative storytelling, site-specific installations and digital archives that highlight the significance of LGBTQ+ spaces across the city.
As part of the wider Queer Places Heritage Trail, the façade of 36 Bolton Street has been transformed into a living artwork – a sculptural collage of memories, hopes and dreams co-created with the people who have found connection and belonging here. The installation, designed by Luke Fawcett, celebrates not just the building but the enduring spirit of love and togetherness that continues to thrive within its walls.
You’re invited to come and see our new window display and explore the stories behind it through the accompanying short film by Luke Fawcett and filmmaker Alessia Naccari. Together these works capture the warmth, strength and creativity that have shaped this space for generations.
Two Milestones, One Shared Mission
As GYRO nears 50 years of LGBTQ+ youth work we also approach YPAS’s 60th year of supporting Liverpool’s children, young people and families. Both milestones reflect our long-standing commitment to creating spaces where young people can feel seen, heard and valued.
What began in the 1970s as grassroots efforts to support isolated LGBTQ+ youth has grown into a well-established service that continues to evolve with each generation. Today we offer one-to-one support, peer groups and community events that help young people connect, express themselves and take pride in who they are.
Share Your Story
We know there are countless memories still waiting to be told. If you have ever been part of GYRO, Friend Mersey, YPAS’s LGBTQ+ youth work or any of the services based at 36 Bolton Street – whether as a young person, staff member or volunteer – we would love to hear from you.
Your stories will help build an archive of lived experience, assist current and future youth work.
You can contact us at [email protected].
For more information about YPAS visit www.ypas.org.uk.
If you’d like to find out more about GYRO, YPAS and our building’s history, you can watch the mini documentary lovingly created by Luke Fawcett and Alessia Naccari HERE.
As we approach 50 years of LGBTQ+ youth work and 60 years of YPAS we look forward to continuing this journey together. Here’s to the next chapter – and to making sure these walls keep talking for generations to come.
