ACT UP at 40 Manchester Calendar Launch: A celebration of 40 years of resistance and collective power!
Thursday 12th November 2026 6-8pm at The George House Trust, 75-77 Ardwick Green North, Manchester, M12 6FX
In 2027, ‘AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power’ (ACT UP) turns 40. To mark four decades of radical HIV/AIDS activism, The George House Trust will launch the ACT UP at 40: Celebrating Resistance and Demanding Healthcare for All — Calendar 2027, bringing together previously unseen photographs and footage from ACT UP chapters around the world alongside daily reminders of protest. We will have a short conversation with activists, photographers and filmmakers who documented and participated in the early years of ACT UP Manchester and a new generation of organisers to ask: What can ACT UP teach us now?
Calendars will be on sale for the first time!
Buy yours now - please state your name and contact clearly when you purchase.
Purchase yours here at Etsy for £15.00 RRP (Recommended Retail Price) + P+P - available for posting mid-October.
Tickets are donation based and there are very limited spaces - all profits go to support the calendar tour and the ‘Fund Healthcare Not Warfare’ international demo in 2027.
ABOUT ACT UP
“Plague! We are in the middle of a fucking plague … what are we gonna do about it?” Larry Kramer demanded at the New York LGBT+ Centre on 10 March 1987. Hundreds gathered that day to establish ACT UP — the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power: united in anger and committed to non-violent direct action to end the AIDS crisis.
Forty years on, that urgency still reverberates. As cuts to HIV and AIDS funding put millions of lives at risk, the answer remains the same: ACT UP until there is healthcare for all.
This calendar brings together ACT UP chapters — old, new and newly reactivated — from around the world. It celebrates the extraordinary diversity of our creative activism and the power of our insurrectionary imaginations: from mass die-ins in Trafalgar square and pharmaceutical occupations to political funerals and ashes thrown over the White House gates.
ACT UP has saved countless lives and shown what people power can achieve. This calendar is an international kaleidoscope of that history, creativity and resistance — and an invitation to pass the flame on.
ABOUT THE GEORGE HOUSE TRUST
We're working for a world where HIV holds no one back - We want you to know that if you're living with HIV and wondering what the future holds... you're going to be okay. At George House Trust, we provide support, advice and information for people living with HIV. We are committed to ensuring that people have access to what they need to live well with HIV. Whether you're newly diagnosed or living longer term with HIV, our team can help you.
Testimonials
“We are so grateful for the opportunity to be seen and share our story. The ACT UP Latina/o Caucus continues to challenge stigma and assert the visibility of LGBT Latinos.” Julian de Mayo, ACT UP Latina/o Caucus
“This calendar has connected us with ACT UP chapters across the world and strengthened our sense of pride and belonging. It has helped us understand our local history as part of an international movement fighting for four decades.” ACT UP Argentina
“Working with surviving members on this calendar reignited their pride in what they achieved, and offers a chance to share that flame with ACT UP chapters and followers around the world.” Mark Andrew, ACT UP Montreal
DRESS CODE - Dress to Celebrate!
ACCESSIBILITY - Wheelchair Access: Limited wheelchair user access throughout the building. A ramp is available at the front entrance, and the rear entrance is level. A lift provides access to the reception area.
Accessible toilets are available on-site. Parking spaces for disabled drivers are located at both the front and the rear of the building.