The York Lesbian Arts Festival (YLAF) is an annual event of 2-4 days for around 4,000 people, mainly lesbian and bisexual women, held in the city of York.
Sarah Waters appearing at YLAF 07. Photo Vi APPA
The York Lesbian Arts Festival is staged by a non-profit-distributing company, run by a voluntary board of management and a paid part-time staff. Paid staff in 2008 include the Festival Director, Festival Administrator and Programmers.
A similar, highly successful and popular annual festival was previously run by Jenny Roberts, founder of Libertas! Women's Bookshop. Libertas is now an online store owned by Millivres Prowler Group and is the sponsor of this year's book festival.
View of York Minster
The steering group of women organising the York Lesbian Arts Festival produced the following statement in 2005 and updated it in July 2006 to be more inclusive: By a lesbian arts festival we mean that we are celebrating arts produced by lesbian and bisexual women in a space that is safe for lesbian and bisexual women.
Every year women comment on the uniqueness of this event. While we want to keep it unique, we do not want to exclude people who are sometimes barred from or made unwelcome at lesbian events. For this reason we felt we should clarify our policy. We welcome women festival-goers and their male friends including: lesbian and bi women; transsexual women (MTFs, pre-op and post-op); transsexual men (FTMs); intersexed people; women who have not 'come out'; heterosexual women; men attending as guests of women.
Men planning to attend on their own are asked to email one of the organisers first to introduce themselves. There are exceptions to this policy as some events are women-only. At YLAF 2006, the club night, workshops and walks are women-only (transsexual women are welcome, as are intersexed and FTM people who have links to the women's community). We aim to use female security staff and stewards. Some bar staff and technicians will be male. We ask everyone to be respectful towards each other.
Sexist, racist, disablist, homophobic or transphobic language will not be tolerated. Anyone whose language or behaviour is (in the opinion of the organisers) threatening or offensive may be excluded from the festival and all future festivals. We aim to provide full access to women with disabilities. We are working towards reflecting and being accessible to all parts of the lesbian community.
The primary aim of the York Lesbian Arts Festival is to promote lesbian art and artists (including literature and writers) to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer women. Within this context, the YLAF will welcome audiences regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, religion, belief, gender, sexuality, disability, age, medical status, class or geographical location.
As an employer, the YLAF recognises its obligations under Equal Opportunities legislation. It will employ individuals on the basis of their objectively assessed skills and abilities, while reserving the right to establish a full awareness of lesbian issues as an occupational qualification.
The YLAF is bound by the provisions and spirit of the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (as amended 1976), the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and the Codes of Practice made under these Acts. People The Board of Management runs the organisation and meets regularly. At present its members are: