Fully seen and accepted: OTN trustee shares story in Proud exhibition

Augustine Tanner-Ihm is an African-American activist, writer, speaker who is a curate at St James & Emmanuel, Manchester, and a Doctoral Student in Leadership, Culture, and Practical Theology at Bakke Graduate University. He was also the winner of the 2020 Church Times Theology Slam competition.

WATCH Augustine’s video intro to the Open Table Network [2.5 mins]

WHAT DOES IT MEAN to be fully seen and accepted? In a new temporary audio-visual exhibition, OTN trustee Augustine Tanner Ihm recounts the moment when his searching for a space to be ‘all of who he is’ comes to an end.

Proud, created by Heard Storytelling to celebrate Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ community. features 20 beautiful large-scale portraits around the streets which include QR codes linked to spoken stories from LGBTQIA+ storytellers, as part of the city’s Pride festival.

From the streets of Jamaica, stages of Manchester, dressing rooms of working men’s clubs and the nation’s TV screens, these tales take listeners on personal and candid journeys, all focused on the theme ‘Proud’.

Augustine shares the experience of his adoption by a new family, the moment when ‘otherness becomes brotherness’ and how he is creating that loving space for all of the ‘beautiful parts of humanity’ in his ministry within an inclusive church in the city.

Listen to Augustine’s story [5 mins].

Proud, 20 August – 4 September 2022, Manchester City Centre, FREE.
Download the map and follow the trail.