Luton is a town that is incredibly proud of its ethnic diversity, and home to people originating from every corner of the globe. As well as those with local roots, generations of people have settled in Luton from a rich cross section of religions, cultures and identities, raising their children in the town, and helping to make the town the culturally diverse place that it is today.
In the same way, the supporters of Luton Town Football Club represent every community in the town itself. The football club brings together people from across the Luton and beyond. From Bury Park to Bramingham, Stopsley to Sundon Park and Lewsey to Wigmore, people come together to support Luton Town. It provides an almost unique opportunity to celebrate in a shared identity as Lutonians and Hatters, as we all follow the Club through the ups and downs of league football together – regardless of heritage, disability, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.
‘My Town, My Shirt’ is a project created to reflect this.
Luton Town Supporters’ Trust, working with the Club and their official photographer Gareth Owen will create a special photography exhibition later this year. The exhibition will include photographs of Luton Town supporters from as many communities across the town as possible – wearing their shirts, and the Club crest with pride – in locations in and around the town that are important to them.
The aim of the exhibition is to celebrate the diversity in our town and across the supporter-base, and to achieve this, we need your help between 13th April and 26th May 2021.
We are inviting all supporters of Luton Town to share photographs of themselves wearing a Luton Town shirt on Twitter or Instagram using the #mytownmyshirt hashtag. At this stage we are looking for as many people as possible to share their images, as this will form part of the selection process in finding people to take part in the photographs for the exhibition.
Anyone can take part at this stage, but we would particularly like to receive images from people in ‘minority’ communities to ensure we are able to represent as many different people as possible in the exhibition.
Here’s what to do:
- Put on a Luton Town shirt.
- Ask a friend or family member to take a photo in a location of your choice.
- Ideally the photo will include your head and shoulders, and should be clear and sharp. Make sure the sun is in front of you, and the camera / smart phone lens is clean.
- Post your photo on social media, stating your location and tagging as follows:
- Twitter: #mytownmyshirt @lutontownst @lutontown
- Instagram: #mytownmyshirt @lutontownst @ltfc_official
- Under 18s can take part, with permission from an adult or in the same photograph as a parent or guardian.
What happens next?
We are sure that many supporters will take part, sharing their photographs on social media during April and May. Once we have received your photos via social media, we will look through all of the photos received, and contact 20 to 30 people to take part in a photo shoot four our exhibition over the summer.
The exhibition will take place at Kenilworth Road, and at other locations in Luton to provide as many people as possible the opportunity to attend.
We’re excited to see your images – and thank you in advance for taking part in this exciting project. COME ON YOU HATTERS!