Editorial – The HeartCore spirit

Welcome once again to HeartCore – The Official Copenhagen Pride Magazine! We have made it to the other side of the magnificent event Copenhagen 2021, and with the autumn cold and darkness upon us we have decided to look inside, into the SPIRIT of our community, with this edition’s theme. In the original rainbow flag, the color violet was representative of spirit, and with that being the color of the back of this edition, we wanted to explore what the notion of spirituality means to the LGBTI+ community today.

Much of our content was produced during WorldPride and EuroGames, and it reflects the ten days of joy, chaos, celebration, and inspiration. On behalf of Copenhagen Pride, we would also like to take this opportunity to thank every person who volunteered their time as an Includer both up to, during, and after the event – without you, we would not have succeeded, and a large part of the legacy of this event is attributed to your hard work and passion. While the slogan #YouAreIncluded is no longer at the forefront of Copenhagen Pride, the sentiment remains at the very core of our organization going forward.

In line with the theme, we have also had the opportunity to explore the spirit of learning and growing following the publication of the previous edition of HeartCore. We were made aware that the styling on the front cover had resemblances to a culture which nobody involved had any right to appropriate the aesthetics of, and for this instance of privilege blindness, we apologize. We truly appreciate any opportunity to learn and grow as an editorial staff and will take the critique to heart going forward.

You may notice some slight differences in the layout of this edition of the magazine. After working on the first five editions, graphic artist Søren Juliussen has decided to step down to focus on his other work and the soon-to-be expansion of his family. Our congratulations to Søren on his fatherhood and many thanks for his hard work and vital role in shaping HeartCore. At the same time, we are thrilled to welcome Camilla Engelby as main graphic artist. Camilla has already done all the magnificent front and back covers of the magazine, and we are happy to have her on board.

With this edition, we invite you to keep an open mind as you read about religion and LGBTI+ rights in Poland, queer meditation practices, gay Vikings and femme witches, the intersection of literature and activism, and much more. As always, it is our hope that you leave this magazine with the sense of having received something new – a perspective, a fact, or a way of seeing the world that you had not thought of before.

We invite you to join us in spirit and wish you very happy reading!