Could you tell us about the LGBTQ+ Community Centre and what your role looks like there?

The project to open an LGBTQ+ Community Centre in London started in 2017, and it was in December 2021 that we got our space in Hopton Street in Southwark. My role has changed a lot since I joined in April 2021. I was the first member of staff, so I have seen the organisation grow from a grassroots volunteer-led project to a registered charity with eight (soon nine) members of staff and a physical space. It’s been some mad three and a bit years, that’s for sure!

At the moment, I focus on managing the team and making sure we are creating a work environment that people love, and that reflects the values we stand for—namely, community, intersectionality, respect, solidarity, empowerment, and responsibility. I do all our grant writing and other fundraising bits and lead our financial and operational strategies. More generally, I supervise everything that happens at the Centre.

Your career has been multifaceted, including but not limited to ceramicist, general manager at London’s LGBTQ+ Community Centre, and director of operations at Lon-art. In every one of these roles, it’s clear that nurturing communities has been at the heart of everything you do. What does community mean to you?

To me, community means support, love and joy.

A space – not necessarily a physical one, but the energy that people create to hold each other – where we can be ourselves, unapologetically while respectfully with regards to others; where we know those around us have our back (whatever that might mean at any given moment) and we live up to that; and where we find joy.

The bigger the community, the harder that often is, as we sometimes see it at the Centre. But finding community is life-changing, so it is definitely worth it.

As the general manager of the LGBTQ+ Community Centre, you can drive impactful change in the LGBTQ+ community. What important goals do you want to reach in the next five years, and what steps are you taking to achieve these?

The charity sector is a tough one and as life becomes harder and harder in London, our main goal is to secure the financial sustainability of the organisation. To find a way to generate as much income as possible independently, so that navigating financial challenges is a little bit easier. We have just hired a Fundraising Lead who will focus on organising fundraising events and finding those big donors we don’t have at the moment. It is a new, exciting role we have created!

Since the very beginning, our Centre has proved to be too small for the community’s needs. The calendar gets booked three to four months in advance, and we cannot accommodate all kinds of requests. So it would be amazing to find a bigger home or alternative spaces where we can host more events and bring more people in. We are constantly having conversations around this, and hopefully, the new cohort of trustees we are recruiting will help with this big task.

When asked about your ceramics in an interview with Plural Magazine, you said it was naive “to think that I could continue keeping my practice [ceramics] feminism-free. Once we put on the gender lens and start challenging our reality from a gender perspective, everything becomes political because everything is.” Could you tell us more about your art's meaning and the political and sociological metaphors they embody?

Pottery is a practice that women have traditionally done. Women making with their hands in their domestic environments and the community. Yet, because of who has historically decided what ‘History’ is and what is valuable and worthy of our attention, those herstories have been ignored, and a wealth of knowledge has been lost. One of my main passions is exploring those traditions and connecting with women makers, so I love travelling to different pottery communities.

Clay is a universal language. One that has been with humans for millennia, used in different cosmologies to explain the creation of humanity, and is also instrumental in facilitating our survival. All in all, it is — I believe — a great tool to bring people together, which makes it an excellent way to open important conversations.

So, I guess I use it to reflect upon the gender roles in its history and history in general and to bring those forgotten voices to the fore. It has also been key in my own personal growth as a woman of colour. It has helped me connect to my roots, embrace my blackness, and explore my role in this long lineage of makers. It is such a special material.

In your line of work, you advocate for social justice and inclusion for marginalised people in communities. What has been your proudest achievement so far?

Whenever I go through the feedback people give us at the Centre, my heart is filled with happiness. Seeing the Centre being opened and visited by the community every week makes me feel super proud— not only of us working there at the moment but also of the hundreds of people who got together back in 2017 to dream of such a place.

In my practice, seeing my work purchased by public collections is extremely encouraging and gives me a strong sense of responsibility to keep making, keep being curious, and keep enjoying it all so that that is reflected in the work, which might hopefully inspire others.

How will London’s LGBTQ+ Community Centre be celebrating Pride Month this June?

Our main way to celebrate is with ‘warm-ups’ before the main events throughout the summer, including Trans Pride in July and UK Black Pride in August. The week before, we do mini-day festivals with different activities, from dance classes and banner-making workshops to food and talks. So, our main dates in the calendar are June 23, July 21, and August 4. Plus, Pride in Southwark is hosted on June 22. This is the second year it is celebrated, and the march will start at the Centre!

If people want to know what we are up to, the best place to find out is our Eventbrite page or by subscribing to our newsletter.

For anyone who might be struggling with isolation and exclusion in their lives because of their sexuality or gender identity, what advice or guidance would you like to offer them?

I would recommend them to find others; to find a community. And not to blow my own trumpet, but the truth is that the Centre is a great place to start :)

As signposting is a big part of what we do, the team is excellent at talking to visitors and recommending services and other charities in London that can help them, depending on their needs.

The first visit is always the hardest. But I can guarantee they will not be judged and will be welcomed with open arms!