CELEBRATING QUEER CULTURE

Seeking New Directors

Turquoise text says ' We Want You' sit in the middle of a hot pink square framed by wonky turquoise borders that have a swimming pool water texture in pink, purple and turquoise.

We’re on the lookout for new Directors to join our board!

We are seeking 2 – 4 new non – executive directors based in the North of England, who are enthusiastic about queer arts and who understand how cultural organisations can build and support communities and make change.

Andro and Eve’s board of directors are unpaid advisors who strategically guide the organisation to ensure it fulfils its mission to provide opportunities to celebrate queer culture, while providing oversight over its financial sustainability and commitment to inclusion, access and equality.

Drag king Don One stands on stage singing into a mic. He is a Black kind with short, bleach blonde hair, wwearing a white suit with black shirt and white bow tie.
Drag king Don One sings onstage at The Kingdom Come, 2018.

You’ll be joining the board at an exciting time for Andro and Eve as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, creating opportunities for South Yorkshire communities. With new partnerships in development, and existing partnerships strengthened, we will continue to establish our national reputation as producers of high quality, accessible queer culture, with community building at the centre of our approach.

It is a unique opportunity to help support a dynamic South Yorkshire arts organisation and build connections with likeminded people.

A slim, olive skinned drag king with long dark hair, stands on a small cabaret stage. In front of him is a crowd all whooping for him. They are lit by warm light and surrounded by lots of umbrellas hanging from the ceiling
Drag king Christian Adore wowing the crowd at A Reyt Queer Do, 2019.

We understand that you may want to get involved for a variety of reasons, and welcome applications from people from a range of sectors, backgrounds or experience levels. Previous experience of board membership is not essential but you should possess strong communication or team building or leadership skills or have strategic management experience.

As well as supporting a diverse range of artists, our staff team and board bring a range of perspectives to our organisation and we would encourage people who are currently underrepresented on boards to apply, including those who are Black, Asian or of the Global Majority, those who have faced socio-economic barriers, those who identify as LGBTQI+, and those with disabilities.

Directors should be able to commit themselves to the role for a minimum period of 2 years. You will be expected to attend quarterly board meetings as well as additional, shorter meetings as required to the demands of the company. Currently, board meetings take place on early evenings at the start of the week via Zoom.

We are interested in hearing from people with at least 2 years experience working in a professional setting and who have experience in one or more of the following areas:

  • Business Development or leadership, including those in the corporate sector.
  • Financial Management or Planning.
  • Fundraising / Partnership development in Third Sector including Cultural Organisations  
  • PR and Marketing
  • Human Resources / People Management
  • Legal or governance

This role is offered on an expenses only basis, with the understanding that you are giving your time to grow and develop the work of Andro and Eve. Travel costs can be reimbursed.

To apply: Please download our Director Recruitment Pack below to read more about the role and how to apply.

If you have any questions or wish to request an informal conversation about the role with our Artistic Director, Finn Warman, details of how to do so are also in the pack.

Deadline for Applications: 5pm Monday 15 November

All applying should also complete our Equal Opportunities Form.

Get Involved and Get Creative with Joyful Noise Zine!

Three felt portraits in bright colours show a mix of people with different skin tones. The portraits are placed on a white table.

Our new zine (yet to be created, submission wanted!) is all about JOY! The Zine will be in collaboration with artist Seleena Laverne Daye, featuring creative works from LGBTQ+ folk from across the North of England. Joyful Noise will be published in Autumn 2021.

We want to celebrate and share Northern Queer joy in all its glory. So, to help you get creative and to spark some joy, we’ve thought of three fun ways you can get involved

1. Creative Writing Workshop!

We are incredibly excited to announce that we will be hosting two creative writing workshops in September! The workshops will be led by poet and writer Ella Otomewo.

In the informal and relaxed sessions Ella will be sharing different writing exercises to help you find your voice and tell your story. Exploring both poetry and prose, the workshop is about cultivating joy and getting creative through words, alongside fellow LGBTQ+ folk.

A turquoise poster with wonly pink borders, has a A Black woman with mid length curly hair sitting with her hand on her chin. She is posterised in blue and white. The title of the poster is Creative Writing Workshop. The Andro and Eve logo in purple and white sits at the top and centre of the poster.

The first workshop will be for older LGBTQ+ folk and will be held on Wednesday 8th September at 1.30pm at Theatre Deli. The second workshop will be open to all and will be held online, via Zoom on Wednesday 15th September at 7.00pm.

Tickets are free thanks to funding from the National Lottery Communities Fund. Find out more information and book here.

2. Create a Felt Portrait.

As part of our Joyful Noise Zine project, artist Seleena Laverne Daye, delivered an online Felt Faces textiles workshop in July. Seleena created cute and fun craft packs, with all the materials to help you create your own felt portrait.

In case you missed out, we’re providing these FREE craft packs along with written instructions. So you can make your own felt portrait of yourself or someone you know and share in the queer joy!

A bundle of craft materials including felt and threads is placed on a turquoise background.

Each pack includes:

– Coloured felt including skin tones
– Threads
– Needle
– PDF worksheet with instructions
– Face templates for cutting around.

Head to our shop to grab your pack!

Once you have made your felt face, please take a picture and share it with us online or as a Zine submission!

3. Submit to our Zine project!

Already have a creative idea that is centred around joy? Then submit it! Words, artwork, feelings, lists, illustrations, recipes, collages, comics, letters and more.

If you want to share a picture of something you’ve created in one of Seleena’s workshops this July, you are very welcome to submit that.

Submissions: Black and white, 1-2 sides of A5, word count no more than 1000 words. As part of your submission we will ask for the first part of your postcode.

Submission deadline: Midday 24 September

To submit: complete this Google Form here.

Have fun and get creative! We can’t wait to see your submissions!

Get to Know Seleena Laverne Daye

A Black woman with mid length hair stands in front a painted pink brick wall. She is wearing a turquoise tee with black dungarees and pink cardigan accessorised with bright yellow beaded necklace. She has on glasses and is smiling with an open smile at the camera

Our new zine, JOYFUL NOISE, is being designed and curated by experienced zine artist, Seleena Laverne Daye. This July some of you may have met her through our zine making workshops. But many of you won’t have. So we thought we’d do a proper introduction, so you can find out more about her practice and what brings her joy!

Seleena Laverne Daye is a self-taught textile artist, workshop facilitator, retail worker and zine maker who creates bright and playful works using traditional sewing techniques. Her work is centred around race, class, gender and sexuality.

A diagram of how to make a mini zine is drawn in a cartoon style. It shows the 8 steps to make this from one piece of A4 paper.
How to make a 1 page zine – Seleena Laverne Daye

She makes zines about the things she loves and her identity, such as Without You I’m Nothing, Happy Alone and the Brown Girl zine series. She also co-hosts Poor Lass, a podcast sharing working class stories and aims to make art, crafts and creativity as accessible as possible.

How long have you been making zines? What is it that you like about them?
I’ve been making zines around 21 years now.  I really love the DIY aspect of them and they’re fun to make. There’s something about cutting things out and sticking them down that sparks joy! also really like that a zine can be about anything and everything, and each one is completely different. And that you get to hear from marginalised groups in zines, sharing their story in their own words.

A white cover of an A5 zine. Printed in black ink are two fists that have the words 'Brown Girls' written across each finger. The title Brown girls is is bold lettering above and below the fist illustration in slanted typeface.

Can you tell us about previous zines you’ve worked on or created? 
Most of my zines are about race, class and identity, oh and fandom; I love making zines about the things I love. I’ve made a couple of long running zines with friends, One was called Sugar Paper which was a crafty how to zine and another called Poor Lass which was all about working class stories. I’ve also made zines for and with organisations and groups with subject matters ranging from safety for sex workers to community activists.  

A felt portrait of Angela Davis. She is wearing a red polo neck and has a net afro hairstyle.

You make things with felt too, how did you get into craft?
I’ve been crafting since I was very small. Part of it is growing up with not much money, so having a DIY approach to most things in life has been passed on from my mum, and I just really enjoying making things. My mum taught me to sew when I was little and her dad, my grandad also made a lot of things. I did GCSE textiles at school but beyond that have had no formal training, more just a hobby that developed over time.

What’s it like being based in Manchester? Do you feel connected to other artists or creatives? 

I really love living in a city, I think it’s influenced me a lot in what I make. My mum grew up in a village in South Yorkshire, so a lot of my family visits were there, but I think I was made for city life. I realise how lucky I am to have access to free art spaces and meet other creatives, which happens everywhere, but more so in a big city. And I’ve met a few artists in Manchester whose work inspires me and who I’ve collaborated with.

What other zines do you love?
One of my all time favourite zines is Shotgun Seamstress by Osa Atoe, which is a zine about Black Punks, with reviews, interviews and more. I also love zines by Holly Casio. I am biased as she is one of my best friends and the person who was instrumental in me getting into zines as much as I did, She makes zines and comics about fandom and sexuality and life.

What do you hope to achieve with Joyful Noise?
To spread some Joy!!! The past 18 months have not exactly been filled with joy and I think we all need to allow ourselves space and time to experience joy. And as with most things I create, I hope to encourage people who aren’t always able to take up space, to TAKE UP SPACE!

A cover from a zine by Seleena Laverne Daye. It is yellow and has the words 'Happy Alone' painted in blue writing with a heart and two 'x' in the middle

What do you do to cultivate joy?
Dance! I love dancing, it always makes me feel good. Create something, chat rubbish with friends and eat crisps. They’re the main ways I cultivate joy.

Finally, have you got any advice for someone wanting to make a zine?
Just do it! I know that’s easy to say, but don’t overthink it. Don’t feel like you aren’t ‘artistic’ enough or whatever. If you have something to say or share just note it down, put it in a zine. You don’t have to show anyone when it’s done. There’s no right or wrong way to make a zine.

Thanks to Seleena for being interviewed. We hope you feel inspired to have a go, either to make your own zine, or submit something for JOYFUL NOISE.

Find out more about submitting creative work on the theme to our new zine by clicking here. Deadline for submissions is 24 September!

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