Trying to round up a year in December while you are still in the thick of delivering activity, and therefore have had no time to reflect and review, is nearly impossible!
So this summary of what we got up to in 2024 is coming to you at the end of January since we’ve had time to digest data and reflect on our achievements. Our work becomes more complex with each passing year. to To help you and us make sense of the year we’re reviewing each strand of activity / theme rather than chronologically! So here we go…
The Kingdom Come was back with two editions in 2024.
Our much loved drag king cabaret – the largest drag king cabaret outside of London – celebrated drag kings in all their glory. April saw us produce a Salty Seas edition hosted by Beau Jangles and in October we recreated an Enchanted Forest at Crookes Social Club with Manly Mannington on host duties. Both these events saw crowds of around 300 people coming out to celebrate drag kings and things, enjoy some vegan cake and dress in themed outfits should they fancy it. These audience quotes give a flavour of the response;
The drag kings are hilarious and very talented. The atmosphere is friendly and inviting. All the staff are helpful. And, most of all, you can be yourself with no fear of judgement!
It’s the best event in Sheffield right now!
We persevered
Both Kingdom Come events were fundraisers for Andro & Eve. Like many small arts organisations we face increasing challenges in securing grant funding, so producing events at a scale that means we can create the high quality offer we’re known for, pay all our collaborators fairly, and raise funds to use as match funding / cover operating costs is vital. We want to be transparent about this because we believe firmly that labour should be fairly compensated, and too many of those who have gone before us have burnt out trying to create spaces for LGBTQ+ people / marginalised folks without the resources they need to ensure sustainability.
A collaboration with Right Up Our Street
2024 saw us enter the delivery phase of a project we started in 2023 collaborating with Right Up Our Street. This project was eventually named ‘Visible Rest’, but started as an exploration of the idea of ‘Pride’ with LGBTQ+ people of all ages in Doncaster. Throughout January and February, our artistic director, Finn Warman, facilitated creative writing workshops with different groups in Doncaster. Their contributions and others from LGBTQ+ people connected to Doncaster were collated into a zine.
This zine, called Reyt Proud, and designed by designer Jazyra Christou was launched in March 2024 and informed the next phase of the project with artist Lady Kitt. You can read more about Lady Kitt in our Meet the Artist blog from July.
In the summer Lady Kitt facilitated workshops for LGBTQ+ folks in Doncaster online and in person to find out what they find restful and restorative. Using ideas and response from these workshops Lady Kitt created an installation which was displayed at UK Pride in Doncaster in August 2024 – a free one day festival in Doncaster with 20,000 people in attendance.
We loved being back in Doncaster and meeting lots of new people and working with some familiar faces, which we hadn’t done since 2019 before the pandemic. We hope to build on this work in the future.
Other collaborations saw us working with Sensoria Festival to bring artist, composer and producer BISHI to Sheffield in October. A magical evening of music and live visuals was a real highlight of the year. We also finally got to meet the members of Pecs in real life for their drag king festival, with our artistic director Finn speaking on a panel on Fostering Community in November.
Feeling Fabulous Workshops
Speaking of workshops, our partnership with Ghetto Fabulous, established in 2022 when we produced A Reyt Queer Extravaganza together, continues to develop. In 2024, we collaborated again on more Feeling Fabulous queer dance workshops, with taster sessions in July and a workshop series in November / December. These workshops created a much needed space for LGBTQ+ people to feel good about moving, passing on skills in ‘vogue’ dance styles and helping folks build connections.
‘These were fantastic workshops, they made me feel more connected to LGBTQ + community, and this is such a niche dance that we can’t do anywhere else’
Feeling Fabulous workshop participant
Training
In 2024 we continued to deliver our Gender Awareness training to a broad range of organisations wanting to enhance their policies and practices to support trans inclusion and equity. This year saw us training over 160 people through our range of training offers from one hour introductory sessions to Gender Beyond the Binary as well as bespoke packages. Our 3 hour training session got a rebrand too – now called our Foundation session to reflect the fact it is about building strong foundations of knowledge and providing valuable insights and practical strategies for teams at different stages of learning. New training dates and a new offer for 2025 have just been announced!
New merch!
After a fair bit of consultation with community members and trusted friends we created a new T Shirt design giving a fresh update to our fave phrase – Reyt Queer! Launched via Everpress in December to reduce waste, the first batch of T Shirts shipped earlier this month. If you missed out on this campaign – you’ve got until 8 February to order your very own! Available in sizes XS – 3XL.
A Reyt Queer Do
Speaking of Reyt Queer, our eclectic cabaret and party, A Reyt Queer Do was back in 2024. This more intimate offering is about platforming fresh, queer Northern performance talent. With a Back to the 90’s edition in September hosted by South Yorkshire drag artist Bipolar Abdul and a Camp as Christmas edition in December hosted by Rhys Pieces, through this event we platformed 13 artists based in South Yorkshire or the North of England, and gave our community a reyt good night out! Or early evening out, as to be fair, the September edition was finished by 9.30pm, making it accessible for those who appreciate an early night! Or just have awkward public transport to deal with. Plus because these events were supported through public funding* we were able to provide BSL interpretation!
Accessibility
Which leads us to something else we are proud to have facilitated in 2024. You may be aware we always collect data and feedback from those attending our events and through our annual community survey. We are passionate about responding to the needs of the community we serve, and as a small organisation, our strength is in having the flexibility to adapt and change in response to this feedback. Examples of this include our introduction this year of ‘Craft Tables’ at our events, helping people feel comfortable or connect with others in a low pressure way, or the way we continue to work on how we talk about and provide different access measures at our events.
This has seen the proportion of participants and audiences who engaged with our work in 2024 who in surveys identify as D/deaf, disabled or with a long term health condition increase by 18% to 55% – up from 37% in 2022. Access and disability justice is key to our work, and although we can’t always have every access measure we’d like in place at our events owing to budget constraints, the fact that over half of our audiences and participants are D/deaf, disabled or have a long term health condition demonstrates that our efforts to put accessibility at the heart of our work is having an impact.
And finally… Community!
We would not still be here (nearly nine years after the founding of Andro & Eve!) without the support of our community. And that includes those wonderful people who have shared their time to be part of our volunteer crew! With so many of you ‘paying it forward’ through Solidarity Tickets, donating funds, turning up at events, or telling a friend about our work, you’ve helped us reach over 900 audience members and participants in 2024 and ensured we continue to make a space to celebrate queer culture in South Yorkshire. Also – did you know, 60% of those who attended our events and workshops in 2024 had never attended an Andro & Eve event before?!
So we want to say the BIGGEST of thank yous for all your support. If you’ve appreciated what we do this year or in years gone past, a one off or ongoing donation makes a difference. You can donate quickly by hitting the donate button above or heading to kofi.com.
There are some spaces and gatherings that feel like hope, and like a different world is possible, Ando & Eve is one of those spaces.
Audience member, 2024
Help us keep making spaces to dream and be free! Your donation, however small, can help us to make space to celebrate queer culture, connect our community and help us light up the South Yorkshire scene with plenty more queer joy and hope.
If you want to be first to hear what we’ve got in store for 2025, subscribe to our newsletter – you’ll even get a roundup of queer friendly events in South Yorkshire each month. With social media feeling very uncertain right now this is a great way to stay connected without having to rely on platforms that are not invested in the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Until soon! xx
* Both editions of A Reyt Queer Do and the Feeling Fabulous workshops were supported through the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
