Party Pals is a scheme designed to help solo partygoers meet new pals
We’ve listened to our community feedback (thank you to everyone who completed our most recent community survey) and have a new scheme designed to help make our in person events more accessible!
We realise that sometimes, you want to attend an event, but for whatever reason, you’re flying solo but you’d rather have some pals to meet! Thats where our new scheme Party Pals comes in!
Make some new pals via our Party Pals scheme!
You can get involved by simply completing our Access Form and asking to be part of the Party Pals scheme. Then you’ll need to arrive fairly soon after doors open on the night of the event, and we’ll invite you to join our dedicated Party Pals space so you have the chance to meet other folks. Our friendly volunteers will be on hand to make introductions.
Our newest event A Reyt Queer Do 6 will be our first roll out of this idea, so if you grab tickets for the event, you can complete the access form and get involved! We hope its the start of more connection for our community through our events.
We are super excited to share that we have received Arts Council funding enabling us to produce a programme of live events and talent development opportunities in South Yorkshire this summer.
In a new partnership with The Civic, Barnsley, we will be collaborating closely with Manchester’s Ghetto Fabulous, to bring Sheffield a ‘Reyt Queer Extravaganza’ this July. What’s that? – we hear you cry! Well…
A Reyt Queer Extravaganza, hosted by writer, director and actor, Rikki Beadle Blair, will showcase some of South Yorkshire’s most exciting queer performance talent, as well as dancers and drag artists from across the North of England, alongside community participants who want to show off their fabulous selves.
Ghetto Fabulous. Credit Fotocad.
In the run up to A Reyt Queer Extravaganza, due to take place iconic Sheffield venue, The Leadmill* on the 30 July, Andro and Eve and Ghetto Fabulous will host a series of ‘Feeling Fabulous’ workshops for members of the LGBTQ+ community to participate in. These will happen in both Barnsley and Sheffield. The aim of these workshops is to help participants feel more confident, gain some dance and performance skills, and develop a short performance to be showcased at the Reyt Queer Extravaganza.
We’ll also be bringing our drag king cabaret, The Kingdom Come back to Sheffield in October. Plus another edition of queer cabaret, A Reyt Queer Do in June, which platforms emerging queer performance talent, as well as hosting online drag king workshops in May with drag king Christian Adore, and a Gender Exploration workshop at The Civic in June.
A Reyt Queer Do will be back later this year – Credit Ndrika Anyika
Finn Warman, Artistic Director for Andro and Eve says; ‘We’re absolutely delighted to be back producing accessible events to celebrate queer culture where everyone is welcome. Through the pandemic, we’ve continued to bring our community together with online workshops and smaller in person events. However, we’ve not been able to produce the scale of events we were known for before 2020’.
Finn continues, ‘We’ve been in talks for a long time with Ghetto Fabulous to bring to Sheffield the sort of events you’d see in Manchester, and are just so chuffed to have secured the funding that will allow us to do this and make this work accessible. We’re also really excited to be able to provide larger platforms for South Yorkshire queer artists and space for the LGBTQ+ community to come together and celebrate their resilience and joy. Our offer also includes digital engagement, enabling those more comfortable with online activity, to engage with our programme’.
The Kingdom Come will be back in Sheffield this September. Image credit Ndrika Anyika.
David Sinclair, Head of Visual Arts and Engagement at The Civic says ‘The Civic is really excited to be partnering with Andro & Eve and Ghetto Fabulous on this landmark queer event for South Yorkshire. Part of our organisation’s core values is to amplify the voices of those typically marginalised in the arts. Therefore, we are delighted to be able to provide these events and workshops to offer an amazing platform for our home grown queer talent, as well as providing opportunities for our LGBTQ+ community to develop new skills but more importantly celebrate queer joy and have fun!’
The Andro and Eve community together in 2018. Credit Ndrika Anyika.
Alongside this programme of work, we’re super excited to announce our first project for teenagers in South Yorkshire, in a partnership with Site Gallery. In collaboration with Site Gallery’s young people’s group, Society of Explorers, we’ll be producing a new zine themed around our Gender Awareness Training, which aims to help organisations and groups build more inclusive practices for transgender and gender expansive people. An open call for participants aged 14 – 18 will be announced soon.
We want to hear from queer performance artists living in South Yorkshire that may want to be part of our events in 2022. Keep an eye on our social media channels for further artist opportunities and freelance roles to be announced soon. Tickets for A Reyt Queer Extravaganza will go on sale at the start of May. Make sure you’ve signed up to our newsletter to bag early bird discounted tickets for what promises to be a night to remember!
Thank you all those who have supported us throughout the last two years. It has taken a lot of effort to survive through the pandemic, and bring this programme to fruition. But we’re so excited to be back to live events and we can’t wait to see you soon!
*make sure you’ve also signed the petition to save the Leadmill and change Section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act.
As a member of LGBT+ Consortium we wholeheartedly support their stance and the position of Stonewall to boycott the ‘Safe to be Me’ conference in response to the Government’s U turns on the banning of conversion therapy here in the UK. Read their full statement here.
A quick recap in case this is news – the Government said they would ban conversion therapy for LGBT+ people. Then last week they said they would not. Then they decided they would, but not for transgender and non binary people. Appalling.
The ‘Safe to Be Me’ conference was to be the UK’s first global LGBT+ conference bringing together organisations and governments from across the world seeking to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people. You can read more about it here.
LGBT Consortium have had over 125 LGBTQ+ and ally organisations send their support for the withdrawal from this conference until the UK Government includes transgender people in the ban on conversion therapy. This includes Andro & Eve.
Allies – what can you do? Write to your MP urgently! Ask them to put pressure on the government to reverse this decision and give trans people the same protections as LGB people. The link above will take you to Stonewall’s website where you’ll find a template. Trans rights are under attack here in 2022. Trans and non binary people need your active support now.
We stand with our trans and gender expansive siblings and all those who oppose this injustice. With love, Andro and Eve x
We’ve launched a new Community Survey to help us listen to our LGBTQ+ community.
As we emerge from the pandemic we are keen to plan events and activities using the views of the LGBTQ+ community which we serve. You might be ready to attend huge in person events again, or an online workshop is more your thing. Or is there something we haven’t yet delivered you want to see? Let us know!
If you leave your email address you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a bundle of Andro and Eve merchandise including one of our logo tote bags, badges, stickers and postcard pack. The winner will also receive a copy of our most recent zine, Joyful Noise, plus a copy of queer words anthology, We Were Always Here. A runner up will win a logo tote bag of their choice.
Win all these goodies by completing our Community Survey!
The survey takes just 5 – 8 mins to complete and we’d love to hear from you. Closes midnight on 18th April.
We are looking to recruit one or two freelance Gender Awareness Trainers based in the North of England with a strong set of skills and experiences.
Contract – Freelance
Fee – £300 per day
Benefits – Training given including shadowing
Contract period – ongoing.
The Gender Awareness Trainer/s will facilitate our Gender Awareness Training. This is a bespoke, interactive training session we have developed and designed, which we deliver for a range of clients across the North of England and the UK. Its aim is to help organisations better meet the needs of audiences, service users and clients who are transgender or gender expansive. Find out more here.
A really informative and useful session with practical examples of things you can change both personally and within your organisation to be more inclusive.
– Previous Training Participant
This freelance role is designed to both increase the capacity of Andro and Eve to deliver Gender Awareness Training and to give an experienced facilitator the opportunity to develop specialist skills and knowledge. Training will be provided.
If you have experience of delivering workshops or training sessions, want to develop your skills and work with an arts organisation committed to tackling structural inequality, then this opportunity could be for you.
As well as supporting a wide range of artists, our team have lived experiences that enable them to support inclusive practices. We particularly encourage applications from those currently under-represented within the UK arts sector, including those of Black, Asian or other Global Majority ethnicities, those who have faced socio – economic barriers, those who identify as LGBTQI+ and those who are disabled or neurodiverse.
While our training offer is available for companies across the UK, and we frequently deliver online sessions, we tend to mostly work with clients based in Yorkshire and the North of England. Therefore the ability to travel easily to locations in South and West Yorkshire and the North of England is important.
You’ll find everything you need to know about the role and how to apply in the job pack. Should you have any questions or would like to have an informal conversation about the role before applying, there are further details in this pack about this.
New for 2022, we’re taking bookings for our Gender Awareness Training!
On February 8th we’re delivering an online Gender Awareness Training aimed at freelancers, individuals and smaller organisations. You can book a place here.
This session is designed to pass on knowledge and best practice enabling your team to better serve and meet the needs of clients, customers and service users of all genders, particularly those who fall under the Transgender umbrella.
Drawing upon our extensive experience in meeting the needs of the LGBTQIA community in creating safe and inclusive events, this session covers;
Context. Where are we at with Trans Rights in the UK?
Terminology. Words have impact. We explore definitions and when to use.
Best practice. Looking at case studies and practical steps to implement, in order to be inclusive of transgender and gender diverse people.
Sharing experiences. Stories help us make sense of the world. We use practical exercises to help develop understanding.
We cover topics including, language, intersectionality, non binary identities, gender in a global context, feminism, LGBTQ+ herstory and transgender health and equality and the law.
In doing so you will;
Feel more confident in your knowledge of the experiences of people who identify as LGBTQ+.
Understand what gender inclusive language is and when to use.
Understand the practical steps to help build gender inclusive practices and spaces.
Take away your own resource sheet with content covered in the session along with further advice and resources.
It was an informative, inspiring and thought provoking session with a friendly facilitator! Thanks!
– Previous Training Participant
This online training session is designed as 2.5 hour session which is inclusive of a 10 minute break. Places are limited in order to facilitate meaningful group discussions. We are offering places on a sliding scale depending on your individual or organisation’s income level.
This training is delivered by Andro and Eve’s Artistic Director Finn Warman who has 12 years experience leading CPD sessions and training for education professionals, artists, and higher education students. Found out more about Finn here.
If you have any questions about this session, please feel free to get in touch. Our Gender Awareness training is still available to book for organisations. Find out more about our bookable Gender Awareness Training here.
Last week you may have seen the news that Theatre Deli Sheffield have been served notice to leave by their landlord. As Andro and Eve’s key partner organisation, this news also has a big impact on us. We wanted to provide some clarity on where we’re at.
Theatre Deli’s business model is based on ‘meanwhile use’ of buildings, meaning they get to occupy buildings for cheaper rates than commercial lets, but usually with a 30 day notice period to vacate. That’s why they will be gone from their current building on Eyre street by the start of January.
Although Theatre Deli plan to find new premises, this could take some time.
Use of Theatre Deli Sheffield formed part of our plans to come back to larger scale live events in 2022 (hello Reyt Queer Do!) so without use of their wonderful, accessible space, we are currently shifting those plans and seeing what alternatives there are. In the last 18 months we’ve loved delivering a whole range of online activity including workshops, panel events and craft socials, along with our zines, Joyful Noise and Centre, but we are also determined to be able to have a larger scale in person offer in the next year.
Online drag king workshops. July 2020
Sheffield has a long standing problem with provision of accessible, centrally located venues for culture and community activity. If many of the organisations, artists and festivals lose access to Theatre Deli Sheffield owing to those issues, even for a period of 6 months, this has a huge impact on the cultural landscape of the city.
Theatre Deli Sheffield has made its name by supporting emerging artists, platforming marginalised voices, and making space for communities not otherwise served in the city. We very much hope that new space is found for this treasured venue.
A Reyt Queer Do, Theatre Deli Sheffield. 2019
For us, they’ve been champions of the work of Andro and Eve since 2017, becoming our partner venue in 2018. We are indebted to the support of the whole team at Deli for making Andro and Eve feel so welcome, and supported. Support that included free venue hire, space for meetings, reviewing funding applications and morale boosting when times got tough.
We very much hope we can continue this partnership, and that Deli find a suitable venue to carve out space for many communities and artists in Sheffield. However, if there is one thing this pandemic has taught us, it is that we need to be flexible and adapt. So we’re currently reviewing other options for larger events in 2022 in order that we can return with a bang! This means extra work, so timescales will move. It means Andro & Eve needs more time to rejig funding applications.
Sveto Slava, Reyt Queer Do. Nov 20219
So why are we sharing this? Because we need your support. We are not out of this pandemic. Our business model of producing events and creative opportunities is still precarious, and while we have managed to curate and produce a whole range of activity throughout the last 18 months, we don’t have the resources of a more established organisation.
So if you can spare funds, we’re asking you to donate. You can do so via the button above. Or buy some of our queer merch! Those donations and sales will help cover our overheads (IT, insurance, licenses, wages, etc) while we apply for more funding to make 2022 a year packed full of joyful queer events. It takes a huge amount of energy to plan, prepare and submit those funding bids, but they are the most effective way to ensure we can return to live events and provide meaningful opportunities for artists and our wonderful community to celebrate queer culture.
As always, any support given is gratefully received and makes a real and vital difference. Because of you, we’re still here, still queer, still making space. And we’re determined to continue. We hope you enjoy the photos of past events at Theatre Deli Sheffield below!
Big love
Finn
The crowd at Reyt Queer Do 5, at Theatre Deli Sheffield. November 2019
We’re so happy now that Joyful Noise zine is out in the world. And its been flying out our online shop since its launch on 5th November!
Designed and curated by artist Seleena Laverne Daye, this unique collection of creative works brings voice to a range of LGBTQ+ people in the North of England, sharing the things that bring them joy. It also features specially commissioned pieces by Ruby Ann Patterson and Holly Casio.
Want to get a better idea of whats inside? In the video below, Seleena Laverne Daye gives you a sneak peek inside Joyful Noise zine, with a taste of the poems, drawings, photos, interviews and much more you’ll find within its pages.
Want to get your own copy? Head to our online shop to get this bundle of queer joy now! Joyful Noise zine is offered for free but donations are encouraged. 75% of donations will be given to the Radical Therapist Network’sQTIBPOC Therapy fund. The remainder helps support Andro and Eve’s mission to support LGBTQ+ artists and celebrate queer culture.
Our huge thanks in producing this zine go to Seleena Laverne Daye for her creative work, and to the artists and members of the Andro and Eve community who have contributed their work. We also want to say thank you to all those who continue to support our work. This is very much appreciated and it is an honour to help create space and visibility for our community.
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 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.
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.
We’re mega excited to announce that submissions are now open for Joyful Noise, our new zine in collaboration with artist Seleena Laverne Daye!
This zine has been made possible through funding from the National Lottery Community Fund. Our community has helped choose the theme for this zine, which is joy! Joyful Noise will be published in the Autumn.
As part of this project we’ve loved hosting zine making workshops this July with lots of different people and sharing in some queer joy. We’ve also got some creative writing workshops coming up this September, to help you get inspired. Read on to find out what we’re looking for for JOYFUL NOISE!
JOYFUL NOISE is a zine that celebrates Queer Joy in all its glory. From folk in the North of England.
The past 18 months has been hard on many of us, especially in the LGBTQ+ community, and it’s important to remind ourselves that it’s vital to rest and seek pleasure, to add joy to our narrative, to take up space and be joyful whilst we’re doing it.
We’re making a zine full of JOY. We want your joy. What makes you feel good? What do you do to feel joy? How do you rest and reset? How do you use joy as a form of resistance?
We want submissions for the JOYFUL NOISE zine. 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.
If you are submitting images, JPEGSs and PNGs are both fine.
There is a word limit of 1000 words for text-based work, please submit as a word document .
Please feel free to submit a scanned page of work / collages.
As part of your submission we will ask for the first part of your postcode.
