zines – Andro & Eve

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’s QTIBPOC 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.

Like this zine? Let us know.

This zine has been made possible through funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

On Saturday 27 January we curated and produced a special event in Sheffield focused around the film, The Revival: Women and The Word, directed by Sekiya Dorsett. We originally saw this documentary at SQIFF in 2016 and fell for its warmth, humour, honesty, and unique perspective on an often overlooked part of the LGBTQIA community. The film follows a group of Black lesbian poets on a salon style tour of the US organised by creative force and entrepreneur Yaani Supreme fka Jade Foster.

Revival_6 — *Jonquille Rice aka Solsis and Bea Steadwell. Credit: The Revival: Women and the Word*

Documentaries like this allow you to imagine a different world, one where Black, queer womanhood is centered, celebrated and given space to breathe. We felt it was important to not only show the film, but make sure the Black British community was celebrated, while giving our audience a taste of the talent that exists within the UK, by showcasing poets of colour on this side of the Atlantic.

To do this we worked closely with Manchester’s Rainbow Noir and Sheffield’s Our Mel to programme artists, and help Andro and Eve reach new audiences. We cannot praise Rainbow Noir’s organisers enough for their generosity and support of our aims for this event. It was also awesome to work with another grassroots organisation in Sheffield, through Our Mel, and realise we have many of the same ambitions of creating special events where our communities feel free to express themselves.

As massive lovers of zines and indie publishing we also curated a stall selling the words of women of colour.

The event sold out a week in advance, and on the night over 70 people from across the UK turned out to our specially chosen, (and secret) Sheffield venue to enjoy the evening. As ever, we were thrilled that so many people had made the journey out on a cold night to attend, and we want to say thank you for those who supported our work in this way.

_V3A4588 — *Some of our wonderful audience!*

Thanks also to all the people who have been contributing to our accessible ticket fund. This was the first event where we were able to offer discounted ticket prices for those on low incomes, and we can say it certainly encouraged some new faces to attend.

_V3A4818 — *DYLEMA (Do You. Let Every Man Adapt).*

The poets, Ella Otomewo, from Manchester and DYLEMA from East London, performed their captivating poems after the film, making quite an impression on our audience and us. It was so rewarding to listen to the comments from those that had gathered together for this event, and realise the hard work had paid off.

_V3A4762 — *Ella Otomewo performs her poetry*

We’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but special thanks should go to Rainbow Noir, Our Mel, LAS Sheffield, QTIPOC Notts, Enjoy Your Homes Press, our fabulous volunteers, and last but no means least, photographer Ndrika Anyika, whose images you see in this post.