Organisations Supporting Trans* Creatives
March 31st is Trans Day of Visibility, a time to take a stand against discrimination, a time to celebrate Trans and Non-Binary people, and a time to mourn those whose lives have been taken by transphobia. Merseyside has suffered a deep loss with the recent murder of Brianna Ghey, a loss that cannot be forgotten and must be remembered both with love and with action. It is our responsibility to listen to the voices telling us what needs to be done to make our city region a safer place for Trans* people and to show our solidarity vocally and passionately.
This article is a signposting space for organisations who are platforming Trans* creatives and are working towards making Merseyside a place that celebrates, loves and cares for our Trans* community. They make room for Trans* creatives to express, create, and find joy. In times of distress, community spaces are more important than ever.
Transcend Theatre Company – @transcendtheatre
Transcend Theatre Company sets the stage for LGBTQIA* activism through theatre. With a Queer-led, Queer-focused and Queer-empowering approach, the organisation hands the mic to Trans* creatives, giving them agency to tell stories from their perspective without limiting the type of stories that can be told. Removing barriers to access, providing representation both off stage and on and creating projects that allow room for the complexity of experience are all ways in which Transcend Theatre Company provide safety and celebration for the Trans* creatives they support. They have recently acquired funding for their project ‘Be Gay, Do Rhyme’ making now a perfect time to tune into the incredible work they’re doing. For more information, check out our Comics Youth x Where are the Girlbands Safe Spaces podcast where we spoke to co-founder Felix Mufti about the organisation, Queer joy and more.
GYRO – @gyroliverpool
GYRO is a collection of youth groups (separated by age) for young people who identify within the LGBTQIA* community or are questioning their sexuality/gender. The group provides a safe space for Queer young people through afternoon/evening drop-ins where community can be found in the form of socialising, informal group activities and 1-2-1 support. Young people may refer themselves without the knowledge of their family or carers, making this a valuable resource for those who may not be able to or feel ready to come out to family. GYRO provides fun, wholesome community and practical support and information, helping people to embrace their identity, have a safe space to verbalise their journey and explore terminology within either a group or 1-2-1 setting.
Queer Bodies – @queerbodiespoetry
Queer Bodies is a northern poetry cohort facilitating poetry workshops and residencies with a Queer focus. Based in Liverpool, the organisation provides a space for sharing, for dreaming, for writing, for listening, for crying, for laughing, for Queerness and for existing with togetherness, using poetry as the bridge through which we can connect. Having worked with many incredible Trans* creatives, Queer Bodies provides a platform for the artists they support while facilitating development. The community settings they create allow both for safety and for pushing work to new and beautiful places. Working within the mediums of performances, publications, workshops and more, Queer Bodies are constantly evolving and adapting to the needs of the communities they support and in doing so create unique art spaces that embrace.
Eat Me – @eatmeclub
Described as Liverpool’s OG Drag Dinner Cabaret, EAT ME are consistently creating the most radical and fantastic events in Liverpool. If you want to enjoy, if you want to celebrate, if you want to be outraged in the most delicious of ways, this is the space for you! The organisation create safety for Trans* creatives by providing a gorgeous environment to explore gender and experience joy within a diverse Queer community. Working with an incredibly talented array of performers, EAT ME creates the context through which their performances can be truly savoured.
Here n Queer – @herenqueer_
Here n Queer is an art collective making the statement WE ARE HERE AND QUEER. Through the medium of street art photography, Here n Queer reclaim public spaces where Queer people have been made to feel unsafe. With the accompaniment of poetry, music and a collective agreement to form empowering community space, Here n Queer is proof of the power of the arts to provide safety and joy. Their projects aim to use the words and creations of Queer artists to both celebrate and fight for a safer Merseyside, saying “Liverpool is all of our city and everyone should be able to call it home.”
Spectrum – @spectrumisopen
Spectrum is an organisation championing diversity in the face of adversity. Recognising the anti-LGBTQIA* sentiment that is rife both within the world and our local community, Spectrum set out to raise awareness of the need for intersectional safe spaces in the city while providing safety and acceptance through their own projects. Currently based at Lovelocks Coffee Shop, Spectrum facilitate a Queer book shop within the venue and provide community resources including free period products for all and gender affirming clothes such as binders. Spectrum also create safe space policies, most recently supporting Lovelocks Coffee Shop to create alternative menu formats, signage, online information and more that expand their accessibility for d/Deaf and Disabled people.
Homotopia – @homotopiafest
Did you know Liverpool is home to the UK’s longest running LGBTQIA* festival of arts and culture? Founded in 2004, Homotopia is a Liverpool based arts and social justice organisation making a cultural impact through art and activism. Through their projects they support and platform local, national and international LGBTQIA* socially engaged artists and creatives. Through a year-round programme of artist development, public artworks and events alongside their annual Homotopia Festival, the organisation invests in the future of inspiring, challenging and diverse art, always in collaboration with the communities they support. Homotopia create opportunities for Trans* creatives and work to create a safer city through the combination of social change and creativity. Check out their website homotopia.net for more information on ways you can get involved.
Queer Spiral Healing – @queerspiralhealing_
Queer Spiral Healing are a constituted group with sessions and activities specifically for the LGBT* community’s healing. The organisation aims to create holistic and creative environments that embody safe practices that allow the LGBTQ* community in Liverpool to process trauma in a culturally sensitive community space. Queer Spiral Healing are responding to needs within Liverpool for sober spaces, connection outside of nightlife or working environments and spiritual/healing focussed events that are specifically created with LGBTQ* people in mind. In their own words “Coming together as a community is a radical act of self-love. When we witness one another and openly share experiences, this creates healing which then spirals out, creating opportunities for change.”
This list is in no way exhaustive, and there are many more organisations and individuals working to create safety, opportunities and joy for Trans* creatives such as;
• Noire Gayze – @noiregayze
• Queer This Liverpool – @queerthisliverpool
• Queer Lit – @queerlituk
• Comics Youth – @comicsyouth
• QueerByTheSea – @liverpoolandmerseysidelgbtq
• Trans Creative UK – @transcreativeuk
• GLAAD – @glaad
• Them – @them
• Black Trans Foundation – @blacktransfoundation
• Charlie Craggs – @Charlie_craggs
• Munroe Bergdof – @munroebergdo
• TransActual UK – @transactualuk
• The Queer House – @thequeerhouse_
We would love to continue to platform organisations doing the work to make our local creative scene an inclusive and safe space for Trans* creatives. If you have recommendations of organisations we should platform, send us an email at wherearethegirlbands@gmail.com or DM us on instagram @wherearethegirlbands