LGBTQ+ history month
The theme for LGBTQ+ History Month 2024 has now been announced.
This year, the theme is Medicine – #UnderTheScope. The 2024 theme celebrates LGBTQ+ peoples’ contribution to the field of Medicine and Healthcare both historically and today. We want to showcase the amazing work of LGBTQ+ staff across the NHS and in other healthcare settings, in providing healthcare, especially during the Pandemic. While still shining a light on the history of the LGBTQ+ community’s experience of receiving healthcare which has been extremely complicated leaving LGBTQ+ people still facing health inequalities even today.
We have partnered with local community groups to offer a diverse programme of events celebrating the history, achievements, and contributions of the borough’s LGBTQ+ communities this February and beyond through our LGBT+ micro-grants programme.
Film screenings at Triangle LGBTQ+ Cultural Centre
34 Watson's Street, Deptford. SE8 4AU
- Friday 23 February, from 7pm – tickets available
- Sunday 25 February, from 2pm – tickets available
Derek Jarman: Behind The Lens is a weekend event dedicated to exploring the life and work of Derek Jarman. The event features film screenings, discussions, archives of Jarman's work, a panel discussion, and a queer punk event celebrating Jarman, including a screening of Jubilee.
Elements Bar, Sunday 25 February, 3 – 5pm
Join Elements for Drag brunch with Coco Coutour and Nicole Pellegrino. Delve into the cultural roots and societal impact of drag as an art form.
The afternoon will highlight drag, not just as entertainment, but also as a powerful means for storytelling, activism, and fostering community bonds. Tickets from £20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
IRIE! Dance Theatre – Dancing with colour, Tuesday 27 February, 7-8pm
Moonshot Centre, Angus Street, SE14 6LU
The Call Out, a collaboration between IRIE! Dance Theatre and LGBTQ+ artists of African and Caribbean heritage, showcases their work at the Moonshot Centre. Artists present their reflective dance pieces of the African diaspora (DAD) and the lived experiences of black LGBTQ+ individuals. The screening will be followed by a Q&A hosted by IRIE! and LGBTQ+ identifying students and graduates, fostering a dialogue on representation and challenges faced by black LGBTQ+ creatives. Tickets are free and available online.
Sydenham Gardens – Supportive Herbs, Wednesday 28 February, 11am-12.30pm
M.U.D is a weekly group for Lewisham based 18-25 year olds wanting to commune with the natural world through gardening and making. The members are predominantly LGBTQ+ and/or neurodivergent. The group are inviting members of the LGBT+ aged over 50 to the garden for this special event where they will help to design and create a botanical art installation together. Tickets are free, contact Lauren at lauren@sydenhamgarden.org.uk, call or text them on 07579 831 434 to book your place.
We have also funded the events below through our micro-grants programme:
- SaFFlicks hosts a free screening of short films with discussion, uniting like-minded people and allies. Featuring 5-10 films in a 2-hour event, tickets and film links available at www.lesflicks.com soon.
- VSSL Studio collaborates with visual artists, producing immersive exhibitions celebrating queer culture on February 16. Closing with an inclusive conversation on queer art's diverse perspectives and creative processes. Eventbrite tickets available soon.
- Addey & Stanhope School will host 'Rainbow Day' in February, featuring rainbow attire and children's activities like adding handprints to a canvas, signing the #nobystanders pledge, quizzes, and games.
- Sounds Like Chaos and Metro Charity will collaborate to support three emerging artists in creating a new show exploring LGBTQ+ Gen Z experiences in Lewisham 2024, reflecting working-class queer voices with insights from disability, black, and trans activism.
There are also free events happening at our libraries and colleges.
Library events
LGBTQIAP+ Film Specials, The Library at Deptford Lounge
Every Thursday in February we welcome you to join us for free film screening 6-8pm Meeting Rooms 1 & 2 on the ground floor. Carefully selected films to take you on a journey, that will make you think, laugh, cry, explore, love life and connect. No need to book, just come along, all welcome, tell a friend!
Cinema Club: LGBTQIAP+ themed, The Library At Deptford Lounge
Join us for a selection of funny, heart-warming and exciting classic cinema screenings on the second and fourth Friday of the month. Expect a variety of movies suitable for adults of all ages; classics and newer films across a number of different genres. Specific film listings will be advertised inside the library.
Poetry In The Library: LGBT+ History Month, Catford Library
Join us for Luke Roberts reading Mark Hyatt and Richard Scott. Mark Hyatt was born in South London in 1940. His poems, daring and explicit, funny and tender. Richard Scott's first book Soho (Faber & Faber, 2018) was a Gay’s the Word book of the year and shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot prize. Recent works include ‘Still Life with Rose’ in Poetry Review and ‘love version of’ in 100 Queer Poems (Vintage).
Grab a few friends and come along to our LGBT+ History Month Queer Quiz. Join us afterhours at Catford Library for a queer joy quiz with the most. Drag Queen hostess Viktor Victoria will guide you through a quizzical evening, thinking wigs on.
Adult Learning Lewisham events
Enjoy a cameraless photography session inspired by the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, a renowned American photographer known for his black-and-white photography, including portraits that explore sexuality and identity. Book your free ticket.
Come to the Community Unit in the Lewisham Centre (opposite H&M), and explore colour, print your own rainbow on a postcard. You will look at the rainbow flag and how colour is put together. Learners will look at blending and printing colours directly onto paper using a simple screen-printing technique. Book your free ticket.