Drag Kings and Queer performance have and continue to exist in grassroots spaces, in this panel we talk to folks who have built their own nights and communities across the UK about how they did it, what their challenges and successes were and how they put their community first. We’ll consider some of the biggest challenges we are facing today such as how do we build community when we have a space crisis, and what does the future of Drag King & Queer performance look like?

Chair: Isabel Adomakoh Young / Izzy Aman

Panelists:
Finn Warman - Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Andro and Eve, a queer arts organisation based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. With a background in theatre design, Finn has worked as an artist, facilitator and producer in the cultural and education sector for nearly 20 years. In 2016 Finn started producing events in Sheffield to celebrate queer culture under the name Andro and Eve, and in 2018 set up a social enterprise to build upon this work. Andro and Eve collaborate with artists on accessible creative projects and events that explore queer stories, focusing on voices that are otherwise marginalised, to reflect and celebrate the diversity that exists within the LGBTQIA community.

Alongside this they deliver Gender Awareness Training to organisations throughout the UK. Finn, as Artistic Director and Executive Producer and has produced a whole range of events and creative projects. These include one of the UK’s biggest drag king cabarets, The Kingdom Come, and queer cabaret and party, A Reyt Queer Do. Collaborations have included ‘A Reyt Queer Extravaganza’ with Ghetto Fabulous (2022), and ‘Visible Rest’ an intergenerational arts project for LGBTQ+ people in Doncaster with artist Lady Kitt and Right Up Our Street (2024). These projects have provided talent development and performance opportunities for LGBTQ+ artists, while creating a space for connection for the local LGBTQ+ community.

Creating accessible spaces for Drag and Queer performance is essential, but how do we do this when facing difficult buildings, rising costs and narrow-minded gatekeepers? And how do we continue to keep this prioritised in an ever-more saturated Drag scene? This panel will discuss how we create accessible spaces in their broadest form, taking inspiration from DIY events culture and what are we still yet to embrace to increase access to drag events?

Chair: Dais Hale / Daddy Pecs
Panelists: TBC

What are the forgotten histories of Drag Kinging? Who has been influential to our history and which voices are we yet to raise up? This panel will discuss drag king history, decolonising drag and how do we continue to honour and learn from our elders?

Chair: Shardell Joseph / Shardeazy Afrodesiak

Panelists:
Shivani Dave - (they/them) is mostly known as Shiv, a prominent LGBTQIA+ advocate, broadcaster, and journalist known for their dedication to championing the rights of queer communities. They have been deeply involved with ACT UP, the historic direct-action group that fights to end HIV/AIDS and challenge the systemic inequalities in the healthcare sector. Through their work with ACT UP, Shiv has focused on raising awareness around healthcare access and promoting intersectional approaches to advocacy. Shiv is also the co-founder of the London Dyke March, an inclusive and radical march celebrating queer women and non-binary people. The march provides a vital platform for marginalised voices within the LGBTQ+ community and seeks to amplify those often left out of mainstream Pride celebrations.

Their work as an organiser, along with their efforts in journalism, has made Shiv a powerful force in the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ liberation, health equity, and social justice. Taking elements from news, politics and community building, Shiv creates topical and political drag - breaking onto the scene in 2023 as Dishi Sumac.

Emma Welton - (she/they) is a LAHP/AHRC postgraduate researcher at Queen Mary University of London. Their PhD examines camp, queer-feminist performance in austerity London. They are published in Contemporary Theatre Review (2024) and Theatre Research International (2020). In 2024, they joined the Management Committee of Friends of the Joiners Arms, and developed the campaign's archive at the Bishopsgate Institute. Welton has performed as drag king Oliver Cumwell, and now performs as drag king General Waste.