• WHO WE ARE

  • QUEERCIRCLE is a CIO and Registered Charity (number 1194564). QUEERCIRCLE was founded to fill the gaps and advocate for systemic...

    QUEERCIRCLE is a CIO and Registered Charity (number 1194564). 


    QUEERCIRCLE was founded to fill the gaps and advocate for systemic change where other arts, health and education institutions fail or actively perpetuate harm. This work requires us to be vigilant of, and challenge systems of oppression.

     

    We are committed to developing more inclusive systems, policies and procedures and are actively exploring alternative models of governance through our programme, Queering the Institution.


    Porous, agile and critical, QUEERCIRCLE is an ecology of individuals and partnerships, allowing us to structure ourselves without becoming rigid, adapt without growing precarious, and remain agile to best deliver our shared mission of systemic change for LGBTQ+ people. 

     

    Where possible we adopt non-hierarchical methods, whilst recognising these are sometimes necessary in relation to our responsibilities to the organisation, each other and external bodies (funders, charity commission).

     
  • VALUES

    • We are an organisation-in-process, leaning into the messiness and uncomfortability of the unknown. To navigate this we embed reflection as an individual and collective practice; remaining agile and adaptive to the needs of our communities.

    • Our queerness is radical, anti-oppressive and intersectional. It is a rejection of cisheteronormative culture, gay assimilation and rainbow capitalism. Our politics is premised on a material understanding of gender and sexual oppression rather than identity essentialism. 

    • We have a zero tolerance policy for racism, transphobia or any other form of discrimination. We are acutely aware that as an organisation this is an ongoing process of learning (and un-learning). 

    • We champion lived-experience and expand the concept of ‘the expert’; building shared understanding and community knowledge. 

    • We are here to work with (not for) people and communities; recognising the agency we have to create change.

    • We utilise both institutional and non-institutional methods and structures to tackle the violence traditional institutions inflict on our communities. 

    • We prioritise deeper relationships and the wellbeing of individuals, communities and partners by taking a slow, careful/ing approach. 

  • TEAM

    • Sega (He/Him), Programmes Assistant

      Sega (He/Him)

      Programmes Assistant
    • Ariel Collier (She/They), Programmes Assistant

      Ariel Collier (She/They)

      Programmes Assistant
    • Alex Hincapie (She/They), Gallery Manager

      Alex Hincapie (She/They)

      Gallery Manager
    • Frances Williams (She/Her), Health and Research Lead

      Frances Williams (She/Her)

      Health and Research Lead
    • Divya Osbon (She/Her), Managing Director

      Divya Osbon (She/Her)

      Managing Director
    • Chris Rizkallah (He/Him), Digital and Communications Lead

      Chris Rizkallah (He/Him)

      Digital and Communications Lead
    • Maya Uppal (They/Them), Young People's Programmer

      Maya Uppal (They/Them)

      Young People's Programmer
    • Ashley Joiner (They/Them), Founding Director

      Ashley Joiner (They/Them)

      Founding Director