Faces and Phases returns to the UK for a new, critical chapter at QUEERCIRCLE—fostering a space where art becomes a gathering point for connection, reflection, and collective action. 

Initiated by visual activist Zanele Muholi in 2006, this living archive has, for nearly two decades, honoured the lives of Black queer and trans communities worldwide through powerful portraiture. In Faces and Phases: UK 2025, Muholi expands their vision to spotlight UK-based Black LGBTQIA+ communities, foregrounding intergenerational and international solidarities as acts of survival and celebration.

Within the gallery, the portraits are accompanied by audio recordings from those photographed and a selection of books curated by The Common Press, one of London’s vital community bookshops. We invite visitors not only to look, but to be—to rest, to listen, to connect with friends and allies, old and new.

As an LGBTQIA+ organisation, we know that visibility carries risk—especially for Black and Brown members of our community. In a moment when trans lives are increasingly targeted by state policies and hostile rhetoric, Faces and Phases becomes a site of reverence and resistance, held and shaped in collaboration with our partners.

19 Sept: Opening Event
ft. live perfomance with Nakhane

 24 Sept - 15 Oct: Decolonising Gender& Transnational Solidarities

with Lola Olufemi & Nat Raha 

 02 Oct - 11 Dec: Creatively Exploring Estrangement 

with Daniel Regan

 22 Oct: Listening to Embodied Voice

with margomool, Nishma Jethwa & Lou