About this Event
Join us for Chakula x a space for us, an event in collaboration with Vela (Photographer and Community advocate based in Nairobi) and Kairo Urovi (Photographer based in London).
Date | Sunday 30th November
Time | 1-4pm
Location | The Africa Centre
a space for us is a collaborative photography and storytelling project by Vela and Kairo which highlights the diverse stories of trans-masculine and gender non-conforming individuals across the UK and Kenya.
For this event, we’ll be showing the collection of photographs, listening to poetry and holding a dialogue with Vela and Kairo alongside Adwoa Owusu-Barnieh (writer, poet, curator).
Tickets
All proceeds from ticket sales and prints sold during the event will be donated to the first safehouse for trans men, trans masculine, and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people in Nairobi started by The Trans Empowerment Initiative (TEI). TEI is a queer and trans youth-led collective based in Kenya. They work to empower and support TGNC people across East Africa.
- Pay what you can | Donate as little as £1 to support the safehouse fundraiser
- General | £5
To Learn more about the campaign, please visit their Gofundme page.
About The Organisers
The Chakula programme is a monthly series of events, workshops and dialogues geared towards supporting and empowering Black and African LGBTQ+ communities at The Africa Centre. Follow @thechakulaprogramme
Kairo Urovi (b. 2000, Fano, Italy) is a London-based photographer and visual artist. With a focus on printed matter and community-led approaches, their work explores transness, queer identity, and the shifting line between truth and fiction. Blending documentary and conceptual approaches, Urovi often reimagines archives and personal histories to question how identity is formed, seen, and remembered. Their work has been shown at Paris Photo, PH Museum Days Festival and most recently at Bazament Art Space.
Vela is a transmasc, queer, social justice activist youth based in Kenya and a founder of Trans Empowerment Initiative- TEI. Through Maschart, a platform that archives and documents trans masc communities, Vela constantly tries to make the world know the challenges and thrills of the lives of transmen and non binary folk by echoing their needs
through documenting and sharing on the platform as an avenue for pride and a tool for advocacy. Vela uses photography as a tool to elevate and honor Trans masculinity.
Adwoa Owusu-Barnieh (she/they) is a British-born Ghanaian programmer, writer and poet. They are currently Assistant Curator (Civic) at Studio Voltaire and previously Project Coordinator of The Growing Project at Grand Union. Adwoa is interested in how socially engaged creative practices can be utilised to nurture people's sense of self. Adwoa was involved in the co-creation of It’s A Love Thing (June–August 2024), an exhibition of Spectra CIC’s archival sexual healthcare posters. Adwoa’s work experience has bridged the arts, health/social care, education and publishing. They have worked with Birmingham Early Help Services, Women & Theatre Birmingham, Edgbaston Foundation, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Film Africa, Hay House UK, Debate Mate and Peckham Platform, amongst others. Adwoa performed in the heats of the Roundhouse Poetry Slam 2023 and was part of Apples & Snakes’ Words A Stage 2.0 2023.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Africa Centre, 66 Great Suffolk Street, London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00 to GBP 6.32
