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Welcome to Nottingham Queer Arts Collective.Our mission is to bring together LGBTQIA+ artists of all disciplines from in and around Nottingham to appreciate, liberate, and support our community and art. We do this by facilitating an on-going sharing of our resources, time and creativity, whether new or established in our practise, and celebrating the wonderful lives we live and art we create.
This month we welcome CJ De Barra who will be discussing their work on The Notts Queer History Archive.
CJ De Barra (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, neurodivergent lesbian author and journalist. They grew up in Rathbarry, West Cork, before emigrating to Nottingham in 2012.
CJ has been a journalist for 20 years and has written for many different publications, including GCN, Diva Magazine, Euronews, The Stylist and Independent, and is currently the History Editor for Leftlion Magazine in Nottingham and is a breaking news reporter for REACH.
In 2022, CJ founded the community-led, unfunded project - Notts Queer History Archive (NQHA), which preserves and documents LGBT+ history from Nottingham, covering 1770 to 2026. This includes 188 oral history interviews, 1240 donated items and 800+ newspaper articles on queer heritage. These are held in three locations: Bishopsgate Institute (London), Sparrows’ Nest (Nottingham) and University of Nottingham (UoN).
CJ has produced three history books (Five Leaves Publication), with the first covering 1960 to 1990, released in August 2025. The follow-up, covering 1990 to 2025, was released in March 2026, and the third will cover 1770 to 1965, with a release date tbc
18+ event, free to attend but donations welcome (all donations made at point of booking or given on the night support NQAC future activity)
Support the collective by pre-booking your free ticket at the Nottingham Playhouse website, all welcome.
Nottingham Queer Arts Collective is supported by The Spencer Trust and Nottingham Playhouse
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Event Venue
Nottingham Playhouse, Wellington Court, East Circus Street, Nottingham, NG1 5AX, United Kingdom
Tickets
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