6. Building a Queer Utopia
Half the capital’s LGBTQ+ bars and clubs have shut in a decade, but an east London community is creating a new venue of their own. What has been lost and what makes a space queer?
London markets itself as a world-class queer city. But the capital has lost 58% of its LGBTQ+ venues since 2006. Why are queer spaces disappearing so rapidly and what has been lost?
When legendary queer pub The Joiners Arms was shut down by developers in 2015, it didn’t go without a fight. In this episode, we meet people who are resisting the closure of queer spaces and imagining new ones of their own.
Olimpia Burchiellaro and Jon Ward discuss well-intentioned efforts to 'save' LGBTQ+ venues and the contradictions of 'inclusion' as cities are gentrified. We visit a new drag night, Lèse Majesté, and talk to an architectural collective to glimpse what community-owned queer spaces might actually look and feel like.
Writer, producer and presenter: May Robson
Supervising Producer: Emily Esson
Sound Design: Steve Urquhart
Theme Music: Contours
Executive Producer: Elizabeth Clark
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Scotland Production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sounds Audio Lab
Commissioning Editor: Khaliq Meer
Podcast
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Now Here
Stories of people coming together to fight neighbourhood decline and neglect.
