At the end of the LGBTQIA+ History Month we launched our new workstream, Spatial Queeries. As a collective, we have been asking ourselves many questions over the last few months, borne out of conversations around what the huge loss of LGBTQIA+ spaces across the capital and the country means for queer communities.
Chief among these are:
- When we lose LGBTQIA+ and queer owned spaces, what are we truly losing?
- How does the shift from physical to online spaces affect how queer communities come together?
- Why is it important to share stories associated with queer space, and who gets to tell them?
- What do these queeries mean for the built environment?
At the intersection between space and queerness lie so many beautiful contradictions. We can’t wait to explore and untangle these together and with new collaborators and audiences.
To begin, we revived Spotlight Sunday on Instagram, celebrating queer practitioners, projects and venues—such as Queering the Map, RIBA’s exhibition “Here, Queer and Everywhere,” and community meet-ups like Queer Archi* Social at the London LGBTQ+ Centre. We share resources, highlight design competitions (for example, the LFA Pride Float brief with Architecture LGBT+), and draw attention to policy moments that threaten queer and trans presence in public life.
These spotlights sit alongside upcoming talks, workshops and counter-mapping sessions that will gather stories, chart disappearing venues and ask what new, inclusive spaces might look like. We will keep posting updates, and if any of the above resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you!