On Friday 10 March, we hosted our annual fundraising event at Taylor Wessing. The night brought our community together, as well as allies, to celebrate our first year at Bankside.
The evening, led by our Community Engagement Trustee, Chloë Davies, included an exclusive auction – where we raised over £12,500!
As part of the event we also announced our opening lineup of Patrons:
Shiva Raichandani (they/them)
Screenwriter, director and producer for film and TV, Shiva is a multidisciplinary non-binary artist whose works harness the power of storytelling to create inclusive spaces for positive gender-expansive representation in media.
As an awardee of the inaugural Netflix Documentary Talent Fund, they directed a short film called “Peach Paradise” which premiered on TikTok’s first-ever live film showcase. Shiva’s independent short narrative film “Queer Parivaar” won the prestigious BAFTA-qualifying Iris Prize ‘Best British Short’ award, streaming now on Channel 4 it has gone on to premiere in over 20 countries. . More recently, Shiva’s latest documentary called ‘Always, Asifa’ (commissioned by Together TV’s Diverse Film Fund 2022) premiered at the BFI’s London Film Festival.
As a new patron of the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre, Shiva said:
“In the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre, we’re incredibly fortunate to have a welcoming physical space to call a haven for queer people of all backgrounds. One that can bring together and connect us, especially by the wonderful access it provides to resources, support, information, and community-building activities that account for intersectional and intergenerational differences. As a patron, I look forward to supporting the beautiful team in realising their mission of creating a more connected, empowered, and thriving LGBTQIAP+ community.”
Shiva Raichandani, Patron of the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre
Charlie Craggs (she/her)
Charlie Craggs is an award-winning trans activist, author and media personality dubbed “the voice of a community” by Vogue, best known for her national campaign Nail Transphobia, her LAMBDA nominated book ‘To My Trans Sisters’ and her groundbreaking BBC documentary ‘Transitioning Teens’.
In 2016 Charlie topped the Guardian’s New Radicals list of social innovators in Britain and has gone on to be the recipient of a Marie Claire Future Shaper Award, front global campaigns for brands like The Body Shop, H&M and Selfridges, and speak at the Houses of Parliament.
Reflecting on her appointment Charlie said:
“The LGBTQ+ Community Centre is a lifeline for queer people; it’s such a shame that we’ve had to wait so long for something like this – a way of connecting with other queer people that isn’t centred around alcohol or sex, but it’s an honour to be a patron of the Centre now it’s here.”
Charlie Craggs, Patron of the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre
DOM&INK (he/they)
Dom&Ink is an illustrator and author hailing from Bolton via Narnia. They love to create work that empowers the queer community and celebrates queer icons. Dom has created art for Little Mix, Cheryl Cole, iWeigh, The X-Factor, Selfridges, Skinny Dip, Emma Watson’s ‘Our Shared Shelf’ and more. An official illustrator for RuPaul’s Drag Race for five years, he’s the author of two books, ‘Free To Be Me’ and ‘Queer Power!’ which both centre around celebrating our beautiful community and amplifying the voices within it.
As a new Patron of the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre, Dom said:
“I am so honoured to be asked to be a patron for the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre. It’s a place that is somewhere so many of us can connect, come together and thrive in our queerness. It’s become an anchor of the queer community in London and I’m so excited for what we can create together at the centre moving forward.”
DOM&INK, Patron of the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre
All photos taken by Valerie Leona.
If you’re looking to write about this event, read our press release.