Out From the Centre
10th May - 18th May
Open Wednesday – Sunday, 12:00pm – 6:00pm
To arrange out-of-hours viewings please contact zissel.aronow@metrocharity.org.uk
What we now know as METRO Charity came into being when a small group of gays and lesbians in South East London sought to create a space for themselves. Over the next 40 years, that small group grew, and many more people joined in creating spaces for connection and mobilisation across various issues. Out From the Centre: A Tribute to 40 Years of LGBTQ+, Disability & HIV Activism reflects this history.
Spanning two floors, Out From the Centre features original materials from Bishopsgate Institute’s Special Collections and Archives as well as the personal archives of Sue Elsegood – member of METRO GAD (formerly Greenwich Association of Disabled People) and The Disabled People's Direct Action Network (DAN). Included are t-shirts, photographs, newspaper clippings, video footage, and other ephemera, alongside a panel from the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt. The ground floor honours METRO’s roots and evolution, from grassroots beginnings as The Greenwich Lesbian and Gay Centre to a leading equality and diversity charity. The upstairs space turns to the future, with a screening room and artwork co-created through a series of community workshops, along with materials loaned from local artists and organisations in London, many of which are about disability justice and queer and trans liberation.
Hosted by Mimosa House
Curated by:
Zissel Aronow
Produced by:
Zissel Aronow
Adam Tipping
Visual Identity by:
Mati Baran
Funded by:
National Lottery Community Fund
Partners, Contributors & Collaborators:
Adae Boluwatife
Anka Dabrowska Art
Ariel Collier
A Whole Orange Matchmaking
Badge Cafe
Badger Badger Deptford
Disabled People Against Cuts
Disability Action Research Kollective
Ed Webb-Ingall
Heart N Soul
Jesse Ashman
Lambeth & Southwark Copwatch
Lewis Danielski
London Community Video Archive
London LGBTQ+ Community Centre
METRO GAD Management Committee
METRO HIV: Positive Journeys Group
METRO Mental Health and Wellbeing Staff and Volunteers
METRO Sexual Health Staff
METRO Youth: Shine, Snap, Transcend and Zest Groups
Mio Lobban
Mosaic Youth Trust
Moxie Brawl
Museum of Transology
NAZ
Oedipussi Rex
Positive East
QUEERCIRCLE
Queer Diary
Queer Minds
Queer Youth Art Collective
Rachael House
Rich Mix
Roberto Tovar
SOUNDS LiKE CHAOS
Staying Out Collective
Tamara-Jade Kaz
The Albany – CAYA
The Love Tank
The Other Blue Pill
The Outside Project
Tramshed
Trans Chorus
Transport for All
Woolwich Works
Press enquiries:
Zissel Aronow: zissel.aronow@metrocharity.org.uk
