About Us

Hear Us Out is a participatory arts project run by New Writing South
celebrating older LGBTQ+ people’s real-life stories 

Since its inception in 2018, Hear Us Out has worked with a community collective of LGBTQ+ volunteers to collect the funny, touching and celebratory real-life stories of older LGBTQ+ people across the South East of England. In 2020, Artistic Director Dinos Aristidou (pictured top right) worked with a company of local LGBTQ+ performers, to turn these stories into a series of digital performances. The project also commissioned Marlborough Productions to create a documentary featuring conversations between Black queer people of different generations (pictured bottom right). All of our previous content can be watched on our Video & Audio page.

In 2021, Hear Us Out offered more storytelling and performance workshops alongside two new book clubs between March and May. Some participants worked with us to create new digital performances that can also be watched on our Video & Audio page.. The project was primarily aimed at LGBTQ+ people over the age of 50 but anyone in the LGBTQ+ community was welcome to join any of the project’s five online activities. Read more about these activities and book for our upcoming events on our Events page.

The project has been adapted so that participants and audiences can get involved without having to leave their homes during the pandemic. We’ve also created some activities you can do independently on our Create at Home Page.

A New Writing South project supported by Arts Council England and The Baring Foundation’s Celebrating Age Fund.

Project Images by Rosie Powell, Reuben & Jay Photography, Vicky Roupa, Amina Yousif and Lesley Wood. Logo and Website Design by Sarah Ferrari.