Projects

Sex Worker's Opera (2014-present)

Sex Worker's Opera is an award-winning Sex Worker-led 3hr musical spanning arias, jazz anthems, classical leitmotif, ballads, hip-hop & electronica. It sold 97% of tickets over 5yrs, generated live audiences of 20,000+ across 9 countries, TV/radio/online reach of 15,000,000+, estimated media value of £1.2million & a large, loyal LGBTQ+, feminist & poc fanbase.

It's based on the experiences of 35+ London members from 11 countries, & over 100 stories sent in from 18 countries across 6 continents. The show is accompanied by songwriting workshops for sex workers local to each venue accessed via underground trust-based networks & workshops on including sex workers for arts orgs, public health bodies & charities.

“One of the most important pieces of theatre you’ll see this year”
– The Independent (2016)

• 2014 - The Courtyard, Lost Lectures, Royal Vauxhall Tavern
• 2015 - Arcola Theatre, Central School for Speech & Drama
• 2016 - Pleasance Theatre (London), Dublin, single release on Spotify
• 2017 - UK Tour inc. Sheffield, Cambridge, Weston-Super-Mare, Ovalhouse, Excerpt in Glasgow
• 2018 - Compagnie Theater (Amsterdam), International AIDS Conference, Amsterdam Pride, TGEU Antwerp
• 2019 - International Women's Day (Amsterdam), CREA Conference (Nepal), Utrecht & Rotterdam, gallery installation in Cape Town, South Africa

Open Society Foundations, Mamacash, Arts Council England, PRS Foundation, Big Issue Invest, Royal Opera House, Release, Broadway Cares.

BBC News, BBC World Service, This Morning, The Independent, TimeOut, The Guardian, Classic FM, Morning Star, The Big Issue, i Newspaper, BBC Radio Bristol, The Stage, LatinoLife, Londonist, The Spectator, Daily Star, The Mirror, The Telegraph, Dazed & Confused, Diva Magazine, The Conversation, Broadway Baby, Open Democracy, Off West End, The Opera Hour - Resonance FM, New Internationalist

Gender Blending Storytelling (2022-present)

Workshops in schools engage young people aged 11-14 (KS3) around trans & non-binary hxstories using two creative video stories. They learn about the film making process & design their own heros drawing on their identity to create utopian versions of themselves.

Teacher training enables teachers with no prior experience to confidently open conversations around LGBTQ+ experience with direct lived-experience resources & fun interactive activities.

Video 1: Johnny Barnes by Sibling Arts tells an ancient Irish folk song about love between two men in which the an Irish lord (or the King of England depending on the folk canon) questions his gender identity & alights on a pantheon of genderqueer goddexes who invite us to be our highest selves.

Video 2: Asu Shu Namir by Amelia Armande tells the story of an ancient mesopotamian bi-gendered deity who saves Inanna, the goddess of all creation, from the underworld using magic only available to someone half-deity, half-mortal, half-woman, half-man and neither at the same time.

The learning guide connects young people & teachers to global case studies of gender transgressive experiences among the Muxe (Mexico), Hijra (India, Pakistan & Bangladesh), Māhū (Hawaii), Sistergirls/Brotherboys (indigenous Australian & Torres Strait Islander communities).

• 2022 - Workshops in 5 schools in London & Sussex with 150+ young people reporting feeling more seen & safer at school
• 2022 - Teacher Training to 110+ teachers across England, reported being more able to support young people & other teachers in understanding LGBTQ+ issues
• 2023 - Johnny Barnes film released publicly, featured in 5 film festivals: Encounters (Bristol), Sunrise (Lowestoft), Zine Fair (Glasgow), Go Short (Nijmegen, Netherlands) & Reel Out (Kingston, Canada)

18Hours, Global Learning London, Xanthe Gresham, Amelia Armande, Alia Alzougbi, Global Learning Network.

Arts Action Fair (2024)

A 1 day symposium on Arts Activism in East London showcasing best practice, cross-pollinating between communities, artists, arts institutions & third sector orgs.

• Performances by leading underrepresented artists
• Livestreamed talks, workshops & discussion about marginalised-led arts
• Stalls for arts collectives, community campaigns & NGOs to network

• Grassroots artists involved in social justice
• Frontline campaigns, NGOs & charities
• Arts orgs, institutions, industry reps
• Educators, influencers & commercial sector

• Showcase the best marginalised-led social arts & what it can achieve
• Connect artists & campaigns to enable collaboration to maximise impact
• Demonstrate how creativity multiplies social impact
• Show institutions the change that is coming & how to get involved.

Center for Artistic Activism, Village 101, Release, Mamacash.

Mollies Masquerade (2021)

Created by Heads Bodies Legs, Sibling Arts directed the music, band, choir & advised on community engagement & research.

A creative hxstory project about London's 18th century LGBTQ+ underground scene, involving queer, trans and non-binary people in East London, no creative experience necessary, in theatre, dance, song, textiles, research & archiving.

More info coming soon.