In 2024, we sought out 100 LGBTQIA+ individuals and organisations inspiring our community. No ranking, just pure celebration! This list is a testament to the incredible talent and resilience within our community. Prepare to be amazed as we honour these remarkable people.
Asad zafar (any pronouns)
A queer non-binary Pakistani living in London. Their existence is activism and identity is political. Asad works for The Love Tank CIC an organisation promoting the health and wellbeing needs & addressing health inequity /inequality amongst under served communities in London.
Belén Mar Leroux (she/her)
A professional movement artist based in London, where her work takes her all over the world. ‘Dance makes me feel free. I can discover infinitely, learn about myself, others and the world. I can expand and connect with others. I can be honest; I can just be. I feel my queerness is definitely a part of that. Sometimes a very big part of that’.
beth ditto (she/her)
“We were radical feminist queers,” Ditto says of Gossip’s beginnings”. Ditto embraced her body on-stage and off, years before the phrase “body positivity”, there was Ditto, dancing on stage in a bustier, posing naked on a 2007 NME cover . Returning to the stage, she remains outspoken, anti-conformist, charming the media while challenging their attitudes to femininity and sexuality.
caz simone (they/them)
An openly queer proud person of colour, content creator and footballer from Manchester! I use my platform as a way to educate, share my experiences and hopefully be the representation that I wished I had seen as a kid. If I can make a small difference to even one person, that's the main thing.
charlie (he/him) & Miguel (he/him)
Hosts of “Slay the Day” on Hoxton Radio! Charlie B & Miguel put a spotlight on queer & emerging artists each week on their LGBTQI+ positive show as well as telling you the latest events happening in the area & providing you with your playlist for the week! and hopefully be the representation that I wished I had seen as a kid. If I can make a small difference to even one person, that's the main thing.
clayton wright (he/him)
Founder of beloved late-night cultural phenomenons; Little Gay Brother, Body Movements Festival, False Idols at Drumsheds, Feel It and many more. He has raised over 60k+ for queer charities, and continues to make nightlife spaces safer for queer people and championing emerging talent.
dr. ronx (they/them)
Dr Ronx is an award winning trans non-binary emergency medicine doctor by profession. BBC’s Ouch TV presenter and author of Amazing Bodies, an exploration of the human body through their jaw-dropping new illustrated non-fiction book.They describe themself as a queer, black, intersectional feminist.
dr. seema yasmin (she/her)
A polymath. She trained in medicine at the University of Cambridge and in journalism at the University of Toronto. She splits her time between London, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Seema is the author of 8 books, including her debut novel Unbecoming, which she is adapting into a film.
fipsi seilern (she/her)
Visual Artist "Painting is revered. Graffiti is not. Why is painting at the top of the “art food chain”, when graffiti is as old as mankind? What makes an artist? The graffiti inside a club toilet might have a million private viewers over the years, whereas the art inside a gallery or museum is only accessible for a finite period of time, and for a price."
homoparody (they/them)
An LGBTQ+ collective who provide entertainment at Prides, events and charity fundraisers. Alongside this they recreate music videos, produce full scale cabaret productions, organise socials and provide weekly all abilities dance classes for the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.
Joelle taylor (she/her)
Award winning Poet and playwright ~In spite of my appearance, I have never identified as a man. I identify as freedom. I identify as resistance. For me, being butch is a part of the female experience – my masculinity is feminine. My clothing, my corporeality, is a way of pushing against gender stereotypes.
Joseph wilson (he/him)
From queer drag performer, to visual artist and film director, Wilson’s is building a body of work has real substance, having carved out a space as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary filmmaking. Wilson’s work is characterized by its daring exploration of LGBTQ+ themes and layered narratives
Juliana huxtable (she/her)
American artist, writer, performer, DJ, and co-founder of the New York–based nightlife project Shock Value. Her multidisciplinary art practice explores a number of projects, such as the internet, the body, history, and text, often through a process she calls "conditioning."
khaleb luan brooks (he/they)
Interdisciplinary artist, researcher and writer exploring blackness, transness and collective memory. Recent work, a slavery memorial in London’s Docklands The Wake, a seven-metre tall sculpture in the shape of a bronze cowrie shell that includes the names of enslaved people inside and a wind-chime soundscape, is expected to be installed in 2026.
king molasses (they/them)
LGBTQ+ Black Americans pioneered drag as a source of freedom.That freedom is part of the legacy of ballroom culture. For King Molasses, discovering drag was a crucial part of feeling free. They bring traditional Nigerian clothes, ’80s style double-breasted suit jackets, cowboy hats and denim thongs to LGBTQ+ events across Washington, D.C.
Max Allen & Elliot Adcock (he/him)
An ascending star, Allen has worked with an intimidating roster of tastemakers and cultural heavyweights. From decorating Dalston’s hottest new queer bar, the Divine, producing bold and brilliant costumes for Shakespeare’s Globe or dressing sundry London It-girls (Emma Corrin wore a bespoke design he co-created for their Vogue España cover in 2023) to recently, in 2023, he co-founded a design studio with Elliot Adcock, taking his glittering vision to new audiences.
michelle manetti (she/they)
Mother of Fèmmme Fraîche, Michelle dedicates her time to fostering FLINTA focused minorities in the queer scene, whilst creating safer, diverse & intentional spaces. As well as a promoter, she is also a well-respected DJ & producer, a celebrated stalwart of East Londons Queer scene.
milly aburrow (she/her)
Aburrow's artistic journey is deeply personal and intertwined with her experiences growing up with left-side cerebral palsy. Her degree show piece, Fill Me In, is a clear manifestation of her evolving artistic identity. The installation, which featured faux food items, explored how personal choices around food express individuality.
moud goba (she/her)
National Director at Micro Rainbow, leading programmes supporting LGBTQI migrants. Chair of UK Black Pride. Recognised as one the BBC’s 100 Women in 2022 and has been honoured with a Kaleidoscope Trust Lifetime Achievement Award, a Diva Magazine Inspirational Role Model Award and the 2023 BET Global Good Award.
otamere guobadia (he/him)
Writer, poet, and columnist whose work focuses on desire, art, adornment, queerness, and agency, within culture high, low, and popular. Appearing in British Vogue, i-D, Dazed, GQ, The Guardian, Vogue Italia, among other publications. His first book, Unutterable Visions, Perishable Breath, was released on January 4, 2024.
polari labs
Anna Vybornova (She/Her) and Dr. Henry Blest (He/Him)
We believe sexual health and wellness market should cater for everyone and that the next sexual revolution will be in anorectal health. Our team develops category-defining products to make the preparation for anorectal intercourse straightforward and sex spontaneous.
romy (she/her)
I’ve drawn so much inspiration from people I look up to who made the dance scene as diverse and free as it is now, making it possible for me to create Mid Air and the world around it. I hope that putting my storyline into electronic music and telling lesbian love stories makes queerness feel a bit more represented and visible.
stephen hart (he/him)
Stephen is an actor, writer and YouTuber who fell into being an HIV activist by accident after writing and starring in his one man show Shadowed Dreamer, which ran in New York for 9 months, closing off Broadway in 2010. 2024 saw Hart return to the stage with Shadowed Dreamer and rave reviews.
The masons
Maruska (She/Her) and Donna-Marie Mason (She/Her) are photography and directing duo. Partners in life and creativity.Global souls. “I love to create images of love – the love of skin, the love of women, the love of men, the love of relationships between human beings. Showcasing Black skin, the beauty, the richness, the details.”
tiara skye (she/her)
Stage performer and internet sensation from South Africa living in London. Performed on stages including ArtsCape Theatre in Cape Town “AbFab Drag show”, and also been part of a local documentary for SABC, as well as a guest on numerous radio stations in Cape Town and Cape Town TV.
wet mess (They/them)
Drag and movement direction. ‘I exist outside of gender. I completely fell in love with the art form. It felt like everything clicked into place; a beautiful synergy of things I wanted to do: painting my face, creating movement, lip-syncing and exploring gender. I love its silliness, big aesthetics and politics.’
winn austin (she/her)
London-based transgender model and LGBTIQA+ activist. I have always had my own sense of style and know what suits me. I know what periods of fashion I like. I have never wanted to be current. I like bringing modernity to something from the past. No one wore floor-length evening dresses in the 1990s but me”
zach toppin (he/they)
Barber, model, musician Toppin is a multidisciplinary artist . Toppin's work is rich in narrative, symbolism and cultural reference, weaving together important stories about gender, sex, love and emotion. Working across painting, drawing and sculpture they archive and reimagine queer histories, in order to construct new pathways of understanding for the present.