Band/Artist Line Up TBA

COME OUT OF THE DARKNESS

An evening of Extended, Experimental, Unreleased, New Work from 2 Trans creatives pushing boundaries. With a special feature from Mermaids - who are doing essential work for and with Trans+ youth 💜

by Die Lemma and Asher Fynn

Art, Live Music, Performance, Risk Taking

DIE LEMMA

Die Lemma is a trans femme artist of German and Ethiopian heritage, blending the worlds of music and drag.

Her vocal performances pay homage to black music and old cabaret. Situated in the trans body, they disrupt prescriptive ideas of gender. In its place, Die weaves reimagined possibilities using costume, craft and paint. Her work has taken her to venues such as the National Theatre, Southbank Center, Barbican, and the Roundhouse. She recently won the drag competition Top of the slops Allstars and recently sold out her first Drag theatre show, Peach, Shit & Die, with collaborator Masc Peach

ASHER FYNN

Asher Fynn is a transfem, dark songstress from Brighton.

Their unique and distinct voice soars through intimate power and relentless softness, with songs, stories and raps that respond to queer themes of intimacy and experiences of violence. Asher sings about freedom, representation, and even drastic hook up stories... with humour, flirtation and sad songs!

They have performed on many amazing stages and at many prestigious events: TIN/Trans Pride Berlin, Brighton Spiegeltent, Trans Day of Remembrance (Brighton), HausofGaishoku (Tokyo, Japan), Vault Festival, Barbican. They have also competed in alternative drag and talent competitions: Anything Goes (Brighton, 2024, WINNER), TITANS Alternative Drag Competition (Brighton, 2024, FINALIST and Fan Favourite), Brighton’s Got Talent (Brighton, 2024, FINALIST)

THIS EVENT CENTERS TRANS+ ART AND IDENTITY.

PLEASE COME AND ENJOY THEIR POWER AND ARTISTRY!

We will also have a special feature by Mermaids, who are doing essential work for and with Trans+ youth 💜

Saturday 19th April

@VFDalston

Doors: 7pm

Show: 8pm

MERMAIDS

Mermaids are an amazing charity that support Trans+ youth. They are under a lot of fire right now given the continued negative perceptions of Trans people, perpetuated by right-wing media and politicians. These are scary times for young people, and anyone supporting the next generation, especially those who are LGTBQIA+ and/or questioning themselves or their identities, are super special

We have taken off the Charity donation option of the ticket, in the hopes you will support Mermaids 💜

Please click this link:

https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/?form=donate

Alternatively, please donate directly to Trans+ individuals fundraisers for their personal journey. This directly supports and positively impacts Trans+ individuals access healthcare and comfort. Thank you 😽

WIDGET are an East London based Queer-Funk-Punk supergroup featuring members of Big Joanie, Junodef, all cats are beautiful and the drummer Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani. 

Their music is truly danceable and repeatedly listenable - counterpoint guitar lines coalesce over disco drums and funk bass enriched with grainy synths. All fronted with the acerbic wit and humour of a John Waters film put to life and filled with millennial references to Myspace Tom and Uncle Buck.

WIDGET DJs 7pm-8pm

LIVE SET 8pm-9pm 

THIRST is a series of live music events at VFD to bring you new music, new artists, our first showcase of four acts is on Thursday April 10

 REZMORAH 

An Electronic Visually Charged Artist, Creating Lyrical Words To Hypnotic Beats. 

A Brazilian born, Portuguese and NYC bred international trans-artist, active in the field of performing/live arts and music, exploding the boundaries between these and multimedia.

Their music speaks to body and mind, with an urgent desire to reconnect to new mythologies, transcestrality, and mundane lustful experiences in urban and isolated settings. 

Expect - Deep synths, bright keys, electro beats and dramatic rockstar persona. Movement, looks and raging desire.

 Isa Alvarez 

Originally from Spain, non-binary singer-songwriter Isa Alvarez’s music delves into personal experiences and the universal struggles of navigating adulthood with introspective lyrics that explore themes of identity, longing, and the complexities of human emotions.

Expect - layered, thoughtful, impressionably melodic alt/indie’. Heavily influenced by bands like Cocteau Twins, The Marias and Blonde Redhead.

 Jorinde  

Blending 80s influences, shoegaze, and indie rock, Jorinde crafts a dynamic, immersive sound that’s always evolving. Performing as a one-woman band, she layers synths, drum machines, and guitar to create a raw yet cinematic atmosphere. 

Expect - A lesbian artist with a distinct musical identity, her sound has been compared to The Kills, PJ Harvey, and Anna Calvi, offering a unique, electrifying presence on stage. 

 Shagfoal 

Shagfoal is playing their first ever gig.

They think they might want to usher in a new age of romanticism with their errant folk guitar playing and lovelorn lyrics. But they're honestly still figuring it out.

Expect - vibes inspired by  Comus, Clarissa Connelly and Kate Bush. Maybe !

THIRST takes place in the basement club space at VFD which has one set of stairs to enter.

 THIRST is funded by Arts Council England.

OPEROTICA: STABAT MATER LAUNCH PARTY

We here at Operotica HQ are celebrating the launch of our gorgeous new music video by Dan Stokes for Dáire's bold new arrangement of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater.

Join us for a night of Operotic delights, with performances by Operotica, Angel Bella and Danielle James.

Then, be among the first to witness the premiere of our STABAT MATER music video, followed by a Q&A with the brilliant creatives behind it.

To top it off, we'll be serving our signature Operotica Cocktail.

Doors open at 7:30pm for 8pm show

Please note that VFD is in a basement venue accessed by a staircase and therefore is not wheelchair accessible - for more detailed accessibility information please visit https://www.vfdalston.com/accessibility-info

THE OUTSIDERS GALLERY 

APRIL 5, 2025, noon to 6pm 

01 

WHAT'S YOUR TYPE? 

art-poetry-music 

in typing & computing 

LA PLAQUE TOURNANTE (Frédéric Acquaviva and Loré Lixenberg) is  proposing every first saturday of the month a new series of exhibitions hosted  by THE OUTSIDERS GALLERY (64 Stoke Newington Road, London, N16 7XB). Following the Berlin space where 10 exhibitions were held between 2014 and  2017 (receiving the Berlin Senate Artists Space Prize in 2017), they will  organize 10 pop up exhibitions of ONE DAY ONLY starting on APRIL 5. 

What's your type? will display works using typewriter or computer in the  fields of poetry (concrete poetry), art (lettrism) and music (notations),  including international artists never shown before in UK. 

It will include some original works realised on a typewriter machine from  1947 to 2024 by Dom Sylvester Houédard, Bob Cobbing, Keith Armstrong,  Cozette de Charmoy, Robin Tomens, Karel Adamus, Jiri Kolar, Jan Burka,  Jiri Valoch, Alan Ridell, Isidore Isou, Maurice Lemaître, Gil Wolman, Ben  Vautier, Henri Chopin, Pierre Garnier, Ilse Garnier, Jean-François Bory, Joël  Hubaut, Charles Pennequin, Maggy Mauritz, Ferdinand Kriwet, Franz Mon,  Roberto Altmann, Paul Dutton, Steve McCaffery, Willem Boshoff, Öyvind Fahlström, Ake Hodell, Bengt Emil Johnson, Berndt Petterson, Carl  Reuterswärd, Enzo Minarelli, Maurizio Nannucci, Eduardo Kac, Betty Lee  White, Christopher Knowles, Kazunori Yaoita as well as an anonymous  typewriter work. 

It will also show computer related works of Max Bense, Manfred Mohr, Timm  Ulrichs, Bernard Heidsieck, Henri Chopin, Broutin, Jeff Nimp as well as music works using typewriter by Frédéric Acquaviva, John Cage or computer by  Pierre Barbaud and Denis Dufour. 

5pm : Performance by Enzo Minarelli (IT) 

Enzo Minarelli (1951) is the founder of the Archivio 3VITre di Polipoesia  (1983) and the creator of the term "polypoetry" (sound poetry, video poetry,  concrete and visual poetry...). 

Next exhibition : MAY 3 (noon to 6pm) 

MAGGY MAURITZ & AUDE JESSEMIN, Hypergraphic Women in presence of the german lettrist artist Maggy Mauritz (1941), the first  female artist to have used spray bomb in art since the mid sixties. 

THE OUTSIDERS GALLERY, 64 Stoke Newington Road, London, N16 7XB Contact : acquavivafrederic@gmail.com / lorelixenberg@gmail.com

The various spaces at VFD - gallery, community basement space and the club are all available for hire, to host your party, reception, birthday, art show, performance, dance, spoken word etc

Get in touch with the team info@vfdalston.com

You are invited to put pen to paper, surrounded by queer sound as part of the Queer Sound Weekender.

Join us to have the chance to free-draw and to free-write to the soundtrack of queer musicians and queer sounds, to work collaboratively and individually, to make freely. 

Guided by writer and maker Finn Brown.

Join us for a very special live drawing session as part of the Queer Sound Weekender! 

Illustrator and graphic novelist Lucie Arnoux will lead a live-drawing class in which attendees will learn how to sketch a musician as they are playing, focusing on the relationship between a person and their instrument. 

Featuring live musician Rosie from Boom Boom Racoon!

One More DAYTime 2002

We're taking 2002 to the daytime! Pop Idol was all over the charts - from Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius to Jessica Garlick, Rosie Ribbons, Sarah Whatmore and, err Rik Waller. Liberty X resurged and and Girls Aloud and The Cheeky Girls emerged.

Shakira launched as did S Club Juniors, Christina Milian and Ashanti and Las Ketchup whilst Enrique Inglesias, Pink, Sugababes, A1 and Atomic Kitten all returned. Meanwhile Clubland ruled with with dance music from Kelly Llorenna, Flip & Fill and Scooter and Belgian eurotrance from Lasgo, Milk Inc and Ian Van Dahl.

We’ll be playing the A list popstars from 2002 along with B listers like H & Claire, Romeo and Anastasia along with loads of other pop and dance hits from 2002. Expect loads of forgotten gems that don't get played anywhere else (from Ladies First to Mad'House and MadDonna). Our Bargain Bin first hour of 2002’s pop flops (from Soraya to Haifa and the year's biggest flop Angelle) kicks off from 2pm.

Join us in our gallery space The Outsiders at No64 for a fabulous closing night to this incredible exhibition celebrating Andrew Lumsdens life as a queer activist, journalist and artist.

See the artworks for one last time, may of which are for sale.

Our legendary cocktail bar will be open and there may be some special guests (tbc)

Tickets available on Outsavvy

Also you can purchase the book

Fruit Machine Talk Andrew Lumsden Queer Journalist

As part of the gallery show Fruit Machine Andrew Lumsden Art & Activism we will be hosting two talks, the second of which is:

ANDREW THE  JOURNALIST

Journalist and sculptor Graham McKerrow will be in conversation with Dan de la Motte about Grahams best friend Andrew.

Graham and Andrew became friends while working on rival newspapers in the 1980's - Andrew was founder and editor of gay News and Graham of Capital Gay.

There was the excitement of gay liberation mixed with the onslaught of rampant media, state and religious homophobia, framed by the AIDS pandemic. Expect stories of police raids, censorship, protests, community responses and campaigning journalism.

Graham McKerrow worked at Gay News in 1980/81 and then launched the weekly newspaper Capital Gay. He developed a first response to Aids and exposed the ‘pretty police’. In 1986 Graham ran the campaign to defend Gay’s The Word bookshop after it was raided by Customs officers. In the 1990s, he edited Positive Nation, a magazine for people with HIV.

The gallery show and events are supported by Hackney Council and Hackney Pride 365

Why not hire one of our amazing spaces for your party, launch event, art happening, club night, birthday party, workshop, pop up etc, email the VFD team info@vfdalston.com

Fruit Machine - Queer Hackney History Walk with Dan de la Motte

Learn the significance of Stoke Newington Town Hall in relation to the ‘Pits and Perverts Support the Miners’ campaign in the 1980s, Queer 'Molly' subculture in the 1700s, and the legendary residents of Abney Park Cemetery (location for Amy Winehouse's Back to Black video), including pioneering drag kings and the doyennes of Music Hall, and the all-important difference between cottaging and cruising. We'll end the tour at The Outsiders Gallery to take in their current exhibition FRUIT MACHINE, the artworks of 1970s GLF activist Andrew Lumsden. 

Meeting Point: Stoke Newington Town Hall 11.30am

End Point: The Outsiders Gallery (66 Stoke Newington High Street) 1pm ish

This tour will be step free, but please be aware that the ground in Abney Park Cemetery may be uneven (and very muddy if it's been/is raining!) 

If you cant make it on the day please let us know so we can reallocate your ticket to the waiting list.

As part of the gallery show Fruit Machine Andrew Lumsden Art & Activism we will be hosting two talks, the first of which is:

ANDREW THE ACTIVIST

GLF activist and artist Stuart feather will be talking to Dan de la Motte about his friend Andrew, and the protests, campaigns, actions and goals of the Gay Liberation Front in the early 1970's.

Expect radical drag as (and in) the face of Mary Whitehouse, dropping acid in queer communes, farcical court cases and the inside goss on the first ever Pride march in London.

This event is free, please register your place (s) so we can keep an eye on numbers, and if you cant attend please let us know so we can reallocate the seats.

The gallery show and events are supported Hackney Council and Hackney Pride 365

Join us in t'ARTopia for a queer-curated cabaret night of drag, music, poetry and more from some of our most delicious t'ARTs. We have invited some of our favourite performers to entertain you all, at a night that will be nothing short of t'ARTopian. 

We will be raising money for gender affirming surgery funds with this evening's raffle, so come with a couple of quid, win art and raise money for good causes.

Let’s get mouth-watering!

P.S. Our new mini-journal Trans Tongues is coming out soon. You can prep-order a copy to pick up at the event by selecting one of the ticket options with ‘Trans Tongues vol. 2’ in the description!

Private View - Andrew Lumsden Art & Activism Thur Feb 6 from 6pm

Andrew Lumsden was a London based pioneer of the Gay Liberation Front, a pioneering openly queer journalist and also an incredibly talented artist working across a variety of mediums.

Throughout February The Outsiders gallery will be showing a retrospective covering Andrews artwork from the early 1970's through to the 2020's. 

A contemporary of Derek Jarman and David Hockney, Andrew Lumsden created a steady flow of artworks reflecting his life as an activist, traveller and lover. His work ranged from abstract and impressionist works in the 70's through to highly detailed photo realistic works reflecting the landscapes, beaches and interiors as he travelled around the UK, across Spain and Goa, to personal sketches and paintings of friends and lovers, and then back to his first love of abstraction during the lockdown period in 2020.

Join us for the opening night PV on Thursday February 6th from 6pm to 9pm

Throughout the month we will be hosting talks and also a walking tour of Dalston/Stoke Newington.

Check our other VFD events for more details

This LGBTQ+ History Month, The Common Press is hosting a free evening of Pride and Protest on 5th February, from 7 PM - 9 PM, at VFD Dalston / Outsiders Gallery.

Join us to explore stories of pride, resilience, and revolution as we bring together brilliant queer authors and activists for thought-provoking discussions on the movements that have shaped our pride and history of resistance.

We are excited to feature some of the talented authors stocked at The Common Press. The session will be hosted by Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir (Director at The Common Press). 

   'Queer' not as being about who you're having sex with (that can be a dimension of it); but 'queer' as being about the self that is at odds with everything around it and that has to invent and create and find a place to speak and to thrive and to live.”― bell hooks

Mad Jacks Theatre present their hot and horny new scratch-night fundraiser: SEX SELLS!

Themed around kink, intimacy, sex and relationships, you're in for a jaw-droppingly raunchy and sensually multidisciplinary evening of stand-up, new writing, poetry and dance. 

Featuring performances from: Hanna Hirst, TJ Roderick, Aimée Ruhinda, Frank Bertoletti, Jazzy Green, Ellis Foster, Matisse Ciel and Nancy the Seven Foot Slut.

That's right. 8 performances for £12. That's £1.50 an act. Clock that tea.

This event is fundraising for Mad Jacks Theatre's upcoming production of ACNE ROMEO, premiering at The Place's Resolution Festival this Valentine's Day.

Doors at 7pm. Event starts at 7:30pm.

Lubricants recommended xx

Short Film Screening and Q&A with Filmmakers

25th January, 19:00-21:00

19:00 - Introduction by Charlie Jimenez

1. Bloodclot (2022) blood tainted film converted to Digital - 30s by Autojektor autojektorx

2. Mass Hysteria - Over You! (2024) 8mm film converted to digital & thermal vision - 5 minutes by Alistair Hendry alihendrys

3. ASMR – This Should be Okay 8mm film converted to Digital – 4m by Autojektor autojektorx

4. Seae within Yourself (2024) 8mm film converted to Digital - 4 minutes by Polina Kuzminska Polinakzmnska

5. Three Moons (2024) Digital - 5 minutes by Gregory Gangemi greggangemi

6. The Little Soul (2019) Digital Animation - Stop-motion - 9 minutes by Barbara Rupik @barbara_rupik

   20:10-20:20 - Break

   Introduction to Macabre and second section of Films

7. Macabre (2024) 8mm film converted to Digital - 7 minutes by Brodie Rake brodie_rake

8. (Secret Film)

9. Doll's Don't Cry (2019) Digital Animation - Stop-motion - 20 minutes by Frédérick Tremblay

In-conversation Q&A with Filmmakers - Charlie Jimenez, AutoJektor, Alistair Hendry, & Polina Kuzminska

21:00 - 21:30

We are excited to announce Bodysongs, a group sculpture exhibition curated by Charlie Jimenez which navigates the transformative nature of the human form within works that intertwine the grotesque with the fragile, beautiful, bizarre, and mythological. 

Bodysongs invites viewers into an otherworldly vision of bodily transformation, where the body becomes a gender-fluid language of the corporeal, emotional, and absurd. 

Each piece offers a spectral display of bodily realities which arouse and challenge conventions of identity, while also inviting contemplative rethinking of the body as an emotional entity - a fluid and mutable reality where identities and mythology assimilate. 

A place where the body is both vessel and narrative for transformation.
19:15 - 19:30

Tomb - Live Art, 15 minutes - by Electric Adam
 19:45-20:00

Doppelganger - Live Performance, 15 minutes - by Charlie Jimenez and Melanie Ashton

 Live musician: Emily Buckley Bunn
 

One More Time is back with another daytime party! It's 1995 and grunge was out and pop was back in. A new wave of pop acts shared 1995's charts with stalwarts Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Cher, Madonna, Mariah Carey, M People Annie Lennox and Eternal. Boybands ruled with Take That, East 17, Boyzone, Let Loose and PJ & Duncan all over the charts. And Whigfield proved she was more than Saturday Night!

But the big story of 1995 wasn't Britpop (despite what the history books said)… it was the year of the dance banger. The Top 10 was filled with dance hits including Set You Free, Missing, Boom Boom Boom, Don't Give Me Your Life, Dreamer, Two Can Play That Game, Cotton Eye Joe, U Sure Do, Total Eclipse Of The Heart, The Sunshine After The Rain, Not Over Yet, Scatman, I Luv U Baby, Baby Baby, Your Loving Arms, Hideaway, Try Me Out, Runaway, Axel F, Push The Feeling On, Reach Up, These Sounds Fall Into My Mind, Son Of A Gun, Don't You Want Me, Keep Warm, Short Dick Man and Right In The Night. Whew - what a list!

We’ll be playing the A list popstars from 1995 along with B listers like Deuce, MN8 and the Human League along with loads of other pop and dance hits from 1995. Expect loads of forgotten gems you're unlikely to hear anywhere else (from Zig & Zag and Sean Maguire to the Childliners and Michelle Gayle). Our Bargain Bin first hour of 1995’s pop flops (from Mary Kiani and Diva to Motiv8) kicks things off from 2pm!

Hidden Bodies is a life drawing class that celebrates the beauty & diversity of Queer/Trans+ people; challenging norms of mainstream art spaces. In a world where traditional life drawing often perpetuates narrow & heteronormative beauty standards, Hidden Bodies provides a platform & opportunity to immortalise marginalised bodies in art.
 

This class invites artists of all levels to explore and appreciate the human form; destigmatising & normalising Queer/Trans+ bodies.
 

Whether you are a seasoned artist or picking up a pencil for the first time, Hidden Bodies offers a supportive, inclusive, and affirming environment. Come draw with us as we embrace the complexity of human form and elevate the bodies and experiences that so often go unseen.

The class will be lead, but not tutored.

Class structure will include a warm up of 10 short poses (1-3 mins), some 2 min drawing exercises that include movement, animation, stylised drawing, art swapping, technical exercises & audience participation. Longer, more traditional life drawing poses include 5 min, 10 min, 15 min & 20 min poses.

Artists are invited to bring their own materials; if you don't have your own, not to worry!

Drawing materials, boards & paper will be provided for a small donation of £2.

All are welcome—bring your curiosity, creativity, and openness. Let’s redraw the lines of life drawing, together.

The event is in the basement space of No64 The Outsiders Gallery, it has a set of stairs and is not wheelchair accessible.

Our model for this session will be Zee

 Zee (they/them) is a writer and speaker exploring the intersections of Blackness, queer and trans identities. Find their work on https://substack.com/@souldeep