At 8am Monday 27 August, the first of 1.2 million footsteps will fall from the future Black Cultural Archives, Brixton, on the road to Huddersfield. The walk, ‘rwethereyet?’, symbolises the long road to equality and the importance of home: it’s an inspired fundraiser for Kairos in Soho, and groundbreaking artist Ajamu’s major exhibition Fierce.
This is a 240 mile, 20 day walk with feeling.
Huddersfield? Jane Standing, CEO of Kairos in Soho joins Ajamu, who will walk home to hand deliver an invitation to his mum for his first major London exhibition, and the largest solo photographic exhibition by a gay Black British artist.
Jane will walk alongside to fundraise for KiS, the project a metaphor for partnership, the slow pace of change and the importance of commitment. On the way they will connect with Black and LGBT groups and sites of heritage and raise funds for two inspirational causes.
KiS is fundraising to continue creating community spaces that are affirming, supportive and safe, yet built around the different experiences and perspectives at the heart of community. The more we try to raise funds independently from the community, the more creative we can be with our work. There’s lots of ways to get involved: please check out the website www.rwethereyet.org.uk; forward this email; suggest sites of heritage they can visit along the way; Monday 27 August – meet Jane and Ajamu at 10:30 Little Venice; 2:30 Lunch at Barn Hill (near Preston Road Station, on the Capital Ring Nature Walk); follow the walk on Twitter@rwethere_yet; like it on Facebook; check out the route and join; finally donate if you can www.justgiving.com/kairosinsoho To donate £10 text LGBT 45 £10 to 70070
rwethereyet? is the opening scene of One Amazing Act (OAA). OAA is a fundraiser for LGBT equality that will be piloted in Autumn 2012; people will carry out amazing acts to fundraise for diverse LGBT organisations, community groups and artists. Many of these organisations and projects are small and community-based, which presents enormous challenges in a digital environment that favours the fundraising attempts of large registered charities. Together the organisations involved are tackling these challenges head on.
OAA builds on years of development and research by KiS, rukus! Federation and London LGBT organisations. The London LGBT Almanac (KiS 2011; 2012) demonstrates that the mainstream voluntary and community sector gets twice as much of its total income from individual givers than the LGBT sector does. If the LGBT population in London gave what they give generally to LGBT organisations, the sector ought to be earning between £3m and £11m in donations alone, compared with the less than £1m it receives in donations currently. Through their passion, dedication, and determination, Ajamu and Jane hope to inspire LGBT people to give to diverse LGBT groups, and to perform acts that are amazing for them, for causes dear to their hearts. 