Temporary Queer Belonging

What do we hold onto when nothing's permanent?

Queerscapes co-led Temporary Queer Belonging, the latest session in the Alternative Practice series with Build Studios. The session explored how queer belonging takes shape in temporary space and why it is so fragile. Founder Lenny Rajmont co-designed the evening and opened it alongside Build Studios' Phoebe Morgan. Afterwards, Lenny developed the conversation and collages into a zine, highlighting all the topics expored on the night. Read the Zine in the PDF here.

The provocations

Phoebe opened with the idea that queer belonging is nocturnal and exclusive. Queer space is mostly imagined as clubs and bars, from search results to funding decisions. Pop-up raves, secret locations and invite-only group chats mean that only people who are already in the know get access. Venues with retrofitted or partial access make belonging conditional too. At Club Tropicana in Manchester, a wheelchair user was recently asked to leave because her wheelchair was deemed a fire risk.

Lenny turned to daytime and the public realm. At Trans+ Pride 2026, being visible was the point, but finding a toilet meant walking from St James's Park to Charing Cross. Shops hang Pride flags in their windows but keep their toilets for paying customers only. Lenny also talked about weather as a landlord: rain, heat and wind decide whether outdoor queer space can happen at all. On top of that, new policies increasingly decide who is welcome in lakes, ponds and green spaces. As Lenny told Dazed:

"Exclusion from these landscapes and spaces doesn't just close doors, it fractures our sense of belonging in the world."

Making it together

Everyone responded on a long paper scroll laid across the tables, writing, sketching and questioning as the conversation went on. We then made a collective collage from queer ephemera like old flyers, venue scraps and printed media. It covered nightlife, parks, sport, the body as protest, home, health and pleasure. It also recorded the barriers we face, and the cafés, libraries, galleries and community hubs that have made belonging feel less temporary.

Thank you to everyone who came, and to Phoebe and Build Studios for another brilliant collaboration!