BLKOUTBLKOUT · A quest for Black queer joy

Adventurous?

Choose joy.

Join BLKOUT's Quest for Black Queer Joy in Croydon.

8 men · 2 months · Croydon · Dinner's on us

Apply today

Starting late October. Places close Monday 19 October.

Questions? Ask AIvor, BLKOUT's AI.

The quest

Nobody's mapped this yet

Same scroll. Same chat. Same resolutions as last year.

This winter BLKOUT is assembling a crew: eight Black queer men who live, work or play in Croydon, setting out together to find what Black queer joy looks like here, and to bring back the best. Because we deserve it.

Each session we try something new, side by side, and find out what works for us. Then the crew reports back to everyone: this is grounded in our experience; this is what works for us, here. What you find shapes what BLKOUT becomes in 2027.

What's on offer

Four ways in

An illustrated Black man at East Croydon station opening his parka to reveal a CHOOSE JOY T-shirt

Adventurous?

Choose joy

New forms of expression: turn anger into art with the artist Victor Esses.

An illustrated young Black astronaut lifting off his helmet in golden sunlight

Creative?

Find your light

Build a life-size cover booth, and be in the first photographs for BLKOUT Review.

An illustrated dinner table of Black queer men of different ages in lively debate

Curious?

Get wise

Dinner's on us. Write and record your own story with Derek Aidoo. The decisions are the crew's.

An illustrated Black man in a wetsuit bursting out of the water onto a sunny high street, laughing

Sociable?

Meet the crew

Come for the adventure. Stay for the people. Then welcome everyone in on Joseph Beam Day.

How it runs

The route

  • Dinner workshops · mostly Wednesday eveningsBuild the booth, write, and record, with dinner every time.
  • Sunday 25 October · morningRage into art with Victor Esses, at Stanley Arts.
  • Taking the booth outThe crew takes the cover booth to an event and puts others on the cover.
  • BLKOUT's first AGM · NovemberBe in the room as members talk about what BLKOUT becomes.
  • Monday 28 December · Joseph Beam DayThe crew welcomes everyone in, and hosts the first Ivor's Table.
  • The debriefThe crew's findings, in their own words, for the whole membership.

We confirm venues and exact dates with the crew before we start. Everything is in or near central Croydon.

Who it's for

We saved a space for you

Black gay, bi and trans men who live, work or play in Croydon. No experience of writing, performing or being photographed needed: just curiosity, and a taste for adventure.

Keeping in touch

Between sessions the crew keeps in touch through its own group on BLKOUTHUB, BLKOUT's community space. If you're not on it yet, we'll help you join.

A few reflections

After each session we'll ask a couple of short questions about how it went. It helps us learn, and it's how our funder hears what the programme meant to you.

Questions? Meet AIvor

Ask AIvor about the quest

AIvor is BLKOUT's AI, named for Ivor Cummings, the openly gay Black civil servant who welcomed the Windrush generation ashore. Ask him what happens at the sessions, who can apply, or what Joseph Beam Day is.

AIvor is still learning. For anything he can't answer, a human will: rob@blkoutuk.com.

Apply by Monday 19 October

Are you in?

It takes about three minutes. There's no wrong answer and no test.

What happens next

You'll get an automatic note straight away so you're not left wondering. Then a person from BLKOUT gets in touch with you personally within 48 hours for a proper conversation. Places are confirmed after applications close on 19 October.

Questions first? Email rob@blkoutuk.com.

Only the small BLKOUT team running the programme sees your answers. We don't share them, and we delete them once the programme has been evaluated and reported, by the end of March 2027. We do keep a simple record that you applied (your name, email and the date) in BLKOUT's contacts database, as we do for everyone who gets in touch. Ask us to delete your answers sooner, or that record, at any time: rob@blkoutuk.com.

Thank you.

You're in the running for the crew. Check your inbox for a short automatic note (and your spam folder, just in case). A person from BLKOUT will be in touch personally within 48 hours.

Starting late October. Applications close on 19 October.