Westminster students have hosted a launch event to celebrate their pioneering project and new book titled Queer Love Letters (QLL), a collection of empowering messages about love. QLL was developed through a series of workshops ran by students to boost wellbeing for the LGBTQIA+ community through creativity and connection.
On 18 October, Westminster Counselling MSc Honours students Yasmeen Brett, Guy Harries and Katie Merritt, who form a collective of artists titled Queer Spaces, hosted the QLL project launch event to celebrate queer love and creativity. To develop the project they have led, and are continuing to lead, an ongoing series of creative wellbeing workshops for the LGBTQIA+ community, supervised by their tutor Dr Nikolaos Souvlakis, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Counselling at the University of Westminster.
The event was introduced by Katie and began with an introductory talk about the project which showcased some of the work produced to date by QLL workshop participants. Yasmeen then chaired a conversation about the project with Dr Souvlakis, Naseem Joban, Senior Lecturer and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead for Westminster’s School of Management and Marketing, and Chris Barlow, creative consultant and former Co-chair of the Westminster LGBTQ+ Forum.
On participating in the panel, Barlow commented: "Given my love of the creative process as a means to share and care, especially in these unsettling times, I was delighted to take part in the panel. QLL really appealed to me as the team have supported the participants in a considered and carefully thought-out programme that helped the participants to navigate a way towards being themselves. The joyful and positive atmosphere of the panel and the whole evening set up a very positive mood, and I am keen to continue supporting this important work."
The panel was followed by a discussion with the award-winning author Professor Zoe Playdon and Adam Bray, Director of Customer and Place Strategy and Business Space Property Management at Savills. Professor Playdon spoke about her academic career in the field of medical humanities, where she has undertaken ground-breaking work on transgender legal and medical history, while Bray delivered his own rendition of Oscar Wilde’s queer love letter De Profundis. To conclude the evening there was a musical performance from Guy Harries, Jeremy Finch White and Meg Lee Chin.
About the event the Queer Spaces collective said: “After a year of piloting our QLL project it was wonderful to bring so many amazing people together to celebrate the launch of our book and our future plans with the development of Queer Spaces. We are thrilled to have so much love and support for this pioneering programme which combines our dynamic arts background, our postgraduate psychotherapy training at the University of Westminster and our own queer identity and joy. This feels like the beginning of some deeply exciting, vital and innovative work. We can’t wait to see how it will evolve!”
The QLL project is sponsored by the University of Westminster, University of East London, Westminster LGBT+ Forum, Lumiere London, the Quintin Hogg Trust and Hope in the Community Westminster.
The next creative wellbeing workshop will take place on 16 November where participants will have the opportunity to create a love letter through written and spoken word, visual art, sound or movement.
On the project, Dr Nikolaos Souvlakis said: “Queer love is both a revolution and a revelation - a celebration of authenticity, resilience and boundless expression. Through each letter, we honour the voices that defy norms, embracing the courage and tenderness that make love in all its forms a profound act of self-acceptance and solidarity. The QLL project emphasises love's transformative power and the diverse voices within the queer community.”
The QLL project contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3: Good Health and Well-being and 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Learn more about the Queer Spaces collective and book a free spot at their upcoming workshop.
Find out more about studying Psychology and Counselling at the University of Westminster.
QLL project leaders from left to right: Katie Merritt, Guy Harries and Yasmeen Brett
Katie Merritt
Panel discussion
Adam Bray and Professor Zoe Playdon
Jeremy Finch White and Guy Harris
Related articles
