Liberating Love
A Celebration of Pride Through Resilience and the Activism of Love
croydon Urban Room: 11 February 2025 - 23 February 2025
"Liberating Love" is a portrait series celebrating Croydon’s queer community, created for the 2025 exhibition of the same name. Each portrait captures the strength, individuality and love within the community, honouring both personal and collective histories.
The written reflections and audio recordings were collected after the exhibition, allowing participants to share their thoughts on love, identity and belonging in their own words.
Zack:
To me, love is the silent acceptance of who I am, despite the times when I find it difficult to believe in myself. It is the realisation that growth is not linear, the patience I show myself when I fail, and the dedication to taking care of myself even when it seems unworthy. Over time, my perspective on love has evolved. I used to believe it had to do with self-assurance, with constantly feeling secure. Choosing to be kind to myself, especially on the days when love seems far away, is something I now view more as a practice. It's not about being perfect but about showing up for myself again and again.
Ka’el:
I express love in multiple ways: physical affection, acts of service, giving gifts and spending time. I like spending time and physical affection, but I also welcome other ways because I know everyone expresses love differently.
I feel the most loved in spaces where I am accepted for who I truly am. As a trans person, finding love, whether romantic or friendship, has not been easy. It has taken me years and years to build my core friendships, and after almost fully giving up on romantic love, I have found a partner who sees me, accepts me and loves me as I am. So for me, a place that holds love for me is within people - my family, chosen family and my partner.
Most recently, my partner organized a surprise party for my birthday. My mental health has been struggling lately due to the new administration in the U.S. My partner wanted to uplift my spirits by surprising me with friends, food, dancing and karaoke. It may not seem like a big deal, but it has meant so much to me.
Arun:
Love is what disrupts injustice. Love is the feeling of belonging anywhere without fear of harm. Love is the antidote. When I think about love for me, love is what makes me feel connected to my closest people. Love brings me joy with my friends, family and community. Love is central to my world and my existence. I wish this experience for everyone"
Marco:
Love to me, means being comfortable and safe around someone or a group of people. Love means acceptance. Love means joy, happiness and connection and shared experiences.
Over time, I would say my understanding of love has changed in a way because I can see that there are lots of ways of sharing, experiencing, and expressing love.
I choose to express love, be it for my partner (or those I care about) through various forms of expression and emotion: Be it, empathy, humour, respect, attentiveness, and kindness.
A memory of love that stands out to me was the day I met my partner. We spent the whole day together. We laughed, we bonded our love of music and favourite TV shows. It was like we had always known one another. Just two people. Nobody else. In the moment.
There are a couple of places that I would say hold love to me. Some more recent than others. I’ve been very fortunate to have made close friendships and allies within the Queer community both locally and otherwise.
I’m immensely grateful to Queer Croydon and the Queer Community in and around the Croydon area for creating welcoming and supportive spaces over the last few years. I’ve met some amazing people through it. Big shout out to “Their Majesties” and The Oval Tavern!
I think that love has shaped who I am as person today by letting me live and care as authentically as I can. Love has allowed me to feel represented, included and become better educated too. It’s important to have community, knowledge, and compassion.
What I want people to understand about love and the Queer experience, is that, to me, love is complicated. Love is strange, unique, beautiful, and powerful. It’s precious. It’s unpredictable but worth savouring.
