Formally set up in 2020 Downtown Pompey is a performance-based organisation bringing together a variety of local communities in Portsmouth, through queer art practices; offering a space to explore identities and understanding that everyone has a voice and a place to be heard. Our organisation exists within three areas:
- Community
- Education
- Professional Theatre
Using a combination of community leadership, arts and social work practice Downtown Pompey is a unique intersection that supports as well as produces.
As a queer led organisation we hold strong values around inclusion, equity and care. This can be seen through our 2023-25 core values.
Connectivity:
We will promote equity, accessibility and inclusion at all levels throughout Downtown Pompey. We will seek out marginalised voices to promote both on stage and behind the scenes.We will use a trauma informed practice which is overseen by an “in-house” trained therapeutic professional.
Creativity:
We will always use creativity and imagination in our work and produce high quality original productions. We will aim to be as sustainable as possible and work with local small businesses to keep our environmental impact small.
Collaboration:
We will work with and for the community collaboratively. We will aim to be guided by the community needs and wants as well as our artistic process.
Challenge:
We will work to challenge resistance in inclusion and access to our work. We will be transparent and take full accountability for our actions and output.
We will ask all who work with us to take collective and individual accountability for their actions and work together to problem solve.
Choice:
We will embed choice in all projects and work. There is always the option for participants to remove themselves from projects and spaces without prejudice.
Courage:
We will champion political queerness and always examine our work through a queer kaleidoscope.
We will treat everyone with respect and dignity. We will always outline our “house” rules in advance. We will make sure correct names and pronouns are used.
Storytelling is sacred; it is how we keep the dead living and the living thriving its how we show up as our most authentic self. It can permeate artificial boundaries of race, borders, gender,language and unequal power. It is the language of the heart, reflecting the breadth of our humanity as individuals and as a collective.
FATOU WURIE, STORYTELLER
(How to tell a story: the moth essential guide to storytelling, 2022)
