Fifth Word
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About
Touring Exhibition
Workshops
Audio Plays
Meet the Team
Oral History Contributors
Gallery
Supporters

About

Produced by Fifth Word, in partnership with Nottinghamshire Archives. In collaboration with Mansfield Museum, and with support from MyPlace at Westfield Folkhouse Young People’s Centre, East Mids Transgender Network, East Midlands Oral History Archives and Loughborough University.

Our Story is a dynamic intergenerational creative heritage project celebrating the lives and experiences of trans and gender diverse people in Nottinghamshire. 

As part of Our Story, we worked alongside LGBTQ+ young people – and their allies – from Mansfield, who undertook a series of creative workshops in oral history, photography, film-making, exhibition design, graphic design and podcasting. Following this rigorous training programme,the young people used their new skills to interview the oral histories of older trans and gender-diverse people across Nottinghamshire, capturing their personal experiences and stories of identity, moments of resistance as well as joy and community.

The young people were immersed in formal filming days, working as part of a creative team with professionals, leading on the set-design, camera set up & positioning and taking the portrait photographs of the interviewees, under the guidance of professional practitioners. They also shadowed professional directors, actors and sound designers during the recording process of the audio plays that had been created in response to the oral histories. 

The audio plays are available exclusively as part of the Our Story touring exhibition. 

The recorded interviews and accompanying material have been deposited in Nottinghamshire Archives so that future generations can access them.  At a time when trans and gender-diverse communities are increasingly misrepresented or erased, this project offers space for visibility and pride. Our Story will help ensure these vital voices are not just heard today, but also remembered tomorrow.

TOURING EXHIBITION

Admission Free

An interactive multi-media exhibition exploring the stories of Nottinghamshire’s trans and gender-diverse residents, designed by Stephanie Coley and Leo Soph Welton in collaboration with the young creatives who took part in the Our Story creative heritage project. 

Featuring an immersive sound installation to listen to the audio plays, a gallery of portrait images and artwork co-created by the young people, this exhibition provides a snapshot of the varied lives and personalities of the trans and gender-diverse communities. 

The exhibition will tour Nottinghamshire Libraries over Summer 2026. 

Share Your Thoughts on the Exhibition

Dates

Mansfield Museum, Nottinghamshire 
Saturday 27th June  – Thursday 23rd July

Nottinghamshire Archives, Nottingham 
Saturday 4th July – Thursday 30th July

Retford Library, Nottinghamshire 
Saturday 25th July – Thursday 6th August

Beeston Library, Nottingham 
Saturday 1st August – Thursday 13th August

Worksop Library, Nottingham 
Saturday 8th August – Thursday 20th August

Arnold Library, Nottingham
Saturday 15th August – Thursday 28th August

Newark Library, Nottinghamshire
Saturday 22nd August – Thursday 3rd September

UPCOMING CREATIVE WORKSHOPS

Make Your Own Exhibition

Admission Free

A free drop-in creative workshop inspired by the stories and memories featured in Our Story.

Using craft materials, participants will design their own mini exhibition displays, exploring themes of community belonging, resilience and joy. 

A relaxed, family-friendly session designed for children, young people and families to take part at their own pace.

  • Age 5+ and families (children must be accompanied by an adult) 
  • Suitable for all ages and abilities 
  • Drop-In session, no booking required

Dates

Beeston Library, Nottinghamshire 
Wednesday 5th August / 14:00 – 16:30

Arnold Library, Nottinghamshire
Wednesday 19th August / 14:00 – 16:30

In Our Own Words

A Storytelling Workshop

Admission Free, Sign Up Required

This free workshop offers a space for people to come together and share a personal story that they may wish to tell. We invite you to bring an object or item that means something to you, which will be used to build a collective space for embodied storytelling and sharing our lived experiences. Food is central to bringing us together and during the session, we will share a communal vegan meal. There is no pressure to share any more than feels right for you. 

  • Location: Central Nottingham (location shared upon signup)
  • Arrivals from 13:30 (please arrive by 13:45)
  • Food provided

This session is for Black and Global Majority trans and gender-diverse people.  Spaces are limited so if you would like to take part, please book your free ticket in advance.

Dates

Central Nottingham (location shared upon signup)
Saturday 22nd August / 14:00 – 17:00

Book Your Space Here

Audio Plays

Our Story features new plays by award-winning and acclaimed playwrights Chris Bush, Jo Clifford, Mika Onyx Johnson, Lettie Precious, and Luke Skilbeck. The plays have been directed by Jo Tyabji and with sound design by Louis Blatherwick and Joseff Harris.

The Kids Are Alright
Written by Chris Bush

In Chris Bush’s witty play, The Kids Are Alright, two dads meet at the playground. Otto definitely knows Jax, from somewhere? They met at the library, the craft thing with the flags? Navigating the chaos of queerness, expectation and presentation, they’re both striving to be their best authentic selves while avoiding any major injuries on the monkey bars. This parenting lark is a minefield, but the kids, right? They’re the future. 

“Which is yours?
In the blue – with the dinosaur boots
The little boy by the slide?
Yep. Well, as far as we know.”

Credits
dan dare meets the bodhisattva
Written by Jo Clifford

Jo Clifford’s new play, dan dare meets the bodhisattva, is a mischievous sci-fi adventure on an intergalactic space fleet, where a Space Commander and the warrior emanation of the goddess Quan Yin have a mission to set mortals free. Pitying two imprisoned and lonely souls, empathy emanates and they discover wisdom about their own chains, finding freedom in one another’s company. 

“Why won’t my ray gun blast you into smithereens?

Because compassion is stronger than weapons of destruction”

Credits
Respect Your Elders
Written by Mika Onyx Johnson

In Mika Onyx Johnson’s thoughtful play Respect Your Elders, LJ – an activist who has forgotten how to stop – runs from the shouts and pressured platform of a protest to quiet their mind beside an ancient yew tree in the churchyard. Paying attention, they listen to the love around them, pausing to care for their own heart and appreciate the magic in our everyday.

“You forgot about your own heart and perhaps you forgot on purpose”

Credits
Plié
Written by Lettie Precious

Lettie Precious’ Plié follows Jo, a young trans ballerina, as she prepares to step onto the stage of Nottingham’s Theatre Royal. Like a caged bird finding its song, she retraces the memories of violence, displacement, love and rejection that shaped her journey, until being seen for who she truly is gives her the courage to dance freely.

“They are here for me.
Un, deux, trois, quatre…
And—plié.”

Credits
Frequencies
Written by Luke Skilbeck

In Frequencies, a high school rom-com by Luke Skilbeck, queer teenagers Ash and Gem skip frequencies to chat, when Gem calls into Ash’s prime time school radio show. A normal day at Parks High except – Gem is calling from 27 years in the future. With Ash living under Section 28, and Gem unable to use the correct bathroom in 2026, can their coded messages (and Mrs Peters) help each other step outside?

“You lot are split so heavily into ‘girls’ and ‘boys’ but I’m telling you there is whole other awesome way that is both and beyond”

Credits

Meet the Team

Young Creatives

Bee (he/they)

Noah (she/him)

“I think getting to know everyone that has been working on the project, like by coming back here every week has been really nice. And to meet other people that have not necessarily really had the exact same experience as you, but like have enough similarities that you can talk about and share that. Where you can’t really do that if you work like a normal job. You’re not really often put in positions which are like full of like queer people.”

Dray (he/they)

Phoebe (she/her)

“I thought it was really revealing to see the honesty behind [Patricia’s] story. I was really proud of myself that I had made a safe space and they felt comfortable sharing all about their life and their story, and I feel privileged to have heard it from them. So, I am really happy to get to experience that.”

Felix (he/him)

“I prefer being behind the camera, I always have done, but by no means have I not enjoyed interviewing and being there as well. I’ve liked having both sides of it. I’ve liked being a part of the team as a whole.”

Raven (they/them)

“Being a part of this project, it has definitely helped with my transition. It has helped me be more confident in myself, and helped me realise that I can speak to other trans people and not be too shy or scared to talk to them. It’s definitely helped me figure out who I am a lot more, have a sense in the community, and I know that I am not alone.”

Iris-Maè (they/them)

“I absolutely love history myself and knowing that 100 years down the line, someone’s going to come across the interviews that we’ve done is amazing. That there’s people going to find out about what life was 100 years before.”

Creatives

Roxanna Barry (they/them) is a freelance director, filmmaker, and photographer based in Sheffield, whose work typically focuses on social or environmental justice, the power of community, and our drive for creativity, through the lens of outdoor adventure sports and person-led storytelling.
Hi! My names Olivia (she/they) and I am a Senior Emotional Wellbeing Practitioner. My role on the project has been to support both the Young People and Participants when sharing their thoughts, emotions and experience and to help them tell their story. I’ve been around to offer kindness, support and a listening ear throughout the duration of this amazing project.
A mixed media artist born in Derbyshire, UK, where she still lives and works. Completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) in 2001. Her artwork has been exhibited & sold at venues throughout the UK. She mainly specialises in mixed media art, collage, pen & ink drawing and portraiture. Often mixing old found collage elements with drawing/painting. She loves the juxtapose of materials, techniques & imagery. Steph is still excited by new ways of working & still trying to experiment with new skills, materials & techniques.
Holly is an artist photographer who makes collaborative portraits with fellow queer folk. They self-published their photo-book, ‘People Like Us’; a 7 year project exploring trans, non-binary and GNC (gender non-conforming) identities & experience from AFAB (assigned female at birth) perspectives, in December 2024 Other notable projects include; ‘David Hoyle: Parallel Universe’ photo-book (2017), ‘Transformations’ long-exposure photo-series (2016), DARC *documentation action research collective (2016-19), ‘DARKROOM’ installations (2010-14) & zine (2025). Holly has made a significant contribution to the documentation of queer performance and its icons in London, creating a record of a specific movement & the community surrounding it, which is archived at Bishopsgate Institute.
Dr Rumi Dahar is a researcher, writer and oral historian. He is drawn to exploring relationships with Truth, being and becoming, particularly those lived by LGBTQIA+ and feminist Muslims. He is driven to co-create spaces in which Muslims on the margins can become-in-community through reflection, creative praxis and reclaiming and reliving tradition. Rumi is a Holstein Dissertation Fellowship alumni, a trustee of the Oral History Society, and a member of the Migration Museum People’s Panel. They are currently developing two book projects—a scholarly monograph and a trade book—and have publications forthcoming on Queer Islamic Theology.
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CJ De Barra (they/them) is a non-binary, neurodivergent lesbian author and journalist from Ireland. CJ founded the community-led project, Notts Queer History Archive (NQHA), which preserves and documents LGBT+ history from Nottingham, covering 1770 to 2026. This includes 202 oral history interviews, 1340 donated items and 800+ newspaper articles on queer heritage. These are held in three locations: Bishopsgate Institute (London), Sparrows’ Nest (Nottingham) and University of Nottingham (UoN). Their first book, Neuroqueer: a Neurodivergent Guide to Love, Sex and Everything in Between (Mercier Press) was published in 2023, and a sequel on relationships is due from Jessica Kingsley Publishers. CJ has produced three history books (Five Leaves Publications), with the first covering 1960 to 1990. CJ is currently working on a PhD at Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham, and the Central Library Local Studies.
Leo is non-binary / trans masculine and from mixed heritage. Their identity is something that drives their passion to help give a voice to marginalised communities and work with people that strive for social justice and common good. With over 25 years experience in graphic design, they specialise in work for charities and arts organisations. They work across disciplines including brand identity, digital design, campaigns, events, illustration and public art.

Oral History Contributors

Are you trans or gender-diverse and living in Nottinghamshire?

We’re inviting adults of all ages and backgrounds to share their lived experiences as part of this project. Your experiences could become part of a podcast, exhibition, and public archive, preserving trans-history for future generations.

We recognise that there are massive gaps in our museums and archives when it comes to documented trans and gender-diverse histories. This project is part of a wider movement of making sure these stories, knowledge and wisdom are not forgotten.

Recording oral histories and making them available for future generations is a unique way of getting an insight into the lives and experiences of communities who are often left out of the history books.

Our Story is inviting you to become a trans-historian of your own story – become part of this powerful work as we build an archive of trans and gender-diverse histories.

Oral histories are fantastic but can feel exposing. Don’t worry, If you sign up, you will be in the driver’s seat of the process with the power to decide what you share and how you share it. We will be on hand every step of the way to support you.

You’ll get to meet and collaborate with the playwright who will be working on creating audio-dramas of the stories shared.
Ready to get involved? Click here to sign up and we will be in touch to arrange a chat to discuss the next steps.

Ready to get involved? Register your interest below and we’ll be in touch to arrange a chat to discuss the next steps. 

Register your interest

Supporters

This project has been made possible by support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Players.
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