Soho Remapped: Making Space for LGBT Histories

Drawn from the Soho Spirit study day hosted in February 2016, this lecture by Marco Venturi as part of the UCL Festival of Culture will summarise efforts to understand perceptions of Soho as a queer space.

Soho is often envisioned, at both a national and an international level, as London's gay district. Its role as a space where gay identities and communities were made has shaped the urban experience of many LGBT people in the city. However, following the increasing inclusion of LGBT people in British society, the rise in popularity of different urban areas, the advent of online spaces and the soaring gentrification of the area, Soho's role for the LGBT community of London must now be reconsidered. If Soho disappeared, where would LGBT spaces move to? How can LGBT people make sure to leave their own mark in the district?

This session is drawn from a recent one-day event led by Marco Venturi, a PhD student in UCL Gender and Sexuality Studies, CMII, and supported by JFIGS, qUCL and UCL Urban Laboratory.

Further links:

• RSVP on Eventbrite
• UCL Festival of Culture