In response to the lack of public archive present around how queer and trans people navigate public space, Hackney Showroom hosted Travis Alabanza to hold conversations across the UK to discuss and talk with trans people about their experiences navigating outside space. The event was aimed at those who identified as trans and gender non-conforming – or anyone that had experienced harassment based on their trans/queerness.

An intimate dinner table format, where guests can feel safe to speak and share their experiences, or just to listen, conversations were recorded (see below), as part of Hackney Showroom and Travis Alabanza’s ongoing documentation of the trans experience, for archiving and heritage collection purposes, in partnership with Bishopsgate Institute and Hackney Museum, supported by the Heritage Lottery Foundation.

The audio recordings formed part of an exhibition that ran alongside Hackney Showroom’s production of BURGERZ in 2018.

Tranz Talkz took place at the following venues: Cambridge Junction; North Wall at the Jericho Tavern, Oxford; Royal Exchange, Manchester; Hackney Showroom, London; Belgrade Theatre, Coventry; The Marlborough Theatre, Brighton.

The 6 Tranz Talkz are archived at the Bishopsgate Institute and you can listen to some of the conversations here: