A socially engaged portrait and storytelling project exploring community, place and belonging.

Stronger Together is a collection of 30 portraits and stories made with people who use Chesterfield LGBT Centre as a safe space to be themselves.

The work grew through repeated visits to the centre and time spent at its Spill the Tea drop-in sessions. Rather than arriving simply to make portraits, I spent time talking with people, listening and allowing trust to build. Over time, conversations led naturally into photographs and participants shared their own stories about what the centre means to them.

The project explores the relationship between people and place. A community gives a space its character, but that space can also give people somewhere to feel safe, find connection and express who they are.

Making the Work

The portraits were created collaboratively, with conversation and trust forming an important part of the process. Participants were invited to share as much or as little of their story as they wanted, allowing the work to reflect their own experiences rather than speaking for them.

For me, the project became as much about spending time within the community as making photographs. Returning to the centre allowed relationships to develop and gave the work space to grow gradually.

A celebratory display of the portraits and stories has now been installed at Chesterfield LGBT Centre.

It felt important that the work returned to the place and people it was made with. Rather than existing only online or in another gallery, the photographs now sit within the centre itself - celebrating the community and becoming part of the space that helped create them.

The project was commissioned by Derbyshire LGBT Centre. 2025 - 2026