GHOSTS IN THE ROOM
- Arc of Triumph UK
- Apr 4
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 5
Black Queer Club Spaces in London:
Dancehall Edition
Shaun Wallace | Reunion 79–21 Incubator
04/04/2026
There are some histories that live in archives. Others live on the dancefloor.
This illustrated talk - which will be part of Friday Late Activations at the V&A, on the 24th April, 2026 - will explore Black queer presence within London’s dancehall spaces; where sound, identity, and community meet in motion.
Archive, Migration, Memory
The wave of migration in the 1990s brought new Jamaican and South American communities into London, particularly South London, where Windrush legacies were already deeply rooted.
For many queer migrants, dancehall spaces were complex terrains. The music itself often carried homophobic lyrics—yet it also offered something else: visibility, familiarity, and a shared cultural language.
For some, these spaces were sites of tension. For others, they became spaces of reclamation.
Lived Experience and Resistance
Within these environments, Black LGBTQ+ individuals did not simply retreat—they negotiated, reshaped, and redefined their presence.
British-born generations, coming of age in a shifting legal and political landscape, carried this forward with renewed confidence. Activism became part of the culture surrounding the dancefloor.
I was one of the members of the Black Gay Men’s Advisory Group, founded in 2003, with veteran activist and organiser, Dennis Carney as Chair. We were one of the key organisations involved in the Stop Murder Music campaign.
Looking back - it's twenty three years ago now,
it's good to see that we were on the right side of history. We refused the motion - posited by some lgbtq organisations, to impose sanctions on Jamaica's tourist industry.
This work was not abstract. It meant:
protesting outside venues
challenging industry platforms
contributing to the cancellation of tours and performances
pushing for accountability at major events
These efforts contributed to the Reggae Compassionate Act (2007), where artists publicly committed to renouncing homophobic lyrics and violence.
Much of this labour was unseen.
And yet, a lot of what LGBTQ+ clubgoers experience today—safety, visibility, the ability to exist freely in these spaces—rests on those interventions.
From Conflict to Expression
What followed was not disappearance, but transformation.
New generations of dancehall artists have engaged more openly with LGBTQ+ audiences. Figures like Shenseea and Spice have embraced queer visibility within dancehall culture, while Pride events now take place in Jamaica itself.
In London, spaces like Queer Bruk embody this shift—where dancehall is not abandoned, but reimagined.
As Dr Aleema Gray, Curator of Beyond The Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music says... 'moments like two men kissing on a dancefloor to Buju Banton, are acts of both defiance, and beauty'.
An Archive in Motion
These histories are not static.
They live in sound systems, in movement, in memory—carried forward each time the music plays.
🎤 JOIN THE TALK
Ghosts in the Room: Black Queer Club Spaces in London (Dancehall Edition)
📍 Friday Late 24th April, 2026 @ National Art Library, V&A, Cromwell Road.
🕒 19.15 – 19.45
Friday Late Programme
A 30-minute talk and Q&A, exploring archive, lived experience, and the ongoing cultural life of the dancefloor.
REUNION 79–21 INCUBATOR
An evolving platform supporting artists, researchers, and communities to explore underrepresented histories across archive, performance, and sound.
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