GBTQ+ Men Who Create 🏳️‍🌈 - Finding your voice

GBTQ+ Men Who Create 🏳️‍🌈 – Finding Your Voice

A free six-week creative singing and voice course with vocalist and vocal teacher Elliot May, supported by artist and peer support specialist Anthony Stevens. No singing experience necessary.

GBTQ+ Men Who Create is a programme of free creative courses for people who identify as GBTQ+, non-binary or transmasc and who are experiencing low mental health.

Finding Your Voice

From October – November 2026, Men Who Create invites you to explore your voice through singing, sound and creative vocal expression in this relaxed and supportive six-week course led by Elliot May, with supporting artist Anthony Stevens.

You don’t need to think of yourself as a singer, be able to read music or have any previous experience - just bring your voice and a willingness to have a go.

Across the sessions, Elliot will introduce accessible and playful ways to explore what our voices can do. Through gentle vocal exercises, singing together, rhythm, listening and experimentation, there will be opportunities to build confidence, make sound, express yourself and experience the enjoyment of using your voice alongside others.

The emphasis is on exploration rather than performance. You won’t be expected to sing on your own unless you want to, and there is no pressure to sound a particular way or to “get it right”. We will be a small, supportive group discovering our voices together.

A special first session in One Song

Our first session on Monday 26 October will take place within Fabrica’s One Song exhibition by artist Kadir Karababa, while the gallery is closed to the general public.

One Song explores how music can carry memory, identity and a sense of home. At the heart of the exhibition are songs and stories shared by women with personal experience of migration or seeking sanctuary. Through voice, melody and shared experience, the exhibition brings together individual memories and creates a space for listening, reflection and connection.

Surrounded by the exhibition, Elliot and Anthony will invite the group to begin exploring some of these ideas through our own voices, sounds, songs, memories and experiences.

This special first session will provide a creative starting point for Finding Your Voice, with the following five weeks continuing the exploration through practical vocal and singing sessions at Fabrica.

Come and enjoy making some noise, trying something new and finding your voice in Fabrica’s welcoming and beautiful space.

Tea and coffee will be provided free.

Dates

Monday 26 October 2026, 3–5pm
In the One Song exhibition at Fabrica – gallery closed to the general public

Monday 2 November 2026, 3–5pm
Fabrica

Monday 9 November 2026, 3–5pm
Fabrica

Monday 16 November 2026, 3–5pm
Fabrica

Monday 23 November 2026, 3–5pm
Fabrica

Monday 30 November 2026, 3–5pm
Fabrica

Fabrica
40 Duke Street
Brighton
BN1 1AG

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at people who identify as GBTQ+, non-binary or transmasc who are experiencing low mental health.

If you would like to join us, we will be a small, supportive group trying things out together. The atmosphere will be friendly, informal and welcoming.

Alongside Elliot, the sessions will be supported by Anthony Stevens, an artist and trained Peer Support Specialist from the LGBTQ+ community. Anthony will be there throughout the course to help create a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment in which everyone can participate in a way that feels comfortable for them.

If you have access needs or would like to talk about how we can support you to take part, please contact Lucy Groenewoud on 01273 778646 or lucy.groenewoud@fabrica.org.uk.

We are able to support transport where this is a barrier to attending. Please let us know on the booking form.

About Elliot May

Elliot May is an experienced vocalist and vocal teacher at BIMM Institute Brighton. She has worked as both a lead singer and backing vocalist with a range of artists and is perhaps best known as the lead vocalist on Basement Jaxx’s “Do Your Thing”.

Elliot has been singing and performing since the 1980s and has worked with artists including The Brand New Heavies, Stan Campbell and Gavin Rossdale, as well as contributing vocals to radio, television and advertising.

For Men Who Create, Elliot will bring this wealth of professional vocal experience into an informal and supportive setting, helping participants explore their own voices without the pressure of performance or previous singing experience.

About supporting artist Anthony Stevens

Anthony Stevens is an artist, experienced arts project coordinator and peer support specialist.

Anthony has a keen interest in the role that people’s innate creativity can play in wellbeing and recovery, and using his own creativity is an integral part of the management of his own mental health challenges.

When not working in peer-supported arts, Anthony is an internationally exhibited textile artist. He is also part of the exhibitions committee of a large national arts charity.

Anthony will support the group throughout Finding Your Voice, helping to create a friendly and inclusive space where participants can explore, experiment and express themselves at their own pace.

Booking

By making this booking, you are booking all six sessions.

The sessions are free to participants, with an optional contribution if you feel able to support the programme.

Ticket tier 1: Free
Ticket tier 2: £18 per course (£3 per session) + booking fee
Ticket tier 3: £36 per course (£6 per session) + booking fee

We ask that you are able to attend all six sessions wherever possible. If you are unable to attend for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible so we can release your space for someone on the waiting list.

If you have any questions or would prefer to reserve a place by talking to a member of the team, contact Lucy Groenewoud at lucy.groenewoud@fabrica.org.uk or call Fabrica on 01273 778646.

What to wear

Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. The sessions will involve breathing, singing and some gentle movement, so clothes that allow you to move comfortably are recommended.

No equipment or singing experience is required – just bring yourself and your voice.