RUTH MCCARTHY

is Artistic Director Outburst Arts in Belfast, Northern Ireland

She has been an LGBTQ+ activist for over 30 years, focusing on arts and popular culture as tools for social change.

For the past 13 years through Outburst she has worked on the development of queer arts and art education in Northern Ireland through the annual Outburst Queer Arts Festival, producing events from grassroots community initiatives to new commissions and award-winning projects with professional queer artists.

Since 2015 Outburst has worked in partnership with British Council and queer/LGBTQ+ arts initiatives, producers and activists in the Global South and Caribbean – and more recently in North Africa and Middle East – to support the co-development of queer arts networks through co-working and mutual exchange.

LEHO DE SOSA

is a Uruguayan visual artist and activist interested in queer and marica art.

His work shows a commitment to human rights, focused on making visible “alternative childhood and adolescent experiences” and expressing dissident gender and sexual identities. He has developed a career nationally and internationally as an Art Director in the film and advertising sectors. He was part of the Communications and Press team behind the National Campaign to bring legal status to trans people in Uruguay and was also Curator and Artistic Coordinator (together with Delfina Martínez) of the International Festival of Trans Art in 2018 and 2019. Together with Delfina Martínez they founded the artistic collective LA (Latin America) Contracultural.

LISA KERNER

was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

She studied Audiovisual Media Production at ORT. She is an illustrator and Cultural Manager. Founder and President of Brandon for Equality / Equity of Rights and Opportunities, Civil and Cultural Association and Director of casaBrandon: LGBTI, feminist and queer Cultural Center. Curator of the casaBrandon art gallery, housed in the same space and director of the brand-new Brandon publishing. In 2011 Brandon’s activities were declared of Cultural, Social Interest and for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights by the Legislature of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

NATALIA MALLO

is a multi-artist and curator born in Argentina and based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

She has a degree in Visual Arts and Music and is specialised in Cultural Management and Cultural Diplomacy. She has 20 years of experience developing projects in the fields of music, performing arts and interdisciplinary practices. She is a skilled composer, dramaturge, performer, director, curator and creative producer. For the past 8 years, she’s been working internationally in the development of projects based in cultural exchange and cooperation, involving several organisations, collectives and foundations. She also acts as consultant for cultural organisations, governmental bodies and the third sector. She was Fellow at the Institute for International Cultural Relations (University of Edinburgh) and programming consultant at Sao Paulo’s City Secretariat of Culture. Since 2018 she is artistic director of Risco Festival, an independent event in Sao Paulo focused on artistic risk and intersectional dissidency/identities and more recently she took the role of Programme Coordinator at Cultura Inglesa Festival, the largest UK focused event in Latin America.

SIMONE HARRIS

is an independent arts and events producer and community activist from Kingston, Jamaica.

She was one of the organisers of the first Pride JA event in 2015 and was the Face of Pride, visibly advocating for LGBTQI+ rights in the media.

Simone created The TRIBE exhibition in the same year, as a personal exploration of history, identity and survival. Outburst brought the show to Belfast the following year and Simone has continued to work as part of the Outburst Americas steering group ever since.

In early 2019 she organised the first queer arts production training programme in Jamaica for aspiring producers and arts entrepreneurs. Alongside this she produced the first LGBTQI+ arts showcase in Kingston, as part of the Beyond Homophobia conference at The University of the West Indies. She is currently leading a carnival skills training programme for LGBTQI+ people.