A Space For Us

Artists

Kairo Urovi

Vela

Under a backdrop where trans lives are politicised, debated, and blamed for a country’s shifting moral compass, A Space For Us emerges as an act of resistance.

In the UK, trans people are increasingly facing discrimination: our lives debated in Parliament, turned into symbols of cultural anxiety. Public spaces are scrutinised and pressured to set rules in place that would push trans people out of public life.

In Kenya, visibility itself can carry danger - where queerness is criminalised, survival often depends on finding ways of creating communities underground.

Working across these two different landscapes, Kairo and Vela have built a collaborative, living archive that crosses both political and physical borders. Together, they met with trans-masculine individuals, listened to their stories, and created moments of reflection — portraits made in dialogue, shaped by trust and mutual care.

These photographs are not pleas for recognition; they are acts of presence. They gather us in. They hold space. Within these frames, visibility becomes an act of solidarity rather than exposure, a celebration rather than a risk.

Supported by The Koppel Project and the British Council