Emory Southwick launches The Marra Project to bring more equitable sober spaces to the North East

The Marra Project is a socially-oriented community hub founded by Emory Southwick in 2024 to support queer, neurodiverse, and disabled people by providing sober spaces to connect across County Durham.

“Marra” originates in pitmatic dialect from Northeastern English coal-mining communities, meaning “the person who always has your back”. At The Marra Project, we are your marra when you need a helping hand, someone to signpost support, or to find like-minded people.

The Marra Project’s first programme was Pride of Place, funded as part of the Cultivate Commissions in collaboration with the Into the Light programme. The programme consisted of three workshops where people came together to celebrate spaces around the county that mean a lot to them. The artwork, poetry, and stories have been collated into The Marra Project’s first book, Pride of Place: Queer Spaces of County Durham, which is being launched on the 21st of February, 2025.

Currently, The Marra Project operate Queer Life Drawing, a monthly international online life drawing session working exclusively with queer models, and Life Drawing at Palace Green Library, a monthly in-person inclusive life drawing class in Durham City.

The Marra Project will be running an event to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility in March 2025.

To find out more about our events, check out this link