This January, QueerSwap is partnering with SOAS to bring you an exciting day of activities and an opportunity to refresh your wardrobe, bookshelves, brains and creative energy for the new year.
In addition to our first-ever clothing/book combo swap, we will have a mini-market with local vendors, a social space with games and a billiards table, a collage workshop, a life drawing workshop by Heavenly Bodies, and a pub(e) quiz from The Vagina Museum!
All tickets are PAY WHAT YOU CAN, but we did make note of the suggested contributions for those of you who can afford to put forward a bit extra!
♻️♻️♻️ THE SWAPS ♻️♻️♻️
12 PM - 5 PM
Swap participants are welcome to bring up to 10 items of gently-used clothing or accessories and up to five gently-used books.
When you arrive you will exchange your swappable items for tokens.
You can then browse items brought by others, and “check out” at the end by “cashing in” your tokens for those items.
1 item = 1 token to exchange 🔄
Book and clothing tokens will be the same and can be used interchangeably.
Once the items are traded for tokens they go straight onto the swap floor, so make sure you are 100% comfortable with swapping them before you pass them over.
Then you can look at all the items brought by other people, take a break to check out the market, social space/game room, attend a workshop, and then do another lap to see if anything else you like has been added. When you're finished “shopping the swap” you will check-out with our volunteers who will collect your tickets and tokens.
Tip: We encourage people to arrive earlier so they can get the most out of the event and see more items that come into the swap before they are snagged by someone else.
What to Bring: We will not accept any items that are dirty, stained, torn (with the exception of “distressed” items), missing buttons, have broken zips, etc. We also will not accept underwear(pants), socks, tights/hosiery, or earrings/piercings unless new in packaging. We do not accept children's items. Shoes and coats must be in great condition or better, and clean!
We do allow hats, scarves, belts, bracelets, necklaces, binders, corsets, bodysuits, and and bags.
If you have more than 10 items you may bring the excess as a donation. You will still be capped at 10 swapping tickets in order to help ensure everyone can find items.
Tip: f you want to try things on over your clothes, make sure you're wearing something snug/tight so you can step in/slide it on.We will not have changing rooms at this event, but we will have mirrors! I
✂️ 🎱 ACTIVITIES 🎱 ✂️
SOCIAL SPACE / GAME ROOM
There will be a social space available, with games! A few of our lovely volunteers will be facilitating some board games to break the ice, or you are welcome to grab a box and play with your friends. There is also a billiards table available for a game of pool. You are welcome to bring snacks and non-alcoholic beverages to enjoy here, we just ask that you clean up after yourself.
THE MINI-MARKET
We are hosting a small mini-market with local creatives, artists, or business owners who create sustainably made goods or services. The mini-market will run for the duration of the event, so you can pop-in and check it out anytime. A list of vendors will be added to this page once confirmed!
FLINTA+ LIFE DRAWING WITH HEAVENLY BODIES
1 PM - 2:15 PM
Life drawing is a drawing of the human figure, traditionally nude, from observation of a live model.
This activity is an intentionally FLINTA+ centered space. The acronym FLINTA+ stands for: female, lesbian, inter, non-binary, trans and agender people.
This limited-capacity session offers an intimate and inclusive space to reconnect with the community through art and celebration. Heavenly Bodies is not just a collective—it’s a movement. Queer-led and FLINTA-run, it reimagines life drawing as a tool for liberation, empowerment, and radical compassion. By challenging traditional norms, it dismantles tokenization and celebrates the diversity of bodies—not as objects, but as powerful, active collaborators in creative expression.
At its core, Heavenly Bodies is grounded in community, queerness, accessibility, and liberation for all peoples. It creates safe, inclusive, and celebratory spaces where everyone—models, artists, and facilitators alike—is an equal participant in the collective act of reclaiming autonomy and amplifying underrepresented voices. Art is the medium, but activism is the heart.
COLLAGE WORKSHOP WITH QUEERSWAP
3 PM - 5 PM
Create a unique piece of art made from salvaged magazines, newspapers, books, and adverts! Materials are provided for this workshop, but feel free to bring your own clippings if you have receipts, concert tickets, etc. that you may want to use in your collage.
PUB(E) QUIZ WITH THE VAGINA MUSEUM
TIME: 5 - 6:30 PM (subject to change)
This is a pub quiz, with a twist, brought to you by members of The Vagina Museum's team!
As well as the usual pop-culture trivia fest, you’ll also get fun challenges, team games, and the opportunity to answer questions on the kinds of topics that might make the quiz host at your local boozer blush. We’re talking sex, relationships, and…well…the clue’s in the name.
You are welcome to bring food / non-alcoholic beverages to enjoy here, we just ask that you clean up after yourself.
COVID SAFER HOUR / ACCESSSIBILITY
ACCESSIBILITY HOUR: For the first hour of this event all of our volunteers, vendors, and guests are required to wear FFP2 face masks to ensure a safer environment. We encourage everyone to test for COVID before attending, regardless of arrival time, and recommend continued masking after 1 PM, although it will no longer be mandatory. This event is taking place in a university setting, which does mean that there may be some exposure from students/faculty in the hallways and corridors where we cannot enforce masking, but we are doing what we can to minimize risk. In addition to hand sanitizer, and traditional hand washing in the bathrooms, we have purchased hypochlorous acid disinfectant spray, which is skin-safe and effective against norovirus.
The first hour of the event is usually slower, which also makes it a great time for those with limited mobility to check out the swap without having to queue to check out rails, or for those who use a wheelchair to move about with more ease.
All spaces for this event are step-free, wheelchair accessible and there are accessible toilets. We will have volunteers working as guides to help direct people to activities / toilets / etc. There is seating available for all activities, in the social space, and there is limited seating available in the swap space.
There are gender-neutral toilets available.
Prayer rooms are also available for those who may require them.
If you have any other accessibility questions/concerns, or if you require a complimentary carer ticket, please send us a message on outsavvy, or an email to queerswap@gmail.com.
Volunteer Sign-Up is CLOSED for this event.