Crossbreed announces Colour Factory residency is coming to a close

Queer party Crossbreed has shared that August 28 will be the last date its Colour Factory parties, saying that the party will be “moving on” from the venue at the end of August.

This comes after Crossbreed has been hosting day parties every Sunday since February 2022.

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Writing on Instagram, the party wrote, in part: “Since December we’ve worked with Colour Factory to create an intentional space for London’s queer community to connect, dance and explore our identities in a safer environment.

“Our weekly parties have gone from strength to strength and anyone who has experienced them knows the kind of magic we created together!

“We know this news may come as a shock to many but we have every intention of coming back stronger. For now, we will be putting all our energy into making our last 6 weeks at Colour Factory the best they can be.”

The organisers also said on the post that the "difficult decision" has been taken by Colour Factory that the venue can no longer meet their requirements.

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The party deals with a wide range of difficulties, from the puritanical councils' attempts to censor them to the complex requirements of attendees and welfare.

Speaking about the news to Mixmag, Crossbreed said: “We are devastated that we are no longer able to continue running Sundays at Colour Factory.

“We put our hearts and souls into building a space that was custom built to meet the needs of queer people. But the reality is that it requires a lot of time, resources and support from the authorities. At Colour Factory the decision was made that it was no longer sustainable.

“And the truth is we don’t know where we’re going to go. There aren’t any properly dedicated large queer spaces in London. We need one, fuck we need three.

“We are working hard to find a solution and we are determined to return to Sunday service as soon as possible. But who knows what sacrifices will need to be made to get there.”

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Crossbreed announced in January that it would be hosting parties every Sunday at Hackney Wick’s Colour Factory.

From 3:PM to Midnight every Sunday, the kink-positive party makes an intentional space for London's LGBT community to interact, dance, and explore identity/sexuality in a safer, purpose-built atmosphere. Every week Crossbreed founder DJ Kiwi or new resident Anthousai have been joined by a guest.

The party transformed the space to make it accommodating for the community, adding in new toilets, a freshly created and completely functional playground designed in partnership with designer Thomas Poole, a dedicated wellness sanctuary, new lighting, and a visual pornography installation.

For more information about Crossbreed, check out its website here.

Mixmag has reached out to Colour Factory and is awaiting response.

Aneesa Ahmed is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter