From raves for the deaf to Black ballet dancers and ‘outcast’ amateur wrestlers, now more than ever, communities are coming together online to keep their real-life connections alive.

We revisited individuals and groups we met for our Beyond the Screen series for Facebook in 2018, to see how the lockdown has impacted their work.

Episode 1: Deaf Rave

Despite there being 11 million deaf people in Britain, when it comes to places for them to socialise, there is almost a total dearth. Wanting to address this, Hackney-based DJ Troi Lee organised his first ‘Deaf Rave’ back in 2003.

“It was really, really blooming,” says Lee of his business prior to COVID-19. Social distancing measures then led to a string of cancelled festivals, and Lee was left fearing not only for the future of his business, but the mental wellbeing of his community. “Isolation is the worst thing that can happen to anyone,” he says, “especially if you have a disability.”

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Read more here.

Episode 2: Bloody Good Period

In this episode we speak with Gabby Edlin founder of Bloody Good Period, to hear how COVID-19 has exacerbated period poverty globally. The organisation are currently partnered with 50 drop-in centres for asylum seekers and refugees around the country, getting period products to over 1500 people every month.

Read more here.

Episode 3: Ballet Black

‍Ballet Black – a professional ballet company for dancers of Black and Asian descent. Huck first met Ballet Black and founder Cassa Pancho in 2018 for Beyond The Screen – a video series following six grassroots communities led by people organising online and affecting real-world change. In an update on the series, we revisited the company to find out how they’ve been weathering the pandemic.

Read more here.