News

Hi All, 

I am delighted to announce that Jay Mondial Kali and Natalie Wilcox will be leading the Billboards Project as a job-share over the next nine months. This is a community arts project to transform advertising billboards into community and public arts spaces. Here is the mission statement for the project and a little bit about Jay and Natalie. The Billboards Project will run until May 2027 and all are welcome to get involved. 

Jay Mondial Kali (they/them)

Jay has been living in Reading for 6 years, although it feels like a lifetime. Jay is bringing to the table their experience in facilitating safer spaces, events/workshop organising and community building. They are passionate about a lot, including advocating for anti-racism and accessibility for disabled and neurodivergent people within Reading Arts and Culture. They are responsible for Reading Queers 4 Palestine which facilitates Sanctuary, a QPOC social community, and runs a monthly Pride Café “for the proud but not loud”. At present, they are facilitating Trans Pride Reading to set up and find a Chair. They are also the founder and producer of Freedom Festival for Falasteen, volunteer Bar Staff Coordinator, a member of the Reading Reinettes performer collective and a drag monarch that performs in various locations around the UK with characters such as Slaytan the Drag Devil, the Drag TV license inspector, the Blues' Brothers third cousin twice removed, and Cinderfella. In their spare time, they love to go to karaoke and you're more than welcome to join them.

Natalie Wilcox (she/they)

Natalie came to Reading by accident, by ticking a box on UCAS and inadvertently choosing Reading as her final decision for university. It worked out well. They had a lake and a circus society and she came away with a First-Class Honours in French, and also started volunteering at the Rising Sun Arts Centre, originally as a choreographer and supporter for the Move Up Project, and then turning her hand to running events, working on the bar and fundraising. Natalie started community arts producing at the age of 15 and at the grand old age of 17 was funded to produce a musical theatre show, Little Shop of Horrors. In more recent years, she has produced professional theatre and community arts projects in and around Reading and beyond with support of Arts Council England, alongside her career as an actor, voice artist and tap-dance teacher. When she is not producing, she is working with Rabble Theatre on a project with residents of Whitley, or teaching tap dancing. In her spare time, she attends French creative writing classes and plays chess.