The Geraldine Connor Foundation (GCF) was established in 2012 to continue the work and vision of Geraldine Connor. We are an arts charity that celebrates cultural forms from across the globe in a collaborative and supportive environment.

Our primary beneficiaries are young people aged 12-25 years with diverse ethnicities, from low-income households living in the Leeds city region. In 2021 we worked with 345 young people across 11 projects. These projects included Represent exploring neglected industrial narratives with young people and Where We Are reinterpreting the history of Harewood House and its connections to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans.

GCF’s mission is to bring people together through arts and culture. We are a cultural organisation that works at an intersection between heritage and the arts. Our work starts from an African Caribbean perspective, opening up conversations about identity, hidden narratives, and representation in British society. We co-produce work with young people from minority ethnic backgrounds giving freedom to explore culture in its broadest forms. We believe that exploring cultural heritage with young people enables them to start forming their own identities and understand the modern world they live in.

We are currently working on a project Jam Around the Table through funding from Leeds Community Foundation – Addressing Mental Health Inequalities in Minority Ethnic Groups. The young people involved in this project have been taking part in regular singing and lyric writing workshops, they have expressed an interest in performing and singing together more regularly. The Reggae Roots choir would give them this opportunity.

Over 10 years we have built a wealth of experience working with young people in a variety of ways on cultural projects. GCF Creative Associates, Christella Litras and Sheila Howarth will lead the project musically and through their work on the Jam Around the Table project initiated the idea of a Reggae Choir for young people.