Our Story //
When I founded Sour Lemons, I was riddled with survivors guilt – Why me? Why am I the only person ‘allowed’ to sit at this table? Surely all of those incredible people over there should be here too?
I’ve been a cultural producer and strategist for the last ten years with the mandate to make the inside of cultural buildings reflect the outside. I became the poster girl for all things diversity and a celebrated anomaly.
Sitting at a table with people who all look and sound the same is mediocre at best, and infuriating at worst.
It’s an injustice that the smallest part of society – the white, formally educated & most privileged part – form the majority of creative decision makers, who get to tell stories on behalf of us all. What a narrow lens.
A year into launching Making LEMONADE – Our flagship creative leadership programme for young leaders who have experienced a ‘sour lemon’ or two in life – the systems designed to prevent people like me from reaching the top became a lot clearer. Continuing to only focus on the individual making lemonade was repeating my experiences of assimilation and I had no choice. Once you know, you know.
So I designed Enabling Environments to interrogate systems of oppression and put the responsibility back on to the organisations to change – not the individual. Systemic racism is not a new concept, but the amplification of Black Lives Matter has taken the conversation to a new level. And we are here for it.
Our model involves tooling up our Young Leaders to hold mirrors & interrogate decision making through intentional questioning. We work with a team of Intersectional Experts to ensure we are coming at it from all angles & we don’t focus on quick wins or short term solutions. This work is in depth and systemic which means it won’t be ‘fixed’ overnight.
Sade Banks
Founder and Chief Executive
Our Tribe //
Sour Lemons is made up of some amazing minds with a blend of talents and lived experience. We’re building an organisation that is inclusive in theory and practise.
Our Trustees //
The Sour Lemons trustees have been hand-picked to support our mission with a variety of brilliant minds. Our trustees keep our Lemonade fizzy with expertise, accountability and being radically generous giving their time to Sour Lemons.
Mentors //
These folx are helping nurture our Young Leaders by being radically generous with their time, sharing their stories and building lasting relationships as part of the Making Lemonade programme.
Alumni //
Our Making Lemonade alumni are making waves in the creative and cultural sectors, disrupting the spaces they are taking up and, importantly, leaving ladders down for future leaders.
Young Leaders //
Meet the Young Leaders class of 2020. It’s been a tough year and the programme has had to adapt, due to some additional sour lemons in the form of Covid-19, but they’ve taken it all in their stride and well and truly made LEMONADE!