July 20, 6:15 pm
In the wake of public tragedies like the Grenfell Tower Fire, formal routes to truth and accountability can be painfully slow. They are often shaped by institutional and legal constraints, rather than the needs of those most affected. Public inquiries may establish facts, but opportunities for meaningful testimony and community participation can be limited, while prosecutions and reform remain uncertain.
Using Grenfell as a central case study, this event will explore how creative and community-centred approaches to testimony and memory can open up alternative ways to be heard. Our panel will discuss Grenfell Testimony Week— a platform for bereaved families, survivors and residents to testify in the presence of those that many of them deemed responsible for the fire — and explore the power of verbatim theatre, alongside the role of the arts in memorialisation. They will consider how testimony can reach the wider public, preserve memory, and communicate the scale and human experience of injustice in ways official processes cannot.
Following the recent announcement that up to 20 organisations and 57 individuals could face criminal charges over their role in the fire, our panel will explore what is required for justice beyond official procedure, what creative and community-centred approaches can and cannot achieve, and whether these models could play a greater role in responding to other tragedies.
Event Schedule
6:15pm: Pre-event socialising and networking
A cash bar will be available for refreshments.
6:30pm: Event begins
7:30pm: Event ends
Speakers
Gillian Slovo is a South African born novelist and playwright. Her thirteen published books include her Orange Prize Ice Road and Red Dust which won France’s Temoin du Monde prize and was made into a film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Hilary Swank, and her best selling family memoir Every Secret Thing. Gillian also specialises in verbatim theatre. Her plays include Guantanamo-Honor Bound to Defend Freedom which played in the Tricycle Theatre and then the Ambassador’s in London’s West End as well as in New York, Washington DC and Chicago and other world theatres: her latest verbatim was Grenfell – In the Words of Survivors which was put on in the National Theatre as well as St. Anns’s Warehouse in New York. Gillian is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Minnie Rahman is the CEO of Praxis, an award-winning migrant’s rights charity based in London, and Chair of Together With Refugees Coalition. Minnie was most recently the Chief Coordinator for Grenfell Testimony Week in 2024. She previously held a variety of senior positions at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, including Interim Chief Executive, where she led strategic advocacy with decision-makers and sector partners. Minnie is an active spokesperson for migrants’ rights and experienced with empowering people with lived experience to gain the skills, expertise and confidence to champion their own cause.
Naomi Oppenheim joined INQUEST in 2022 to deliver heritage-focused projects as the organistion turned 40. This included making the organisation’s archive publicly available at Bishopsgate Institute and co-developing creative approaches to memorialisation and campaigning. As of May 2026, Naomi leads INQUEST’s Grenfell-related work. Part of the policy team, she works on public accountability and access to justice campaigns. With a background in research, heritage and community engagement she completed her PhD on Caribbean publishing and activism at UCL and the British Library in 2022. She has 10 years’ experience crossing the cultural heritage and social justice sectors, and is committed to using co-productive practices as a channel to imagine and action more just and equitable futures.
Gracie Mae Bradley is a writer and strategist concerned with what it means for people to live flourishing lives. She is co-author of Against Borders, and her other works span essay, fiction and poetry, with a broad range of bylines in national media. She is former Director of Liberty and Grenfell Testimony Week.
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