THE ARCHIVE

Preface

This still-to-be-named living archive sprouted in graduate school as I was studying for my Master’s of Fine Arts in Community Arts. I learned about oral narratives and conducted one-on-one interviews with neighbors and community members to learn more about their connections to Baltimore. That experience, my affinity for plant life, and my ongoing unpacking of my relationship to my gender led to my thesis research on biodiversity in nature, its healing capacities, and its influence on how we live as a collective. My research involved interviewing individuals in the LGBTQ+ community in the Baltimore City area, where I began using printmaking and first-person recollections not only to hold sacred space for vulnerability, visibility, and connection, but also to preserve language, culture, and the joy of living authentically despite the oppressive practices and policies against Black queer and trans people in today’s society.

Your donation will help support purchasing materials, paying interviewees for their contributions to the Black queer and trans archive, and any travel and production expenses associated with each iteration.