Peace friends,
I am excited to share that I’ve been selected as one of the artists to participate in this year’s Artist in Residence program with the Baltimore Museum of Art, Joshua Johnson Council, and Maryland Institute College of Art. Having not held a residency since I graduated in Spring 2022, this moment brings me incredible joy. Not only was I selected for a competitive position, but I happened to be at the point in my art practice where I feel divinely guided towards my role as a cultural recordkeeper with printmaking as my medium.
Over the past six months, I’ve gone through many changes and intense transformations amid the chaos around the world. It has been a bittersweet journey with many ebbs, but fortunately, the flow of my consciousness never ceases. Holding onto the propensity to seek joy every day has afforded me spiritual connections with new acquaintances and deepened the ones with the people I hold dear. Considering myself now an established artist is synonymous with the recognition of my purpose as a lightworker and the impact it creates in today’s turbulent environment
In other words, I’ve come to accept the baton being passed down to me through land that continues to inform my calling as a community artist, printmaker, and land steward. Excited merely scratches the surface of how this residency and opportunity to preserve narratives that will ultimately make future others aware that Black queer and trans people have always existed - in all the joy and pain - makes me feel. We’ve thrived and managed to heal the world for many years even without reciprocated efforts.
The art that I am creating while in residency will eventually live outside of the white walls of a studio and within the nestle of Elm and Beech trees, streams that glow the color of turmeric with clear, cool water you could wade in, and the peaceful lull of the birds of a variety. Spirits too. This interaction of an ongoing archive will further emphasize our connection to nature and the diversity that reminds us of our humanity and our responsibility towards each other.