Jan 2005 - Jan 2016
Since its founding in 2005, Chances Dances has sought to create a safe space for all gender expressions by bringing together the varied LGBTIQ communities of Chicago. The creation of the Critical Fierceness grant expanded upon this goal by offering a unique platform, funding queer thinking and expression through art made by individuals or groups who identify themselves or their work as queer. The Critical Fierceness Grant supported the development and realization of queer artwork through project-based financial assistance of up to $500, funded by donations, bar proceeds, and admission to our resident monthly events at Subterranean and Dannys Tavern.
Funding was further expanded with the Mark Aguhar Memorial Grant: Chicago's first grant for trans-identified artists of color.
As a founding organizer, I sat on the selection committee that reviewed and awarded grants each cycle.
Website
Dimensions: 6.75 x 9", 252 pages
Materials: Paperback, full color
Platforms: 10 Years of Chances Dances
Platforms: Ten Years of Chances Dances features work from the citywide retrospective of the same name commemorating a decade of queer nightlife, artworks and interventions by Chances organizers, community members, and Critical Fierceness grantees and finalists. The Platforms catalogue, published at the end of 2015, features full color documentation of all eight Platforms exhibitions, the three-month schedule of performances and parties, and ephemera from Chances' ten-year herstory.
Purchase from Buddy Gallery
Mar 2008 - Dec 2010
Fire This Time Fund is an all volunteer organized, independent giving circle. It supported small-scale, creative social change projects initiated by local artists, educators and organizers who weave an analysis of racial, economic, social, environmental, or gender justice into their work.
The fund prioritized the channeling of project-based funds to informal groups working in atypical ways, inside and outside of the non-profit model, without access or ties to extensive institutional support.
Website + Grant Recipients
2003 - 2005
I launched QueerKit, a website showcasing and mobilizing queer brilliance, in 2003 as a resource for alternative LGBTQ culture. It featured interviews, band biographies + tour dates, a directory of queer-friendly venues, a forum, and artist profiles and gallery openings.
I covered Allison Smith's, The Muster in NYC, interviewed AA Bronson (from Canadian art collective, General Idea), interviewed Kief Hillsbery (author of Warboy), and traveled to Olympia, WA for Homo-a-gogo.
Prior to social media (Facebook launched in 2004), this was a unique networking opportunity for queer people across the world.
