For the last three years, I have been making large scale ceramic installations in the service of performance, utilizing ceramic tile, ceramic vessels, and raw clays. My focus has been on developing a conversation around the sacred, drawing from religious motifs of varying eras, beliefs, and countries. My artwork is a process that involves extensive planning, drafting, research, training of other performers for pieces that require multiple bodies, and months of preparation for durational performance. Sometimes works emerge after a few weeks, but my most recent series involved works that required up to a whole year to build. 

The last two years have been exceptionally busy, and my first two years out in the professional art field. Numerous things transpired over 2019: I had my first solo show at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; I was published in Emergency Index V. 8, a performance index that is released every year; I had a total of ten exhibitions, solo and group; and two invitational live performances. Some of these opportunities were organized by myself, but many of these opportunities were orchestrated by others who generously brought me into their fold. I was invited to participate in a performance / ceramics cohort at the 2019 NCECA, in a show called “Wet: Performing Utopia-Z,” organized by Marvel A Rex. This last October, I was invited to be a part of the Queeramics Symposium held at Louisiana State, organized by Ian Park, where I was both in the gallery show with a video piece, and performed live as a separate event. 

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Earlier in 2019 year, I was invited by an MFA candidate at Kunstakademie Munster to perform with a group of womxn (originally slated for late summer of 2020, and has now been rescheduled due to COVID-19). At the same time that this invite arrived, I had decided that I would be applying for grad school, hoping to begin in fall of 2020. Additionally, this invite landed in my lap during a period in which I wanted to broaden the scope of my work. Previously, my artwork has dealt with questions of the self, systems of suffering and flourishing, and the sacred. I have been working to expand that window of questioning, bringing in concerns and desires regarding environmental activism and how those questions folded into feminism. Further, I have been working to develop a visual language for personal agency in the face of larger existential issues- such as our climate crisis.

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This invite to perform in Germany left me a bit breathless, and after the whirlwind 2019 had been of moving from exhibition to exhibition, I realized that I am capable of aiming higher. I didn't believe I could reach for more without having an MFA, which was a strange, nonsensical, left-over idea of what I could and could not due thanks to my five and half years in academia. This invite inspired a performance art tour and research expedition, wherein I will be performing and exhibiting in multiple locations in Germany. Simultaneously, I will be gathering information and doing research into contemporary art and historic artifacts that I previously would not have had access to- all of which surround and entwine environmental and social concerns; the macro and microcosms of feminism. It is my hope that this venture becomes the groundwork for new, more robust work, and to establish a more firm and vast idea of what roles content-heavy, question-saturated art can play in society. Much has happened in the year since launching this fundraiser, including not getting into any of the grad programs I had applied for. It is an understatement to say that I am deeply relieved I didn't get into school this year- I have no desire to begin that journey amidst a pandemic.

Not getting into school has been the sweetest boon, and now I find myself on the hunt for more information to continue expanding my practice and becoming ever more entrenched in my work. I see more possibilities for myself than I have ever before, because I can now see that there are many roles that I can play as an artist. I do not have to adhere myself to the academic track. An additional aspect of this trip is, at its core, professional development. I want to see what  else one is able to do out in the world, as a working artist. 

 

In 2020, despite the pandemic and the much needed civil unrest that has gripped the USA, I have done my best to remain active in my studio as well as pay attention to what is unfolding in my country socially, economically, and more. I had originally launched this fundraiser (and released this promotional video) in October, 2019, thinking that I would be in Germany in July, 2020. I also thought I was a shoo-in for the grad programs I was applying to. Little did I see the pandemic, economic downturn, or massive resurgence in the fight for civil rights in lieu of unchecked police brutality on the horizon. Nor did I see that I would be rejected from the grad programs I had applied to for being perceived as too performance based in my practice. I stopped posting or advertising this fundraiser, as it felt inappropriate to push for my wants and desires for a small, self-serving tour amidst so much unrest that needed far more attention. Additionally, it is postponed until the EU lets Americans onto the European continent again- and who knows when that may be. It still feels inappropriate to promote something as privileged as this tour and research trip when black people, especially black trans citizens, were and are in much steeper need for life-preserving funds. I am putting this fundraiser here, and while I will occasionally post about it- and I am so deeply grateful for any financial support I receive-, I hope that before you donate to me, you put your funds towards organizations that support our black siblings. Next to the button for my GoFundMe is a button that takes you to a link with a master list of orgs / venmos still actively taking donations.

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Additionally, I will be donating 10% of all sales on fundraising objects I make and sell to organizations supporting our black siblings as well as the Navajo Nation. 


A Breakdown of Funds

I am hoping to raise about $5,500 for this trip, so that I can extend my stay to a full three weeks.

The main costs of this trip lay in the following:

Airfare, transportation once in Germany, hostels and food, museum fees, gallery / representation fees, material costs, and shipping fees. At the same time that this is happening, I must be able to afford everyday life costs, which are ever present and real, no matter how far one travels- rent, student loan payments, car insurance, etc. 

The general breakdown is as follows, which are rough estimates-

My airplane ticket is my first big purchase, and will need to happen in January- $800-$1200

Transportation (UBahn, taxis, etc)- $200

Hostels / AirBNB (for 2-3 weeks)- $850-$1000

Food (for 2-3 weeks)- $450

Representation fees (the charges for utilizing gallery spaces / insurance deposit / getting promoted by said galleries)- $900

Museums / gallery tickets (for multiple days of researching and visiting)- $200

Material costs for work produced while there (everything from materials for installation, to hard drive to document the work, to memory cards for my camera, and costs of transporting materials once I am in Germany, and so forth) - $925

International Shipping (I will need to get some supplies to Germany via mail...and then get them back!!)- $500

Life expenses (I still have to pay rent, pay my student loan bill, car insurance, etc)- $500


And also, within all of this, I have to convert most of these funds into Euros.


I am currently applying to grants left and right, and hunting down additional opportunities to help fund my stay in Germany. I am currently developing plans for events and performances to help raise funds for this very ambitious expedition, and working on a round of sales of my current work to fund my tour. It is a big sum of money to fundraise, but any little bit you can spare to help me with this tour, run of exhibitions, and research is deeply appreciated.