collabs

xoxo (2024)

my role: solo artist + curator of exhibition

while grieving his late friend, poet Alfred Tennyson penned this about love: “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” in xoxo, i explored the joy and grief at the junction of love and loss, and the tragic obstinance required to avoid heartbreak indefinitely. created between 2019-2024, the paintings in the exhibition served as a visual journal, documenting the resettling of my romantic and familial love life before and in the wake of the pandemic and global unrest of 2020. to honor my personal creative process of combining poetry and songwriting with painting, i hosted a special xoxo Reading featuring five womxn poets and authors from Baltimore. their selected readings mirrored the xoxo theme of love and loss.

phone booth confessions (2022-ongoing)

my role: artist + producer

in december 2022, i designed a traveling phonebooth installation that prompts individuals to record anonymous confessions related to themes of survival and rebirth via an audio guestbook device. the first instance of Phonebooth Confessions was produced as a part of Phoenix Rising, an exhibition of over 125 works of art created by members of the Phoenix Art Yard (see below). recordings of the Phonebooth Confessions will inform a forthcoming series of essays and collage art.

savage ranch artist residency (2022)

my role: resident artist

Savage Ranch exists for the creative. located in Temecula, CA, it is home to a vibrant community of artists, a photo and video shoot location, refuge for underprivileged LGBTQ+ and safe space for gatherings and music festivals. in March 2022, i participated in Savage Ranch’s artist residency program to create a 20’x8’ outdoor mural inspired by ancient greek erotica images/myths.

phoenix art yard (2020-2022)

my role: resident artist + curator

from july 2020 to march 2022, i served as a resident artist and curator at Baltimore’s Phoenix Art Yard, and a community arts liaison with Baltimore’s Southwest Partnership. my two-year residency culminated in an exhibition show on dec. 18, 2022, titled Phoenix Rising (featured in Baltimore Magazine). the show featured over 125 works of art by members of Baltimore’s Phoenix Art Yard exploring themes of survival and rebirth within their respective mediums.

self free (2021)

my role: artist-actor + creative strategist

Self Free is a music video directed and produced in 2021 by Baltimore-based The Curves Club and B. Classic Photography (Barry Blackwell). written and performed by Maryland-based musician Perrii (Gabrielle Boguslaw), Perrii’s song gives voice to the quiet compromises artists must often make to their creative lives in order to survive. she reminds us that in community we can nourish our artistic needs.

my dungeon shook, and the chains are off (2021)

my role: copywriter/editor + director

My Dungeon Shook, an essay by James Baldwin, was first published in 1962 in The Progressive. written as a letter to Baldwin’s nephew, the essay was intended to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. with a deep respect for Baldwin and his literary genius, Kevin Dedner, author of Joy of the Disinherited: Essays on Trauma, Oppression, and Black Mental Health, offered his 2021 version of the letter in film-form in commemoration of that year’s Black History Month.