Join Us in Launching the Rooted Resilience Podcast

Going LIVE in the Spring of 2025, “Rooted Resilience: Intersectional Narratives of 2SLGBTQIA+ Creatives in Western Massachusetts'' is a podcast, multimedia blog, and discussion series exploring and preserving the intersectional narratives of contemporary 2SLGBTQIA+ creatives living on colonized Nipmuc, Nonotuck, and Pocumtuc land. We seek to preserve and amplify the voices of marginalized contemporary creatives and their often overlooked contributions to the cultural and social fabric of the state.

For the creatives we feature, the project provides a platform to share their creative and personal histories and present-day explorations in resilience and community through a holistic lens, validating and uplifting their experiences and contributions. We see the work of preserving the rich 2SLGBTQIA+ history of this region for the community-at-large as a privilege and a joyful obligation. In that, we are intentionally creating visual and audio experiences and dialogues that are accessible to all within our community.

The production costs for this first year of a podcast, multimedia blog, and discussion series is $40,000. These costs cover research, production, labor, honoraria for participants, distribution, marketing and low-to-no cost access to the monthly discussion series. We are seeking $10,000 from YOU, our community, to serve as a fiscal anchor for additional grant writing and sponsorship opportunities.

The podcast will be produced by Luc Abbott & M Rudder with the support of Bloom Local, fiscal sponsorship from BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity and contributions from these community sponsors: High Five Books, The Tiny Activist, and Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market.

You can sign up here to receive email updates about this project and follow us on IG @rootedresiliencepod.

About Luc & M:

Lucas Abbott (they/he) is the owner and founder of Bloom Local and has been cultivating and queering platforms and spaces that foster collective growth in the River Valley of Western Mass since 2021. Bloom Local’s mission is to unite locals with 2SLGBTQIA+-friendly businesses and organizations, nurturing a community where a culture of support blooms. Since its founding, Bloom Local has served more than 50 local 2SLGBTQIA+-owned and -allied small businesses and organizations through its Community Guide and Partner Program and through hosting 25 2SLGBTQIA+-focused networking, cultural, and educational events, welcoming more than 400 event attendees

M Rudder (they/them) is an artist, entrepreneurial creative, and spiritual director who co-creates spaces, relationships, and experiences that affirm, center, delight, and strengthen under-represented intersectional communities and individuals. Their work includes partnership development, event programming for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and caretakers, co-founding and managing Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market, and their work as a Spiritual Director within the 2SLGBTQ+ community and the Bombyx Fellows program. Each of these is a reflection of their commitment to cultivating a deep and meaningful space for interconnection, agency, and resilience.