Protect Trans Dreams - Fully funded! Thank you!!!

Hi, I'm Noah Grigni, a trans artist and community worker in need of support. For the past three years, I have been working on a community empowerment project, essentially for free. I am burnt out, financially drained, emotionally exhausted, and finally ready to ask for help.

 

About my project: since 2019, I have been working on my exhibition Protect Trans Dreams, currently on display at Boston Children's Museum. Protect Trans Dreams is a community-based art project celebrating trans joy, created in collaboration with local trans kids and their families. The show is up until July 24th -- if you're in Boston, go see it! You can see the paintings, and read more about the project, here. This work, like all of my work, is rooted in my burning desire to provide trans kids in my community with the resources and representation that I lacked growing up. This project means so much to me, and I want to continue it, but I need your help.

 

Why I'm fundraising: the museum was able to offer me a small stipend for this show, but it does not begin to cover the costs of organizing the project over the past three years, meeting with the families, creating the paintings, and traveling to and from Boston. I have lost a lot of money doing this, and I do not hope to make it back or break even, I just want to get back on my feet. I lost my apartment and had to move out of Boston last year, as a result of working for free for so long. I am now living in Georgia with my parents -- and while I love them a lot, I would really like to be independent again.

I have poured my heart into this work, and really suffered financially for it. I am now in a position where I cannot afford to return to Boston at the end of the summer to deinstall the show. I can take responsibility for my own decisions, for choosing to pursue this work, knowing that this might happen. And, I can humbly ask my community for support.

 

If I raise $1000, I can return to Boston at the end of July to deinstall the show, and transport the paintings to the families. (The paintings are theirs to keep!) This is the bare minimum to finish the project.

 

If I raise $2000, I can visit Boston in June and organize a Pride event around the show, celebrating trans kids and their families! I'd also like to host an art workshop for trans adults, focusing on reclaiming childhood dreams.

 

If I raise $3000... I can start thinking about continuing this project beyond Boston. I would love to do this again my hometown, Atlanta, with a new group of kids. Disclaimer: I have a lot of other work to finish first, so it would take me a while! The initial work of organizing another show would include applying for grants, reaching out to local museums and galleries, and connecting with local trans families.

My goal is $5000, which would allow me to get back on my feet, feel like a person again, and dedicate substantial time to organizing another Protect Trans Dreams show in Atlanta. I really believe this work matters, and I want to do it again -- just not for free this time. If it's something my community wants, then it's something I want to do.

 

Please share, support, and donate if you can. I really appreciate any help I can get.

 

With love and gratitude,

 

Noah