BLACK TRANS MEDIA
Reframing the value and worth of Black Trans people in NYC and beyond
through arts/media/political education/and community organizing
#blacktranseverything #blacktransfutures #blacktransloveiswealth #spaceistheplace
"50(00) Years of Black Trans Resistance" - Mural created by Black Trans Media in 2019
In April 2019 Black Trans Media launched a Mural Arts Program and we created our historic mural “50(00) Years of Black Trans Resistance” depicting the history, legacy, and power of black trans and gender non conforming people in NYC.
For 3 months we worked together in collaboration with Groundswell Community Mural Project and a small team of Black Trans youth and community to design, research, and create our mural. That August 2019 in honor of Marsha P. Johnsons, a NYC pioneer, birthday we hosted a small unveiling of the mural.This mural is the first and only public arts project about Black Trans youth in NYC. Our collaborating partner Groundswell Community Mural Project has created hundreds of murals for social change across the city in partnership with all sorts or organizations, businesses, and corporations.
Specifics: The 20X15 mural "50(00) Years of Resistance" depicts the history of resistance for black/trans people. In the first layer of the mural the history of Black folks and Black Trans folks is depicted through a series of hieroglyphics mixed with depicted images of our Mural Arts Program artists as ancestors and warriors. The central figure in the mural is Marsha P. Johnson a Black Trans pioneer rising out of the pier water surrounded by community; mobilizing, organizing, resisting, sleeping on benches at the pier. We pay honor to intergenerational transcestors Islan Nettles a young Black Trans women who was attacked and killed in Harlem 2013 propelling Black Trans Media's founding and Phoenix Nastasha Russell a Black Trans poet instrumental to Black Trans Media who passed away in 2019. With themes of afrofuturism and spirituality the sky depicts the roots of a tree which become a pregnant person being taken by an alien ship referencing reproductive justice, gender self determination, healing and racial justice as a black trans women steps just beyond the Brooklyn bridge.
If you are interested in setting up a meeting to discuss our mural project being exhibited or temporarily installed at/on your space please contact us.
