Vanessa Charlot: Preserving Democracy
Vanessa Charlot says she found photography by chance— it was through her mother’s encouragement. When the award-winning photographer and filmmaker was 12 years-old, her mother encouraged Charlot to go to an art school outside of her Little Haiti community. Her mother bought a disposable camera from Walgreens and told Charlot to go outside and take pictures. Charlot immediately knew where to go. She knew the mom and pop shops, the guys on the corner, the Jitney riders–this was the community she had grown up with. They invited her into their homes, their businesses, to tell the authentic story of her community that had seldom been shared with such intimacy and care.
Investing in Black Queer & Trans Leaders at Critical Junctures
What does it look like for queer Black leaders to have greater ease? We believe that early, robust funding catalyzes creativity, innovation, and sustainable impact. More than just funding, it is a way of saying we believe in you. We are with you. We have your back.
The Fifth Anniversary Cohort
The Fifth Anniversary Maven Leadership Cohort allowed us to find a deeper embrace of intuition and intimacy in the ways we heal, build power, and strengthen community. We are deeply grateful to the extraordinarily talented queer and trans social impact leaders of color and allies who accepted Maven’s invitation to join our community of learners. Together, we were able to dream big, experiment, collaborate, and share in a true sense of belonging.
“Give them their Flowers” pours love into Black, queer community
When Nadege Green, community historian and founder of Black Miami-Dade, sought out information on Miami’s queer Black community for a 2019 Pride project, she was struck by how little there was available. Immediately, she set out to correct the historical vacuum about Black queerness in Miami, while doing so in a way that told the nuanced, interiority of that experience–from the experts who lived it themselves.
View the ``Give Them Their Flowers`` Exhibit
Give Them Their Flowers is a first-of-its-kind exhibit to celebrate Miami’s Black LGBTQ+ history and comes at a critical time when Black and queer histories are under attack in Florida. This exhibit pays homage to Miami’s Black queer history by merging historical research, archival imagery, artifacts, oral histories, video and portraits of Black LGBTQ+ Miamians over the age of 40.
Michelle Lisa Polissaint Shares Her World in a New Visual Arts Commission Dedicated to Miami
Using photography, textiles, and community-centered initiatives to reflect the world through her intersectional lens, Polissaint is creating 40 mystery works for each Commissioner Collector member with support from Maven Leadership Collective. This new body of work will be unveiled on February 26 with the Commissioner and Maven communities and invited guests, replete with an artist conversation and bona fide karaoke session.
Celebrating QTPOC Leaders at Maven Rising
Maven Rising took over the New World Center to facilitate insightful conversations, inspire change, and celebrate the continuous work being done in the community to uplift and elevate queer and trans people of color.
Lip Service
Lip Service explores the tension between the rhetoric used to hold power and the language of liberation. Compelling visuals, sound, light, and the written word create an immersive experience that invites us to interrogate the public discourse on identity, solidarity, and progress. The piece’s structure and rhythm mirrors the familiar call and response of some faith traditions by juxtaposing expectations of grace with demands for acts. We are left to ponder our own contribution to building a more just, connected, and compassionate existence for all of us in society. Lip Service was commissioned to mark the fifth anniversary of Maven Leadership Collective.
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With Us: Maven Celebrates its Fifth Anniversary with a Homecoming Celebration
Maven turns five: a night filled with joy, community, and an eye towards the future. After two years of virtual meetings and celebrations, Maven Leadership Collective shared a warm embrace in celebration of our milestone fifth anniversary. Maven has been supporting and investing in queer and trans people of color since the inception of their signature leadership development program in 2017. For many of the Maven alumnx and friends, the night felt like a homecoming celebration.
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Art Lessons: Maven Draws From Artists to Create a More Equitable Culture
Maven’s dedication to the arts is clear in their partnership with Commissioner, an art membership program that helps everyday art lovers in cities collect the works of some of the most gifted local contemporary artists. Collecting art can be intimidating, either because people lack the network, the finances or the knowledge.
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New Partnership with Commissioner Celebrates Miami QTPOC Artist
Rising Miami-based artist Khánh Nguyên Hoàng Vũ (they/them) to present a groundbreaking new performance work, commissioned by local arts membership program Commissioner in partnership with Maven Leadership Collective and the Mitchell Wolfson, Sr. Foundation, that explores conversation as portals and containers for abundance.
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Our Problems Are Entangled, But So Are Our Solutions
This pandemic continues to show us how interconnected our communities are—if something affects one of us, it affects all of us. Our problems are entangled, but so are our solutions. Queer and trans people of color continue to lead the way in resilience and innovation. With more support, we can make sure everyone benefits from the solutions being created.
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The Philanthropic Gap Between Intention and Impact
By seeking out and inviting diverse excellence into our decision-making processes, we can create more innovative solutions, more resilient communities, and more meaningful change. When strategic decisions are made by people without relevant lived experience and understanding of the communities they want to serve, the impact of those decisions may be inadequate, ineffective, and harmful.
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Fierce & Unbothered: A Liberation Testimony
Filmed in the Historic Hampton House in Miami’s Brownsville neighborhood, “Fierce & Unbothered” is a declaration of Black queer struggles and liberation. The music video juxtaposes archival footage of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s with current movements for Black freedom from police violence, homophobia, and transphobia.
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Operationalizing Your Equity Aspirations: A Practitioner’s Guide
We created this report, “81 Reasons You Are Missing Out on the Next Big Thing” to highlight the need for early, robust, and consistent investment in QTPOC-led organizations—not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it makes our organizations and leaders more innovative, effective, and responsive to the needs of our communities.