The pain of witnessing recent and ongoing attacks on Armenians in Artsakh and beyond is deep, and I have struggled to connect with others in communal grieving spaces because of my identity as queer/ trans. This project serves as a safe space for queer/trans diasporic Armenian artists to explore their culture in a time when it is being actively displaced in lands of origin and when LGBTQ+ Armenian identity is rejected by the Armenian diaspora community. It could not be more aligned with IAM’s mission to empower independent art that fosters community participation and facilitates cultural engagement and free expression. It enables the queer and trans Armenian community members and artists to come together, share space, experience grief and resilience, and engage with cultural traditions freely which are otherwise removed from us due to homophobia and transphobia.
