2022 Archives Research Fellowships Awarded
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Philadelphia, PA, September 26, 2022 -- William Way LGBT Community Center is pleased to announce the awarding of four short-term fellowships for research in our John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives this fall. The four awardees, chosen from a strong pool of applicants, are Simone Austin, Elio Colavito, Keesean Moore, and Zach Ozma.
The Archives fellowship program funds researchers and/or research topics representing women, people of color, and/or trans and gender non-conforming individuals or communities, and is supported by a Community-based Archives grant from The Mellon Foundation.
Simone Austin (she/they), a graduate of the University of Delaware (BA in Black American Studies and MA in History), will undertake research for an archives-based art installation project titled, “Calling all Black lesbians and bisexuals: Hotline to our future past selves.”
Reimagining the history of a hotline for Black lesbians and bisexual women throughout Delaware history, Simone says: “The topic came to me when trying to understand my own history as someone who has identified as a Black lesbian and bisexual throughout their life. And trying to find ancestors, I realized there was no written documentation of history and lives [of] Black lesbians and bisexuals in Delaware that one could reach for. This project seeks to explore the real and fictionalization relationships and resources that Black lesbians and bisexual women had access throughout history in the state of Delaware.”
Elio Colavito (they/them) holds degrees from Eastern Michigan University (BSc in History and Political Science), the University of Toronto (MA in History), and is currently a PhD student in History with a collaborative specialization in Sexual Diversity Studies. Elio will be conducting research in support of their dissertation called, “Chasing Transtopia: Trans Mutual Aid, Activism, and Community Building, 1970-2010.”
“Many scholars have researched and analyzed trans medical and political histories,” says Elio, “but little work has been done to uncover the robust history of grassroots trans organizing around resource sharing, healthcare, and solidarity politics.”
Keesean Moore (he/him), a graduate of The College of New Jersey (BA in English Literature), is a freelance poet and writer who has published in Scalawag Magazine, Gertrude Press, Wussy Magazine, Metal Magazine, Architectural Digest, i-D and more. Through research in the Archives, Moore seeks to uncover and employ in his writing evidence of the Black queer experience in Philadelphia, what he calls “the truth that we are here and we’ve always been here.”
Moore goes on to say, “Philadelphia is home to an abundance of important Black queer history, from the height of the AIDS epidemic and beyond.” His larger project will be the completion of his poetry manuscript and the publishing of a collaborative PRIDE capsule collection.
Zach Ozma (he/him) holds a BFA in Community Arts from the California College of the Arts and is the co-editor of the Lambda Literary Award winning, We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan (1961-1991) (Nightboat Books, 2019). In the Archives, Zach will conduct research for his next book project, an image-heavy survey of visual art made by trans people in the 20th century.
Zach says, “I envision it as a glossy coffee table book with full color plates of art works, brief bios of the artists; essays on the artworks by contemporary greats of trans studies, art history, and visual studies; and interviews with living artists represented in the book. A major impetus for the project is to establish a canon of trans art history.”
Each awardee will spend a minimum of 30 hours in the Archives between September 15 and December 15, will produce a short report on their findings, and will be awarded $1,500 upon the completion of their residency.
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The mission of the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives is to collect, describe, interpret, and provide access to publications, personal papers, organizational and business records, audiovisual materials, and ephemera created by, dealing with, or of special interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
The William Way LGBT Community Center seeks to engage and support the diverse LGBTQIA+ communities in the greater Philadelphia area through arts & culture, empowerment, and community connections. We want all LGBTQIA+ people to feel safe, connected, and empowered. We strive to be a community center whose staff, management, and board reflect the vibrant and richly diverse communities we serve.
For more information please contact archives@waygay.org.