- S
- J
Hi everyone,
We’re Aja Lenae and Zoë Boston, leaseholders of the House of Light and Water, a group of five Black Queer neurodivergent multi-disciplinary creatives with a dream to transform our Oakland home into a vibrant artist hub and sanctuary. We envision the House of Light and Water as a space where Black and Brown Queer Trans artists can create, rest, organize, dance, jam, and find mentorship and connection. Keeping this home feels especially crucial given the current social/political shifts threatening our livelihood as a community. We want to keep this home in acknowledgement of the reality that things are getting more difficult and we will need each other more and more.
Why We Need Your Help Now:
We intended to use the return of our previous lease deposit to pay the balance when we transferred the lease for this home into our names. Unfortunately, the previous leaseholder denied us our portions of the previous deposit “because we decided to stay”. (We know this is not legal, but we do not have the luxury of time or resources to fight it, and the money is surely long gone.) We now need to raise an additional $2235 BEFORE OCTOBER 15TH to fully pay our deposit and be 100% secure in our lease takeover.
We wish this public update came sooner but things have not gotten easier since March as we’re navigating the devastating loss of loved ones, loss of employment, and community safety concerns atop the mounting poly crises of this country and planet. Amongst us, we have already faced furlough and loss of other creative opportunities as a direct result of federal cuts since first reaching out for community support to secure our home in March. We are so tired and need just a little more support in this final push
An Update from our March 2025 Campaign:
Back in March, Zoe and Aja found themselves at a crossroads — with less than one month’s notice we were given two options: either move out April 1st or take on a new lease that would give us a chance to reimagine this home. With our initial mutual aid ask, y'all rallied to help us raise the funds to:
- Cover the gap in April’s missing rent from housemates moving out
- Pay enough of the deposit to secure the lease turnover
- Cover the gap in May + June’s missing rent while we interviewed to find 3 new housemates whose identities, values, and hearts aligned with the intention of the home. (We ended up needing to cover much of July as well because the search took longer. The day after we started our housemate search, we got the news that a beloved friend passed away and the grief demanded slowness. )
We truly could not have done it without those of you who not only donated but, offered your labor, art, encouragement, and deep loving presence. We are so grateful for the love. The house is now full as of July and we are finding our grounding as a home with future dreams of holding space for community. Three new folks at once is a big transition and we want to be intentional in honoring that.
Why House of Light and Water?
House of Light and Water has been a home for Queer Women of Color and QTBIPoC folks for over two decades, a dream and prayer passed down from its original matriarch A Black Queer Elder — We want to honor that prayer in our vision for creativity, growth, and community. Our intention is to cultivate a space where:
Art and crafts nights are regular events.
Affordable rent prices and mutual aid sustain our artivist practices
Jam sessions and performances fill the house with music and poetry
Younger Black Queer artists can find mentorship, space, and support.
Creativity and healing thrive through communal energy and an ethos of family
Our extended community can gather and create
*creative offerings held by this home through past iterations:
Black Salt Collective
How You Can Help
We believe in the power of community, and we know this vision can’t happen without your support. Here’s how you can contribute:
Donate: Any amount helps! $20, $50, $100 — every bit brings us closer to stability.
Zoë’s art: Zoë Boston is an award-winning muralist, artist, singer, songwriter and dancer. Her Afrofuturistic art blends elements of surrealism and spirituality. Her community murals can be found in West Oakland (8th Street & Pine Street), in East Oakland at the Fruitvale BART station (35th Ave & East 12th Street), and at the Kapor Center in Downtown Oakland.
*Our GoFundMe Goal amount will be updated to include any income from these art sales
*no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to your GoFundMe.
Share our story: If you can’t donate, sharing this campaign widely means the world to us!
Thank you for believing in us and our vision. Let’s make something beautiful together.
With love and gratitude,
Zoë Boston and Aja Lenae