Hello, my name is abdu mongo ali and I am an electronic musician, poet, writer and cross-disciplinary artist from Baltimore. I've been working almost 15 years as an independent artist and I have been a resident with Red Bull Music, Pioneer Works and was a visiting artist at the Brown Arts Institute. I also presented lectures and talks at Harvard University, Stanford University, Towson University and I my poetry has been supported by Bread Loaf, I was the Inaugural Alice and Franklin Cooley Composer in Residence at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Ali holds a MFA in Literary Arts from Brown University.

This year, I accepted an offer to pursue a PhD in Music and Multimedia Composition back at my alma mater Brown University, which will begin this Fall. This past year, has been a bumpy ride for me, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually as I've been dealing with so much grief and life hurdles. I've been nomadic for an entire year, moving constantly and having trouble finding stable income. This PhD program is not all only an opportunity to continue to invest in my intellectual and artistic practice but also to regain domestic and financial stability.

As you may know, it's been a precarious year for many Black LGBTQ artists, writers and thought leaders, as we've been dealing with a political climate that is dramatically changing the job/gig industry for opportunities in the arts and humanities. Like many of my peers, my income has been dramatically affected by the mass defunding that many arts and cultural institutions have been facing in these last two years.

With that said, this Go Fund Me is would help support my relocation back to Providence, contributing to moving costs, two months of rent and to help me catch up on bills/debt that has built up within the last year. I want to say thank you to my community and supporters who have always unconditionally supported me in these 15 years and it means the world to have you have my back. Thank you for always understanding that the life of an artist, especially those who exist within the margins, isn't a crystal stair and that we often need the support of our rhizome to continue to do the work.

With Gratitude,

abdu mongo ali