Hi! My name is Golden. I'm a photographer, educator, and poet based in Boston, Massachusetts. I'm raising funds to help support my first national book tour in 2025-2026 for my forthcoming book Reprise (releasing on April 15th) and to support photography work during my first MacDowell Residency in May 2025.

Since 2020, I've been dedicating my life to documenting Black trans and nonbinary life at the intersections of surviving and living in the United States. Whether working on projects like the Queer Art 2024 Community Portrait Project, A DEAD NAME THAT LEARNED HOW TO LIVE with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Roots & Futures with UnBound Bodies Collective, or focusing on my ongoing self-portriature series On Learning How to Live my goal has always been to build a living archive of Black trans aliveness in the US, contrary to what the world envisions for us:

For tomorrow's revolt, 2024, Hampton, Virginia

I am home in the arms of the armed, 2022, Boston, MA

From the most marvelous magicians this world done’ever called mother

I'm Never Alone (installation), Beacon Street Gallery, 2023-2024

As you might know, over the past 4 months various anti-trans legislation passed in the United States has directly impacted trans & nonbinary artists' ability to gain funding for our creative practices and projects. From targeted attacks on our cultural centers, to criminalizing our identification documents, to directly removing grants/funding that reference "gender idealogy", to removing funders altogether under the guise of anti-DEI movements. This paired with rising costs of rent, food, and living makes it hard for someone like me to up and travel around the country to do the work that I love so much!

Through all the personal and political chaos of the past year, I was able to find a little rainbow in my cloud and was selected to embark on my first MacDowell Residency this upcoming May. This residency will allow me to live in New Hampshire for four weeks in a B&W wet lab live/work photo studio to create new works without the stress of meal prepping, access, or outside factors. For the first time in 5 years, I'll get the space and time to build 3D photo sculptures and continue towards more photographic-based installation work for my upcoming solo exhibition this summer with Pen & Brush Gallery, featuring photographs I took from the Queer Art 2024 Community Portrait Project!

With that being said, over the next month, I'm looking to fundraise:

My initial goal of $2000 is to meet the most time-sensitive costs towards my travel and living over the next month. After my goal of $2000 is met, I will spend the rest of the month directly fundraising for additional funds to offset costs towards my solo exhibition.

Other ways to support:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for any donations, support, and shares! Without your support over the years, I couldn't have made any of this work possible ♥