JOHN PAILLÉ

Medika Thorpe.

Gunai, Gunditjmara and Gooreng Gooreng.

I first met Medika in Toronto while she was working for

A great example of an Aboriginal woman working in community, supporting other Indigenous peoples.

Mitch Hibbens.
Wiradjuri.

Iya Ware.

Torres Strait Islander and Bissau-Guinean (Africa).

The Torres Strait is a grouping of over 200 islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea, and the peoples, Torres Strait Islanders are distinct from Aboriginal peoples in Australia. Similar to how the Inuit are distinct from First Nations in Canada.

I met Iya shortly after seeing her perform in the play Te Molimau, a play directed by and starring Indigenous peoples while it was in Sydney. I always enjoy meeting and photographing other Indigenous creatives. It’s refreshing to learn how others got their start and where they hope to go. Some grew up surrounded by the arts, having parents that are artists as well, while others are the first in the families to make a go as artists.

Chi miigwech to Iya for taking the time for posing for the series, and to Emele Ugavule for sharing my posts looking for people to post, resulting in Iya and I connecting.

Jeremy Ambrum

Yidinji, Birri Gubba, and South Sea Islander.

I met Jeremy while he was starring in the play, City of Gold. One of the many talented Aboriginal actors in Sydney. The play, written by actor and first time playwright Meyne Wyatt. The play focused on events unfolding in an Aboriginal family, starring Jeremy, Meyne, Shari Sebbens, and Mathew Cooper. His performance was one to remember (as they all were) in a play that focuses on the racism and police brutality experienced by Aboriginal people in Australia.

Jeremy and I met up in Redfern, known as the Aboriginal neighbourhood in Sydney. A fitting place to photograph members of the Aboriginal community. I very much look forward to seeing what roles he does in the future.

#Aboriginal #SouthSeaIslander #Yidinji #BirriGubba #Australia #Indigenous #FirstNations #IndigenousPortraitSeries #ContactAustraliaSeries #Portrait #Photography #Redfern #Sydney #Actor #Theatre

Elaine Crombie

Pitjanjtajtarra, Warrigmal, South Sea Islander

Elaine is one of the people I met originally through Facebook before we met in person. I got a friend request with a message that read, “Hi John, I saw your profile pic and saw you had such an open spirit and face and that we have several mutual friends.” I think most people that know Elaine, know how friendly, caring, and outgoing she is. Known for her roles Black Comedy, Redfern now, Top End Wedding, as well as her the many theatre productions she’s been in. In 2019 she won the Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical at the Helpmann Awards.

We met for photos after she filmed an episode of Faboriginal on NITV. We had a great chat about the arts, being Indigenous and the commonalities we have among our peoples, such as the importance of family. She’s a dedicated mother, auntie, sis, to many.

I think many that know her will agree that this portrait captures her essence. The talent this woman has is astounding. Always puts a smile on my face seeing the amazing things she does.

#Pitjanjtajtarra #Warrigmal #South Sea Islander #Aboriginal #Australia #IndigenousPortraitSeries #ContactAustraliaSeries #Indigenous #FirstNations #Woman #Actor #Singer #Songwriter #Performer #Portrait #Photography

Kevin Leeder

Palawa

Kevin is Palawa, Aboriginal peoples from Tasmania. He is Melbourne-based where he works as a Culture and Capability Business Partner with the Australian Red Cross. An active advocate for Aboriginal peoples. It was interesting learning about his family history as well as the complicated and difficult history of Aboriginal/settler interactions.

#Aboriginal #Palawa #Indigenous #IndigenousPortraitSeries #ContactAustraliaSeries #Melbourne #portrait #photography #canon #man #muscle #Australia #FirstNations

Kyana Imari Hubbard

Wardaman, Wagadagam

Kyana contacted me after seeing a post for the series, and was interested in posing for the series. She also brought her brother who was also interested in posing for the series. We met at the Redfern Community Centre to start. Kyana and her brother Xavier are from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, however, both are now living in Sydney. Kyana was studying social work at the time, and is now working in social work in a hospital. One of the front line workers during this time.

Kyana was telling her brother and I about how when she was in school, they did a class trip to Sydney from Darwin, and the Block in Redfern was one of the places they went to visit, so it was a neat to be back in the same spot that was this known place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from elsewhere in Australia as well.

Kyana’s portraits turned out great.So glad to have met her.

#Aboriginal #TorresStraitIslander #ATSI #Wardaman #Wagadagam #Indigenous #FirstNations #IndigenousPortraitSeries #ContactAustraliaSeries #Redfern #Sydney #MabaiugIsland #KatherineRivers #Darwin #Australia #Woman #Photography #Canon #Style #Fashion #Beauty #SocialWork

Siblings, Xavier Hubbard and Kyana Imari Hubbard.

Wardaman, Wagadagam

Xavier Hubbard

Wadarman, Wagadagam

Xavier is the younger brother of Kyana from the the previous two posts. Xavier is an actor and student based in Sydney. He makes an appearance in Briggs Life is Incredible music video.

Xavier is Wadarman from the Katherine Rivers region, and Wagadagam clan from Mabaiug Island in the Torres Strait.

One of the things I really enjoyed about shooting this series was meeting so many new Indigenous people. I had never met Xavier or Kyana prior to the shoot, and both were so relaxed and friendly that it was easy to forget we had just met.

#Aboriginal #TorresStraitIslander #ATSI #Wardaman #Wagadagam #Indigenous #FirstNations #IndigenousPortraitSeries #ContactAustraliaSeries #Redfern #Sydney #MabaiugIsland #KatherineRivers #Darwin #Australia #man #Blackman #Photography #Canon #Style #Actor 

Jacqueline “Jax” Compton

Wuthathi (East Cape York Peninsula), Torres Strait (Thursday, Badu, and Moa Islands)

I met Jax through my flatmate Medika. They’ve known each other for years through dance, both being on the show Move it Mob Style. Jax is one of the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia to attend the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) Dance College. Jax along with her husband created the Muggera cultural performance company, who have performed at Yabun and Homeground Festivals in Sydney as well as for many other events and organizations.

Jax also works for 33 Creative, an Aboriginal agency specializing in media, communications, and large/small event management where she works as the Community Engagement and Events Manager. Jax also hosts a video series for The Real where she interviews various Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders like actor Rarriwuy Hick, NBA player Patrick Mills, or artist Otis Carey.

#Aboriginal #TorresStraitIslander #ATSI #Wuthathi #ThursdayIsland #BaduIsland #MoaIsland #TorresStrait #Indigenous #FirstNations #IndigenousPortraitSeries #ContactAustraliaSeries #woman #Alexandria #Sydney #Muggera #TheReal #Australia #dance #dancer #Photography #Canon

Meyne Wyatt

Yamatji and Wongatha nations in Western Australia

Meyne’s an actor based in Sydney. He’s known for roles in the films The Sapphires, Strangerland, tv shows, Redfern Now, Black Comedy, Wentworth, Mystery Road and Neighbours where he was the first Indigenous actor to join the main cast.

Meyne also performs in theatre. More recently, Meyne was getting his attention for his playwright debut and leading role in City of Gold. A play written about his experiences growing up in Kargoolie and the racism Aboriginal people face in Australia. The role earned him the Best Male Actor in a Leading Role in a MainStage Production at the Sydney Theatre Awards (along with co-star Shari Sebbins winning Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role). The play got rave reviews, I just only managed to snag tickets to see it, with it selling out every night. I even saw Andrew Lincoln from the Walking Dead and Love Actually fame at the play.

Meyne was one of the first people I met in Australia at Winda Film Festival, an Indigenous Film Festival in Sydney along with actors Rarriwuy Hick and Guy Simon. I walked up and introduced myself having recognized him from Redfern Now and Black Comedy, both shows I had watched prior to moving to Australia. All 3 were friendly and funny. Every time I’ve seen Meyne since has been full of laughter. Miigwech for posing for the series!

#Yamatji #Wongatha #Aboriginal #WesternAustralia #WA #Kargoolie #Australia #IndigenousPortraitSeries #ContactAustraliaSeries #Actor #Playwright #Film #Tv #Theatre #Sydney #Newtown #man #Portrait #Canon

Nakari Thorpe
Gunai, Gunditjmara and Gooreng Gooreng

Nakari is a journalist who many in Australia may recognize from NITV and SBS news.

Véronik Picard.
Huron-Wendat from Wendake in Quebec.

Véronik was on exchange studying at the University of Technology Sydney when we met for me to take her portrait. While in Sydney, Véronik worked at the Consulate General of Canada, Sydney. That is where we met, she was on the Trade team, and I was on the Immigration Team. It was nice having another Indigenous person around the office. With experience working in Indigenous tourism in Quebec, she now works as a journalist for CBC/Radio-Canada.

Majeda Beatty.
KuKu Yalanji and Wuthathi from Far North Queensland and African American.



Based in Sydney, Majeda is an actor, singer, dancer who I first met back in 2018 through some mutual people we knew. Over the next year I saw her perform as part of an Aboriginal family dance group in Sydney several times. We connected again when doing some audio work for a television show.



It was great chatting with Majeda about being Aboriginal and African American, living in Sydney, and working in the film and television industry. For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander actors, it’s a struggle with so few roles being created in the mainstream world for them, or offered to them. There’s a lot of amazing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander talent and productions in Australia, but there could still be more representation on mainstream shows. Not just the supporting roles, but the lead roles as well.



We met up in Newtown for photos. It was one of my favourite spots in Sydney. I really like photographing people in neighbourhoods they know. There’s always stories like, “oh when I was young I remember going there”, or pointing out their favourite cafes/restaurants, or where someone went to school, etc. It was great walking through the streets and parks. She’s a natural in front of the camera, and I’m really happy with the portraits I was able to take of her

Joseph Cardona.
Malak Malak in the Northern Territory, and Badu Island Torres Strait Islander.



Born and raised in Darwin, Joseph now lives in Sydney where works as a project manager with the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney. However, many know Joseph as his drag person @josie_bakerofficial , his drag persona, named after Josephine Baker. Winner of inaugural Miss First Nation 2017, an annual Indigenous Drag competition in Australia. He started as a backup dancer at clubs in Darwin before crossing over into drag. Joseph can be seen in the documentary Black Divaz about the Miss First Nations competition.

More recently Joseph even travelled to Greece last year to help Sydney win host of World Pride 2023 where he performed as Josie Baker for their bid for host. 

Candace Williams.
Waradjuri, Yorta Yorta and Gunai.

Candace is based in Melbourne where she is studying her Bachelor of Primary Education. I first met Candace back in 2018 when she was up visiting my flatmate Medika. She’s cousin with both Medika and Nakari who are both featured in this series. Since then I’ve seen Candace several times, giving me the chance to get to know her better. She is kind, smart, and amazing to be around.

This photo was taken up in Tuggerah, New South Wales in October 2019. We were attending the “Koori Knockout”, an annual NSW Koori Rugby League Knockout Carnival. It’s a must attend event for Aboriginal people, with over 30,000 players and fans attending to watch teams from all over the state coming to compete for the Koori Knockout title over a few days. I had the best time with Candace, Medika, and Nakari at the Knockout. It was amazing being around that many Indigenous People and the energy of everyone was amazing. There was even a skydiver who glided in with a giant Aboriginal flag waving.

Grateful to have met Candace while in Australia and to have made some of these memories with her. I know we’ll see each other again in the future.

Marley Nolan-Duncan.
Gomeroi from Moree in New South Wales.



Marley is a professional parachute instructor and sports jumper. He’s the first Indigenous person to make the Australian Skydive team. In the last post, I mentioned someone skydiving into the Koori Knockout with a big Aboriginal flag blowing in the wind, that was Marley. This was taken the same day at the Koori Knockout.

Skydiving is such an amazing feeling. I couldn’t imagine getting to do it for work. Check out his insta to see some of his jumps including ones with the Aboriginal Flag.



Miranda Tapsell.

Larrakia from the Northern Territory.

Miranda is an actor, writer, producer, and most recently author. One of the many talented Aboriginal people to come out of Darwin and the NT. I first saw Miranda in the film, The Sapphires (one of my favourites). Since then she has been in shows like Doctor Doctor, Little J & Big Cuz, Love Child, and last year she starred in a film she wrote, Top End Wedding.

Not only is she fantastic on film and television but just as great on stage. In 2018 I saw her in the play Black is the New White, a stellar play about the relationships between Aboriginal people and settler Australians with an amazing cast.

Just this week she released her memoir Top End Girl. Highly recommend checking out her work. She’s lovely!

Matty Webb.
Kamilaroi from New South Wales, Australia.


From Tamworth in New South Wales, Matty grew up and is based in Sydney.

I first met Matty in early 2018, and throughout the next couple years saw him at various arts and Aboriginal event. Matty himself has an education in acting before getting into the television industry. Matty has hosted red carpet interviews for the National Indigenous Television (NITV) for the ARIA awards, the Dreamtime Awards, as well hosting NITV’s coverage of Mardi Gras.

Matty and I met up in Erskineville for a coffee before we started photos. It was great to catch up with him outside of a big social event. He’s one of the people I had in mind when I was thinking who to photograph for this series and was pleased he was willing to take part. We walked around Erskineville and Newtown talking music, arts, etc and got some really nice shots of him.

Peta MacGillivray.
Kalkadoon (Mount Isa region of Queensland) and South Sea Islander

Originally from Rockhampton in Queensland but now based in Sydney.

Peta works as a Partnership Manager for Yuwaya Ngarra-li, a partnership initiative between the Dharriwaa Elders Group in Walgett, New South Wales and the University of New South Wales. She is also finishing her Masters of Laws in Criminal Justice and Criminology, is an elected Director of the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT, and does advocacy for Indigenous peoples with disabilities in the criminal justice system. Doing real deadly work!

I first met Peta in August last year at a taping of NITV’s Faboriginal, a game show testing contestants knowledge about Indigenous art, but we were already following each other on social media so it felt like we had already met. Early one October morning Peta, her sister Yale, and I met up at Coogee Beach to photograph some portraits with the beautiful morning sun. I had such great time doing these photos with them and loved doing photos down at the ocean.

Sisters Yale MacGillivray and Peta MacGillivray.
Kalkadoon and South Sea Islander.

Yale MacGillivray.
Kalkadoon (Mount Isa region of Queensland) and South Sea Islander

I first met Yale back in early 2018 at birthday through some mutual friends and over the next 2 years saw her at various events around Sydney. Yale works as a Digital Producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Sydney where she started as a Production Assistant, with previous experience being a New Media Producer for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Sydney. Her job at the ABC sounded great when discussing it with her. The ABC has had some great Indigenous content in recent years (Black Comedy, Cleverman, Redfern Now) so it’s really cool to see Yale working in this industry for a mainstream channel that has great Indigenous representation.

In an article from the Guardian in 2015, Yale was interviewed and said “each day I am continuously working towards becoming a great storyteller who has the ability to share our people’s stories in the best possible way.” Then, in 2018, Yale won the Walkley Award for Coverage of Indigenous Affairs with Allan Clarke for Unravel: Blood on the Tracks, an investigation into the 1988 death of an Aboriginal man (can be found on Apple Podcasts app). The MacGillivray family is sure doing some great work for community.

Jonathan Jeffrey.
Larrakia Nation in the Northern Territory.

One of the most vibrant and infection people. He is highly passionate about chasing your dreams and spreading positive messages to inspire others to feel good about themselves. A naturally talented dancer, writer and mentor, Jonathan’s personality is characterised by his ability to care and encourage others.

Now based in Sydney, Jonathan is currently the host/producer of his own digital platform 'Booty Boylesque'.
#BootyBoylesque #Budjulicious

Kaiya Aboagye.
Torres Strait Islander from Erub Island, Kuku Yalanji in Far North Queensland, South Sea Islander (Vanuatu), and Ashanti (Ghana).

Kaiya is a PhD student at the University of Sydney where she is researching the relationship of Indigenous Peoples and the Africa diaspora community. She also lectures an Indigenous studies class at the university. Kaiya and I met up on the University of Sydney to take photos.

Jack Steele.
Wiradjuri man from Orange, NSW, Australia.

Jack is a director based in Sydney. Jack and I first met back in 2018 at his family Easter weekend, even found out we had some mutual friends in Sydney. The Steele family is fantastic! Later in the year, I did some extra work and behind the scenes photos in a short film, ‘Between Two Lines’ that Jack had written and was directing as part of Screen Australia’s Black Shorts program which premiered last year at Sydney Film Festival. In addition to his short film, Jack has directed commercials, and more recently 3 episodes of Drunk History.

Fun fact about Jack, he’s a great cook! Showed up with 2 chickens to bbq at my going away party that were tasty as.

Rebekah Hatfield.
Bundjalung, Darambal & Wiradjuri.

Rebekah works as a Student Advocate & Advisor for the Sydney University Postgraduate Student Union and is an emerging filmmaker.She recently launched her business Ngoodjida Media in March of this year. Ngoodjida’ means ‘understand’ in the Darumbal language. This is the ethos of the work Rebekah and Ngoodjida create - sharing diverse First Nations content, in the hope you will learn and appreciate our culture.

Robbie Thorpe.
Gunai, and Gunditjmara

Uncle Robbie is an elder, activist, father, grandfather and uncle to many, based in Melbourne.⁣ A staunch activist for Blak rights in Australia. Robbie has been a vocal advocate for Treaty, Pay the Rent initiative, Aboriginal Sovereignty and Resistance. Thorpe comes from a family of people working for the advancement of Aboriginal peoples and community. His mother, elder Alma Thorpe helped to establish the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, among many other services to help the Aboriginal community in Melbourne. Robbie is also a radio host, on air at 3CR community radio (which is where we met up to take his portrait) with Blak ’n’ Deadly, a program about the latest in Indigenous Music and Theatre (which he had me join on air), as well as Fire First which looks at Aboriginal affairs, land rights, treaty, and Aboriginal sovereignty

Bianca Williams.
Wiradjuri and Gumilaroi from New South Wales.⁣

Jack Wilson aka Deadly Ninja Warrior.
Kalkadoon/Welsh man from Mount Isa, Queensland.⁣

Tuuli Narkle.
Yued and Wiilman Noongar from rural Western Australia.



Tuuli is an actor, trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts. We met at the University of New South Wales where Tuuli was rehearsing for the 2019 production of Black is the New White. Tuuli was playing the character of Rose, who had previously been played by Miranda Tapsell when I had seen it the previous year. It’s as fantastic play I can’t recommend enough. Since Black is the New White, Tuuli was cast in the 2020 production of Bran Nue Dae

Malcolm Lynch.
Tiwi Islander.⁣⁣

Samoan and Tuvaluan woman, Pelepesite Matangi photographed at the Australian Botanical Gardens in Mount Annan, in Sydney’s western suburbs.

With this series, I also wanted to photograph Indigenous people from places around Australia. Australia is now home to many Maori, Samoans, Fijians, and many more Indigenous peoples from other Pacific Island countries close to Australia.

Pelepesite grew up in Western Sydney, where I met up wth her and her sister Salome (next in the series). We were connected through a mutual friend who is a member of the Pacific Climate Warriors (a network of Pacific Islander climate activists), who Pelepesite is an active member of. I later photographed the Pacific Climate Warriors during the world-wide climate protests back in September in Sydney. This shoot ended up being a hot, and sunny spring September day and I’m really happy with the shots that we got.

Sisters, Salome and Pelepesite Matangi.

Samoan and Tuvaluan woman, Salome Matangi photographed in the Australian Botanic Gardens.⁣

Nathan Simon.
Worimi.⁣

For his portrait session, Nathan and I met up at The University of Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts campus in Rozelle on a day that was sitting around 40 degrees. The campus sits on Iron Cove on the Parramatta river. It’s one of my favourite spaces in Sydney and was a great spot to photograph Nathan.

Vivian Malo. 
Gooniyandi. 

Vivian Malo photographed outside of 3CR radio station in Melbourne.⁣ Viv hosts several programs on 3CR radio, a community radio station based in the Fitzroy neighbourhood of Melbourne. The host of The Black Block, the station's Indigenous current affairs program, Viv also appears on Blak ’n’ Deadly with Robbie Thorpe. 3CR is Australia’s first community-owned and operated grassroots station on the lands of the Kulin nation.⁣

#Gooniyandi #Aboriginal #activist #radioshow #host #FirstNations #Indigenous #IndigenousPortraitSeries #ContactAustraliaSeries #3CR #Melbourne #Australia #canon #CanonCanada #portrait #portraiture #Naarm

Gary Sines.
Dunghutti, and Wiradjuri.

The Dunghutti people and their territory are in what is now known as the Macleay Valley of northern New South Wales. The Wiradjuri people are the largest Aboriginal group in Australia. Their territory stretches across a large portion of New South Wales. Gary is an AIN Nurse in Orange, NSW (Wiradjuri territory). Coincidentally the same town I lived in while doing farmwork in rural Australia. It’s a cute town of around 40,000. Surrounded by vineyards and apple orchards. We met in Sydney through mutual friends and was more than happy to have Gary be a part of the series.

Bianca Williams.
Baakindji. 

Bianca Williams is from western New South Wales.

Photographed at the University of Sydney where she had previously worked as a Mana Yura Program Officer. Bianca continues to work with young people across Sydney and NSW. 

Victor Kennedy.
Gomeroi.

Victor Kennedy. Gomeroi man from Walgett in New South Wales.

Melodie Reynolds-Diarra.
Wongutha-Nadju.

Melodie  is a  playwright and actor.

I first saw Melodie when she was one of the many talented actors starring in the play, Black is the New White at the Sydney Theatre Company in 2018. I photographed Melodie shortly after a rehearsal of another production of the play shortly before the play opened for the season. Such a kind, friendly, and fun person to talk to having met her previously to the shoot.

Ben McGory.
Indigenous

From the Blue Mountains in NSW, he’s the first in his family to attend post-secondary. Currently, Ben is studying a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney, where our portrait session took place (hence him proudly wearing his university jacket). As an Indigenous person and member of the LGBTQ+ community, Ben is an advocate on issues impacting these communities.

Sandra Falesita.
Savai’i island of Samoa.

Sandra is Samoan whose family is from the Samoan island of Savai’i. Born in New Zealand but moved to Sydney as a child, Sandra grew up in the Southwest part of Sydney on Bediagal country. Now Sandra works in Youth Justice as a Conference Convener and on the side does some work as an extra. She is also doing a postgrad in Curating.

Tevita  Naufahu.
Tongan.

Tevita was one of the first people I photographed for the series. While finding spots to photograph him, we discussed him being Tongan, living in Australia, as well as Tevita’s interests of getting into photography and modelling. It was a great early session for the series and we ended up with some great images.

William Motunuu.
Samoan.

Actor/dancer/performer

Iopu Auva’a .
Samoan.

Iopu is a New Zealand born, Australia raised Samoan actor.
 I met Iopu while visiting Melbourne for a few days. I always enjoy meeting other Indigenous folks in the creative arts world and learning about their experiences in it. We grabbed a morning coffee at Cafe Piccante before heading out around the Fitzroy North neighbourhood to find some good places to photograph. I really liked Melbourne. There’s a lot about the city that reminds me of Toronto.

During the shoot we discussed the diversity (or lack of) in the performing arts in Australia. How there’s so much talent in Indigenous communities, and it’d be great to see more inclusion in the industry. At the time, Iopu was acting in Melbourne’s production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (his professional theatre debut) at the Princess Theatre. Like many, the pandemic has put a halt on his industry as well. Here’s to the industry making a comeback more inclusive than ever and all the best to Iopu in his performing arts career. Thanks again for being a part of the series, Iopu!

Tommy Misa.
Samoan.

Photographed in the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney.

Tommy is a Pasifika actor/writer of mixed Samoan, British, Chinese, and German ancestry. I first saw Tommy in the play Te Molimau at the Belvoir theatre last year. Their list of work is diverse from being a content creator at Buzzfeed Australia, to this year being featured in Guy Sebastien’s music video for Standing with You, to the web series @aviralseries and Liberty St. Tommy has also written the play ‘They Took Me to a Queer Bar.’

Tommy is Fa’afafine, and one of the many queer creatives from the Pasifika community writing and creating content with queer representation for their communities. They also used to tend the bar at the amazing bar in Redfern called The Bearded Tit, a creative space owned and operated by queer racialized folks that prior to COVID hosted a variety of bar nights, art shows, and performances.