It's Expensive to Live in Boystown!: An Interview with Van Binfa

8/18/2013

Cartoonist. Nationally-recognized activist. Bookseller. This week I sat down with Van Binfa, co-founder of the Soy Quien Soy Trans Empowerment Collective to talk about learning to put himself before the movement, working full-time while homeless, and which nonprofits to watch out for. Highlights include:

why he prefers retail to non-profit work,
how you can make money writing fan fiction, and
how racial segregation and gentrification have shaped Chicago’s queer communities.

Download here. Transcript here.

2 Comments

Kailey Goodnuff link

8/25/2013 01:46:29 pm

Hi Nia,
A friend of mine shared your project and I find it refreshing, real, and beautiful. I am an art student in Philadelphia at Tyler School of Art and could really relate to the brief interview discussing critiques. It is often quite difficult to receive helpful feedback about one's work when that work is outside of the art school normalities. As an artist who's made a great amount of work on the subject of mental health ("illnesses," personal struggles, and treatments), I rarely encounter professors or students who truly understand my work's mission and meaning. I love what you're doing and that you're sharing a message that a lot of people really will benefit from. Warmth, Kailey

Nia link

9/16/2013 03:47:56 pm

Thanks, Kailey!

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise

Nia King's trying to figure out if her dream of making a living as an art activist is beyond reach. In this podcast, she seeks advice from other political queer artists, trans artists, and artists of color who seem to have figured out how to make art and make rent without compromising their values.