In this episode of Queering Community Health, local artist Cedar Thomas (they/them) interviews a panel of local creatives to hear their experiences and advice regarding mental health, creativity, self-care and self-expression.

Guests on this episode (in order of appearance):

• Vanessa McDuffie (she/her), an educator, writer and creator of the upcoming creative art space devoted to the queer BIPOC community of Minneapolis, Nue Bedford. Instagram: @nessa_bess / @nuebedford
• Archie Bongiovanni (they/them), cartoonist, illustrator and author of A Quick & Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns and Grease Bats . Instagram: @babywrist / Twitter: @grease_bat / Website: archiebongiovanni.com
• heather c. lou (she/her), a mixed media artist and an educator who is passionate about community and promoting creativity. Instagram: @hclou / Website: hclouart.com

Cedar and their guests dive into discussions of what creativity looks like, how it’s connected to self expression, and the numerous ways that letting oneself be creative can challenge the pressures of the world around us. Learn more about Vanessa, Archie and heather as they discuss their respective creative practices, exploring early memories, successes and failures. And don’t miss the advice for young folks who might be struggling with their identities, their queerness, and/or their self-expression.

RESOURCES:

Vanessa’s Instagram: @nessa_bess,Nue Bedford’s Instagram: @nuebedford

Donate to Nue Bedford’s GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-space-for-queer-bipoc-creatives-in-mi?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link-tip

Archie’s Instagram: @babywrist, Archie’s Twitter: @grease_bat, Archie’s Website: archiebongiovanni.com, Other links from Archie: https://linktr.ee/archiebongiovanni

heather’s Instagram: @hclou, heather’s Website: hclouart.com