Signal Boost

I have two friends doing astonishing things, currently, seeking crowdfunding/support.

1. Mia has set up a Patreon account: she brings joy and beauty and light into the world with her art, claws it out of a mire of pain and horror and exhaustion, and sets it gentle between her hands. Patreon is a means to crowd-support artists; Mia says:

I'm a queer Filipina artist who recently immigrated to Australia for True Love. My heart lives halfway between the Philippines -- the land of my birth and the beat of my blood, pugad ng luha ko't dalita -- and Australia, a place whose song I am only just learning, where I am just beginning to put down roots.

2. CN Lester, of a gentleman and a scholar, the Transpose series of fundraisers showcasing trans artists and performers, raising money for charities supporting LGBT+ populations, is crowdfunding their latest album, Aether. I've heard it performed live twice now and I cannot wait to get my hands on a recording of my own - CN is honest and heartbreaking about mood disorders and grief, and sings to you-the-audience about how beautiful you are, how beautiful you look from their perspective, and -- yes. Yes. It is a thing of joy and of wonder, also.

Kickstarter for a new journal co-edited by Susan Stryker and Paisley Currah, both well-known names.

This has potential to be a really exciting academic project, with trans people at the helm. I am keeping my eye on it!