Contribute to Queer Inheritance

3% Cover the Fee

Why am I making this work?

I began Queer Inheritance in May 2022 as a bridge to connecting with elders in the LGBTQ+ community. Within the first year, Getty supported my project with a small but substantive $5,000 artist grant which provided a foundation of validity to the work I was making. In the three years since, I’ve photographed dozens of subjects across the entire United States including the island of Hawaii.

2025 is scheduled to take me to Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York City, and the small vacation town of Cherry Grove, New York to photograph subjects. I anticipate photographing 15-20 subjects this year. In addition to the production of the project, I also have exhibition proposals in review for LGBTQ+ festivals and museums across the country.

Until now and with the exception of the Getty artist grant, this project has been entirely self-funded through my own dedication and financial efforts. In order to continue, I need to begin finding ways to financially support this time-sensitive and important work.

Why funding is critically important to complete this project?

Time is of the essence. Three of the subjects I’ve photographed have already passed away. With additional financial assistance, this important project will be accelerated while many elders are still with us to ensure as many stories and people remain visible, and that we continue to encourage and nurture intergenerational dialogue and connections for decades. This money will go directly toward the production of this project.

What is your goal with this project and when will it be completed?

This work is the historical preservation of elders from a specific and pivotal time in American and LGBTQ+ history. Those who organized the first marches directly after Stonewall, positively influenced policy changes, had the courage to be firsts in their fields, author stories, become spiritual leaders, etc. Their stories, their wisdom, and these portraits are our Queer Inheritance. 

My goal is to have this work completed by Spring 2028, with a monograph published in advance of the 60th anniversary of Stonewall in June 2029.

If you’ve made it this far, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your time and interest in the work I’m making.

View the Portfolio

Questions and Answers

  • Travel: While I’ve been fortunate to reach many people from Los Angeles to Provincetown, the diversity of voices and portraits from regions other than the coast or liberal epicenters will remain an integral aspect to the broader narrative while simultaneously underscoring the fact that LGBTQ+ people exist everywhere, not just urban metropolises. Financial assistance would cover the expenses of: 
    -Hotel stays
    -Transportation including airfare (I also accept miles)

    Exhibitions: As of 2025, I have 3 exhibition proposals out with various LGBTQ+ festivals and museums. My goal is to have community-centered and interactive exhibition receptions where visitors will be encouraged to dialogue with folks from different generations. The cost for an exhibition involves:
    -Framing + matting
    -Prints
    -Transportation of work
    -Installation
    -Exhibition reception items

    Book: I plan to produce a monograph of this work of 100 subjects from across the United States, including text, essays, and a foreword, highlighting a generation of folks who came up and out at a time with fewer freedoms than we enjoy today. Exhibitions and reaching my goal of 100 subjects will help bolster the production of this book. While I’m not actively fundraising for a book, I’m keeping the door open to possible contributors who might be interested in seeing this work take a tangible form.

  • Subject referrals: The focus of this work has been on those who were born pre-1960, with an emphasis and priority for individuals and couples who are 70+. This age range is important because it uniquely positions subjects at an age where they are old enough to remember Stonewall and what life was like before it. I’m also invested in meeting with individuals who are community builders: artists, pastors, activists, authors.

    Travel points: If you cannot contribute financially but are willing to contribute with travel miles and points for hotels or flights, it would be greatly appreciated. I do not travel luxuriously, and make many accommodations for the most budget friendly options available.

  • GoFundMe and Kickstarter are platforms designed with short term, end-goal fundraising. At the current moment, my primary focus is to hear these stories and make these portraits. I estimate to be about 2-3 years away from turning this project into book form. A book is much more likely if this work has been exhibited. And the only way that I can exhibit it and continue to exhibit it is by photographing more subjects and having the financial means to print, frame, and exhibit the photos.

  • If I were to answer that question personally, I would say that this work has been soul fuel. It has helped me find community, foster my inner authority, and build relationships that have changed my life forever. In just 3 years and after hours of cross-generational dialogue, I have emerged a radically different person. And the work is not done. But this work is not just for or about me. Queer Inheritance tells a larger story of our shared and very recent history, reminds us that our community exists beyond youth, and encourages the reciprocal benefits of intergenerational relationships. 

    So if you’re wondering what you get out of supporting this project, the answer is community. You are investing in the historical preservation of elders from a specific and pivotal time in American and LGBTQ+ history. Those who organized the first marches directly after Stonewall, changed politics, who had the courage to be the firsts in their fields, author stories, become spiritual leaders, etc. Their stories, their wisdom, these portraits, are our Queer Inheritance. 

    This project has been rooted in the community, and I plan to acknowledge in exhibit and book form everyone who has contributed to the production of this work. Considerations for framed or editioned prints could be discussed for those who wish to make special contributions.