The Personal Things

It's a hot summer day in June 1969. Marsha plans a birthday party for herself, but no one shows up. Sylvia, Marsha's best friend, suggests they meet at Stonewall instead, where Marsha can perform. When the police arrive to raid the bar, Marsha is among the first to fight back.

Tourmaline is an experimental portraitist whose subject is Black trans women. This impressionistic piece concerns Mary Jones, who worked at a New York brothel in the early nineteenth century and was described as a “man-monster” in a tabloid-style lithograph that was published after her arrest, in 1836, for robbery.

The coming of age story of Shéár Avory, a 17 year old trans* aspiring social justice advocate in Los Angeles who navigates housing instability and familial dependency on their journey to adulthood. Shéár depends closely on their mother for continued access to their medical transition, though struggling in her recovery from addiction, she is unable to always offer Shéár the support they need. An observational piece, the film aims to ask, what does coming into adulthood actually look like, for a young Black trans* femme in today’s America?

Atlantic is a Sea of Bones is a short film drawing from the Lucille Clifton poem of the same name that follows Egyptt LaBejia, an NYC based performer through the 80s, 90s, and 2000's in NYC. The haunting and otherwordly film set to an original score features small every day acts of refusal, resistance, and existence—such as performance and self expression—that have a tremendous impact on the world. The film reveals how the historical and systemic violence, like the killing and policing of black queer and trans life, continue to haunt our contemporary landscapes and is inextricably linked to the ongoing AIDS epidemic and the black queer/trans spaces shaped so intimately by HIV/AIDS, including the spaces where we come together and make life together: public spaces and nightlife spaces.

JOY RUN, a film by Tourmaline, continues the creative reimagining of athletics as a gender-inclusive space.

The artist walks through a garden, with additional footage featuring Black trans activist Marsha P. Johnson.