Virtual Art Gallery in Honor of Trans Day of Remembrance 2022

Apicha CHC and Project Connect NYC are excited to be hosting our very first Trans Day of Remembrance Virtual Art Gallery. Read on to view the incredible art created by trans & GNC BIPOC artists in honor of our siblings whose lives were tragically taken.

What Is the Trans Day of Remembrance?

The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is a nationally recognized observance that occurs on November 20th each year. The day was put into effect in 1999 after the murder of Rita Hester. TDOR was created to respect and commemorate all the countless trans individuals who have lost their lives due to acts of violence.

While trans voices are starting to be celebrated in select areas of media, there is still much progress to be made. Trans and gender non-conforming folks are subject to disproportionate amounts of verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse & harassment. In 2020, more than three-quarters of the transgender and non-binary people killed in the United States were people of color, with Black transgender women at particular risk of violence.

About Our Tdor Art Gallery

This year, Apicha CHC is excited to be partnering with Project Connect NYC, our group that focuses on serving LGBTQ+ AAPI youth, on hosting our very first Trans Day of Remembrance Virtual Art Gallery! The purpose of this gallery is to raise awareness for the violence-stained history following the trans community and to platform trans or gender nonconforming artists of color.

After holding a worldwide artist open call, our team selected five artists, each with their own unique skills and mediums. Each artist had artistic freedom to create an original piece that voices their feelings about TDOR.

Read on to view the art and read about the talented artists behind each piece.

Presenting: Apicha CHC’s TDOR Art Gallery 2022!

If you would like to see more of an artist’s work or commission them for a piece, please support them via social media. Their information can be found on our Instagram.

MAYA JOSHI (THEY/SHE/ELLE)

A note from Maya about their piece:

"Give us our Flowers” was inspired by a phrase commonly used by trans activists. ‘Give us our roses while we’re still here’ is a rallying cry of TDOR, in the hopes that the list of names will start getting shorter if trans women of color are celebrated in their lives, rather than mourned when they’re killed. Roses are an important symbol of friendship, love, and accomplishment. This is not just a day of grieving but of community, friendship, and movement. So much of the discourse and visibility that gender non-conforming and trans folks have gained has been because of Black and Brown folks in the community. I wanted the piece to look like folks were marching, protesting or otherwise making strides towards understanding and acceptance, within the queer community and in society.

Maya Joshi (they/she/elle) is a third culture person whose multi-hyphenate identity plays a huge part in their artistic practice and expression. At the core of their art practice is belonging – belonging in our bodies, values, communities. Their artwork imagines new ways to center the voices that often go unheard. They do this by highlighting the beauty of brown skin tones, using bold colors and shapes, traditional patterns from their cultures, and elements of nature's beauty. Using fluid shapes and lines they explore ever-changing concepts like language, culture, gender, identity, and sexuality. Their goal is to use their art to highlight the duality of feeling joy in being your authentic self while also feeling unheard and unseen by society. “Give us our flowers” was created for Trans Day of Remembrance to honor the work the GNC and Trans community has done just for those in the queer community, but also to push society as a whole to challenge their restrictive views. The piece highlights how Trans folks are not given their flowers while they are still alive and are often subjected to violence which results in them only receiving recognition and support once they have passed.

SOLARIS BALDWIN (THEY/THEM)

A note from Solaris about their piece:

"I have always thought that our ancestors travel through life with us, guiding, protecting, offering cooking advice. I'm very proud of my heritage, and I include my forebearers in the trans community in that. It breaks my heart to know that so many of them were taken from this world too early, but I know I can honor them by proudly being who I am and no matter what, they'll be with me."

Hi there! My name is Solaris Baldwin (they/them) and I'm an artist and actor currently based in Alabama. I started doing art as soon as I was old enough to use a pencil, and I haven't stopped since! For me, drawing is as natural as breathing and it's equally important because art is how I process things that are important to me.

TING TRAN (THEY/THEM)

A note from Ting about their piece:

I honor my trans and queer ancestors by burning incense. I turn to them when I am feeling lost. I grieve for the lives lost during war and genocide.

Ting is a self-taught artist situated on Mvskoke land. their art is inspired by their experiences navigating the world as a Teochew, trans-nonbinary femme living in the southeast of the so called united states. they dream of realities where creativity is no longer a commodity, and seek to cultivate practices that prioritize community, autonomy, safety, healing, and joy.

TOSIN AKINKUNMI (THEY/THEM)

As a non-binary artist, Trans Day of Remembrance is a very important day to Tosin. They have donated art and made art for fundraising projects that seek to assist those in acquiring gender-affirming surgery in a hostile and inaccessible political landscape.

Tosin Akinkunmi (they/them) is a Grenadian-Nigerian digital artist based in London, England. They illustrate a range of characters, exploring themes of self, beauty, diversity and identity influenced by their cultural background and childhood environment. Their work can be characterised by their use of cohesive colour schemes, contrast, sharp lines and bold shapes. Tosin’s love for the visual storytelling in video games and comic books directly inspires their more graphic, edgy style of illustration.

XIXI WANG (SHE/THEY)

This painting, titled Euphoric, depicts the beauty of trans love. Xixi encourages the viewer to see trans individuals as more than marginalized victims and to recognize the courage in living authentically.

Xixi Wang (she/they) is a New York-based artist and the founder of Asians For Sex Positivity, an online community dedicated to uplifting AAPI voices and dismantling sexual shame. They recently graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University with a BA in Art History and Visual Arts. While exploring themes of intimacy and sensuality, Xixi is motivated to portray emotional proximity and vulnerability in a single instance on canvas.

Apicha CHC's Commitment to Trans & GNC Folks
At Apicha Community Health Center, we are committed to providing a safe, inclusive space for people of all genders, especially those who are transgender and gender non-conforming. We offer specialized healthcare for trans and gender-non conforming folks.

Our Transgender Health Services include:

• Personalized Primary Care
• Initiation and Maintenance of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
• Referrals to Gender-Affirming Surgeries
• Short-Term Behavioral Health Services
• Access to PrEP and PEP
• Assistance with Social Services (name change, legal documents, etc.)
• Care Management

We hold the care and privacy of our patients as a top priority. If you're interested in getting holistic medical care in a safe space, click here to request an appointment at Apicha CHC.