Being a Black queer artist at a PWI can be intimidating. Although intimidation appears to be a negative feeling, it can be a great motivator to defy stereotypes and create art that feeds your soul.
I wasn't born into the arts. Most of my childhood was in a POC catholic school in the heart of NYC. I constantly grew up with kids picking up their native accents from their immigrant parents. It was very natural to learn how vast everyone's lifestyles differed, and it always felt like going into a new world. Without even realizing it, the stories of my classmates and friends' day-to-day life was a magical reality.
When transferring to my new college, it was the first exposure I had to a predominantly white institution, also known as a PWI. It was my first time not seeing people who looked like me for extended days at a time. With the overlap of COVID, it was even harder to meet with different communities. The stories of day-to-day cultural exchanges was replaced with awkward side glances and quiet jokes referencing American pop-culture. Although my artwork was awed by my suitemates, the identity that developed the artwork was ignored. Even trying to mention my home city brought crickets to the dorm suite.
Despite feeling an outcast, it only inspired me to make more artwork. This meant making illustrations of friends of color and taking inspiration from my own Haitian culture's art. And now, I'm making stickers of people like us!