ABOUT PROJECT TRANSMUTATION
trans·mu·ta·tion

the action of being changed into another form.

Vile anti-trans legislation and politically weaponized campaigns are escalating harm against Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Intersex (TGDI) people. Media outlets continue to frame trans rights as a "debate," fueling division and legislative criminalization. We know this violence disproportionately impacts Black and Brown TGDI people and children.

Recent budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts only confirm what we’ve always known: the arts are not a luxury—they’re a vital tool for imagining and building the equitable world we know is possible. Public space shapes public imagination. What if rural billboards offered bold visions of collective liberation?

PROJECT TRANSMUTATION seeks to transform grief, fear, fury, and isolation via rural billboards into blueprints for belonging - using art as an arsenal of resistance and representation. Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Intersex people are here. We have always been here. We deserve to thrive.

In the words of participating artist Indë: “I grew up in the boonies of Western Mass without Black queer people to look up to. I was acutely alone. This billboard project is a natural extension of my mission to redress this lack of representation and inspire queer Black and Brown people everywhere to claim space and practice existence as resistance. If this project is given the support it needs to take root, unimaginable inspiration could follow. I'm especially excited about the impacts across rural areas, where isolated kids like me will see themselves reflected and magnified.”

Imagine driving down the road and seeing this…

Design mock-up by Emet Aron.

PROJECT LINEAGE

PROJECT TRANSMUTATION was inspired by Jonah Welch, who launched a “Trans People Are Sacred” billboard in Detroit in collaboration with SaveArtSpace and Ellen Rutt. The phrase was first shared with Jonah by Dakota Camacho during their time at the Audre Lorde Cooperative in Madison, Wisconsin. Originally intended to inspire hope and visibility for trans people in Detroit, the piece quickly went viral, reaching a global audience. The message took root—catalyzing healing and connection across communities. Following its success, SaveArtSpace invited Jonah to expand the project nationally.

Original Trans People Are Sacred Billboard by Jonah Welch.

PRELIMINARY PROJECT BUDGET

(Once we meet our initial goal of $15,000 we plan to raise the fundraising target to expand the project’s geographic reach.)

$8,000 — Billboard rental for 4 locations (In Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, Berkshire County.)
$6,000 — Design fees ($1,500 per artist for 4 artists)
$2,000 — Marketing, administrative costs, and project scaling/expansion

CALL FOR ART

We’re launching the project with four billboards—one each in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Berkshire Counties—with the goal of expanding to rural communities across Massachusetts, the broader commonwealth, and beyond. We are currently seeking design submissions from TGDI artists based in Hampden and Berkshire Counties. Priority will be given to work created by BIPOC TGDI artists.

PROJECT TRANSMUTATION TEAM

WYLDER (they/them) is a first generation transmasculine multidisciplinary artist, MassCreative fellow, reparative development consultant, educator, birthworker, and cultural organizer.

INDË (they/he) is an artivist born, raised, and residing in Massachusetts. Their work is rooted in a love of creative problem-solving, and an uncompromising commitment to advancing equity and media literacy.

EMET (they/he) is a transmasc artist working in ink, digital, watercolor, and print, exploring belonging, the sacredness of the ordinary, and embracing the outsider. Their Non-Binary People Exist mural is outside the Northampton Post Office. They’re featured in the upcoming group shows Queernology & Naturepunk at NCA and Transcendent Ink at Leverett Crafts & Arts.

This project is fiscally sponsored by our friends and collaborators at Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity.

Project Transmutation

By Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity

Project Transmutation

Reclaim our collective imagination to build a collectively liberated world.