BALTI GURLS is a collective of queer black womxn artists based in Baltimore. Our mission is to uplift & affirm members of our QPOC community locally & globally.
From left to right, standing: Suldano Abdiruhman, Khadija Nia Adell, Stephanie Wallace, Jessica Hyman, Jenné Afiya, Myself
Front: Panel moderator, Bilphena Yahwon
About Us
Founded in 2014 by artist and city native Jenné Afiya, what started as an informal discussion group amongst friends evolved into a 6 member collective. With a particular focus on new media and cross-disciplinary practice, our mission was to cultivate platforms and “creative safer space” that prioritizes Black women and queer folks, and uplifts communities of color in general. From 2014-2018 we gathered together as DJs, filmmakers, painters, photographers, graphic designers, and performance artists, creating programming including our annual juried exhibition BLK LUV, and our quarterly musical event EDGE CONTROL, both of which featured women of color artists and musicians.
Our events took the form of art exhibitions, panel discussions, film screenings, and music events.
Stevenson Residency
In February 2018, BALTI GURLS were selected as Artists in Residence at the Stevenson University School of Design. While there, we kicked off the residency with a panel discussion entitled “A Look: Black Women, Social Media, and the Reshaping of Black Aesthetics.” moderated by writer, researcher, organizer and womanist Bilphena Yahwon. For the next few days we sat in various classes and spoke to the senior class of the Visual Communication design program about their thesis work and finished off the week with an open mic hosted by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.
HOW I SHOW UP: Emergent Identity Design, Curation, Cultural Organizing
As a collective, communal experience was always at the forefront of what we create. We don’t have a kit of parts or style guides but we’ve got a whole lot of feel. It all started with Jenné asking me to create a logo with body. As time went on, the more events we made, and platforms we developed, our own unique identity emerged and spoke for itself. A BALTI GURLS event or poster was always recognizable. Much of the work below was done in collaboration with Fellow member and design sis Suldano Abdiruhman.
BG Logo Process
Official BG Logo Design
