Persistence is a means of resistance for this queer arts collaborative
By John Picinich
Recently, Binch Press x Queer Archive Work (BinchxQAW) found itself thrown into the front lines of the White House’s renewed culture wars.
The collaborative nonprofit was notified that its $15,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts had been withdrawn.
BinchxQAW was formed by the melding of Binch Press with Queer.Archive.Work at their shared 2,200-square-foot studio and workspace on Harris Avenue in the Valley Arts District of PVD.
“We had wanted to use that grant to get an administrator who would boost the workings of the studio and work on getting more members,” says Pipa Estrela, Grants and Development Coordinator and a board member of BinchxQAW.
“The grant funding atmosphere is abysmal. Still, we’re working on a plan to get back that $15K,” she says, such as seeking donations, applying for other grants, and launching a social media campaign.
In the meantime, White Electric Coffee Co-Op on Westminster Street in PVD will donate 10 percent of the proceeds from its Seasonal Drink Specials in June and July to BinchxQAW. The worker-owned coffee shop will be closed for two weeks during that time, which is why their typical monthly donation schedule was extended into July for BinchxQAW.
It’s for a good cause, Estrela emphasizes.
“Right now, it feels very urgent to have this space,” she says as she motions at the studio and its shelves of archived art and print works. “It’s a place that is protected, and safe, for our members.”
Estrela is a cartoonist, crafter, and clown. She holds a Masters in Cartooning from the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. She works at New Urban Arts (NUA) in Providence, which runs free after-school arts programs for high schoolers. In conjunction with The Avenue Concept, NUA has partnered with other groups to sponsor students who are painting fifteen utility boxes in PVD for the Ripples project.
She also works at Studio Playground in PVD, which presents theatrical programs for students in clown and physical acting. Estrela will be involved in its clown camp this summer.
For MJ Sanqui, who came to BinchxQAW as a resident and is now a paying member, the collaborative is, “A place where I can do my art, and maintain a collective history of queer people through its archive.”
They hold a BFA from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, class of 2020. The artist and writer first learned of BinchxQAW at a virtual book fair that year. The collaborative’s free residency drew them because, as they explain, “Being a part of BinchxQAW is how I wanted to be existing in the art world.”
Sanqui calls themself a “printmaker by necessity.” They and others at BinchxQAW do print work for student organizations at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Brown University, and help make movement materials for the Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance (AMOR), Jewish Voice for Peace, and Groundwork RI. Sanqui works at a couple of jobs, including The Steel Yard in PVD.
Inspired by Farm CSAs (community supported agriculture), BinchxQAW’s Print CSA (A for art) is a subscription-based program that supports the cooperative studio. Subscribers receive four shares, one for each season, throughout the year, entitling them to seasonal bundles of printed goods. It’s one of the organization’s primary fundraisers.
The current cycle has sold out.
Proceeds go toward equipment maintenance, buying new materials, improving studio accessibility, and the continuation of a queer/trans cooperative print shop.
In a hostile political environment, Estrela underscores just how crucial BinchxQAW and its work are: for the members, for queer/trans people, and for the broader community.
“For me, it feels essential, a part of who I am. Access to art is important for all humans. And it’s important to queer folks as well; to have a community space that is not censored,” she says. “We need more spaces like this, not less.”
One way of fighting the hatred emanating like poison gas from the current administration is to refuse to go away.
“It’s how we continue to exist which will be important,” says Sanqui.
Both emphasize there’s a lot of mutual support among the members, from projects to maintaining the archive to the fundraisers.
As Estrela puts it: “We are here for each other in these times of despair.”
That is perhaps BinchxQAW’s greatest strength as it faces down an oppressive White House and Beltway.
Information aboutBinchxQAW and its Print CSA can be viewed at its website binchqaw.studio
