B+S With Friends

Embracing imperfection in her work through a physical negotiation with failure and the visceral reality of the human form, artist Frankie Holt discusses her process and the discovery that her work's power lies in raw honesty.  Enjoy this episode of BS with Friends, a subsidiary of Bader + Simon, a gallery centered on art, education, and social justice.
www.frankieholt.com
www.baderandsimon.com

Thanh Tran is an Amerasian Vietnamese and Black filmmaker, music artist, and community organizer from Sacramento, California. He co-founded Uncuffed, an award-winning podcast amplifying incarcerated voices, and ForwardThis Productions, one of the first film collectives led entirely by incarcerated people. He is now the Founder & CEO of New Krma Media, a social enterprise supporting system-impacted artists through film, music, and cultural strategy. Its flagship initiative, the Returning Filmmaker Fellowship, provides formerly incarcerated filmmakers with training, resources, and paid opportunities to build sustainable careers and complete original films. Thanh is a Film Independent Amplifier Fellow and directs Finding Má, a feature-length documentary following his family’s search for their unhoused mother after decades of separation by foster care and incarceration. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the New Breath Foundation and the Board of the Andrus Family Foundation.

Thanh Tran is an Amerasian Vietnamese and Black filmmaker, music artist, and community organizer from Sacramento, California. He co-founded Uncuffed, an award-winning podcast amplifying incarcerated voices, and ForwardThis Productions, one of the first film collectives led entirely by incarcerated people. He is now the Founder & CEO of New Krma Media, a social enterprise supporting system-impacted artists through film, music, and cultural strategy. Its flagship initiative, the Returning Filmmaker Fellowship, provides formerly incarcerated filmmakers with training, resources, and paid opportunities to build sustainable careers and complete original films. Thanh is a Film Independent Amplifier Fellow and directs Finding Má, a feature-length documentary following his family’s search for their unhoused mother after decades of separation by foster care and incarceration. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the New Breath Foundation and the Board of the Andrus Family Foundation.

Sonnet Simmons is a keynote speaker, voice and presence mentor, performer, and entrepreneur who helps leaders, founders, and creatives communicate with greater trust, authority, and impact. We highly recommend that you follow her on IG: @sonnetsimmons 

Alex DiFrancesco is the author of the dystopian novel All City, the story collection reflecting trans realities Transmutation, and the memoir Breaking the Curse (2024). They are the recipient of numerous awards and have served as assistant editor for Sundress Publications and edited LGBTQIA+ nonfiction for Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Their work has appeared in Tin House, Electric Literature, Pacific Standard, Eater, and Vol. 1 Brooklyn, among others. DiFrancesco lives in Philadelphia.

Åsa Johannesson is an artist working across photography, writing, and video, exploring queer vocabularies in imagery and text. She has exhibited internationally, and written several books, including the research monograph Queer Methodology for Photography. Åsa’s prose poetry collection And I wanted to see it: my queerness in the best light is forthcoming. Åsa is based in London, UK and her hometown Växjö, Sweden. https://www.asajohannesson.com/

Zeek Taylor is a prominent LGBTQ+ trailblazer who married his longtime partner, Dick Titus, on May 10, 2014, after 42 years together, and became the first legal same-sex male couple to be married in the American South, an event that drew international media attention. 

Zeek is also an award-winning American painter, storyteller, and recipient of the prestigious Arkansas Governor's Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. Zeek lives and maintains a studio in the historic art colony of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

*Thank you for your patience with my technical complications during this recording. 

Jim Obergefell is an American civil rights activist who was the lead plaintiff in the 2015 United States Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States. Listen in as he describes the love of his life, John Arthur, and how his fight continues to inspire generations of people seeking justice and equality. 

Mario Elías is a multidisciplinary artist of Cuban and Syrian descent based in Chicago. His work spans fiction, nonfiction, photography, painting, and printmaking, often exploring themes of identity, memory, and cultural inheritance. His book Queering the Male Gaze reimagined masterpieces of the classical and modern canon through essays and self-portraiture, giving voice to the often-overlooked queer and female figures who shaped them. His portrait collection Perennial Beauty was the inaugural show for Golden Gate University's Social Impact Artist Series. He is the founder of The KindaSuper Project, a philanthropic initiative offering free photography and video services to underserved communities. His debut novel Beloved Disciples comes out May 12th via Amble Press.

Amina Cruz is a photographer known for capturing queer punk scenes within the Latino community and breaking cultural barriers with her work. Cruz captures the intimate moments shared between queer folk and is trying to expand the Latino identity with their work. 
@aminacruz.studio 
www.aminacruz.com/