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MEET THE MAKERS

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in mold is closure is a new beginning is moulding is light by rosa pitacas @phellieppe
i'm rosa a 27 year old trans non binary person living and working with my partner, plants and cat,
in my work i explore memories and the vacancy distortion and absence of memories can create through the distortion of photos and collaging them to replace any meaning and objectivity a photo represented into a new picture

Growing Pains by Rowan Tate
Rowan Tate is a creative and curator of beauty currently based in Romania. She reads nonfiction nature books, the backs of shampoo bottles, and sometimes minds.

When they find my bones by Petra-Jurik Dracovich @sclera.centipede
Petra-Jurik Dracovich (it/he/they) is a queer, disabled Azeribaijani writer, poet, and illustrator currently living in the UK. Their work explores queer histories, presents, and futures aiming to show a queerness that has no interest in being unpalatable to a cisheteronormative tongue.

 

Sweetbitter | Dormir | Boy waiting in bed by Robbie McKinstry @robbie.h.mckinstry

I'm a painter and animator living in London. I use art to understand the world around me, through the use of drawing, painting and animation. I seek to find new ways of exploring the male figure and create a sense of gentle tenderness and desire unrepresented in art history.

It’s not me, it’s them by Elsa Nichols @itselsanichols
A native of Eastern North Carolina, Elsa is often found expressing herself through various mediums. When she isn't writing, Elsa is often found seeking other creative outlets, and has ventured into modeling, photography, and graphic design. Her work has been featured in White Noise Zine, The Candid Review, and t'ART Magazine.

Coming Out to God by Natalie Hasan @natalie.hasan_
Natalia Hasan (Nat) is a multidisciplinary artist. They have been exploring photography, videography, sculpting, dance and audio. They have recently been focusing on digital, performative and sound art connecting their love for movement, sound creation and videography.
Through their artistic research they have been exploring body cartography, the mapping of land, plains and space through the human, as a means of creating an equilibrium

between the audience, self and space. The artist's intention is to bring that unity to the foreground. With the way they portray their work they have been trying to escape the white box by portraying art in public spaces in an effort to make it more accessible.

She has recently graduated from the field of Global Humanities where she focused her academic research on the history of Regenerative Agriculture and its effects in contemporary India, as well as how we can focus on bringing awareness to native voices.

Discovering one's own ability to carry a piece of god within them, letting go of passed on restrictions and reclaiming self, the work is a visual representation of boldness and belief in self. The artist having a mixed background, chooses to be influenced by different representations of the divine of the past to bring forward a contemporary version of a queer deity.

queer tears, finding the words + tending to my body/soul by Lou Brown @goodstrangevibes
I’m a non binary artist, I mostly share visual art but I’ve journalled/written a lot in my life as a way to self soothe and process. I want to start sharing more of my vulnerable messy words in the hope they might make others feel less alone, especially for trans people working out their relationship with their bodies.

Unfinished Exit by Claudia Wysocky @claudiawysockyauthor
Claudia Wysocky is a Polish poet based in New York, celebrated for her evocative creations that capture life's essence through emotional depth and rich imagery. With over five years of experience in fiction writing, her poetry has appeared in various local newspapers and literary magazines. Wysocky believes in the transformative power of art and views writing as a vital force that inspires her daily. Her works blend personal reflections with universal themes, making them relatable to a broad audience. Actively engaging with her community on social media, she fosters a shared passion for poetry and creative expression.

So This Is How It Feels by Jenn Zuko @ jennzuko
Body language consultant, fight director, intimacy coordinator. Author. Movement artist & burlesque badass. Ninja emeritus.

Joy Division by Rachel Gambling @gambling.addicted99
I am a bisexual writer, a third-generation South African immigrant, and the daughter of a vicar from Southend-on-Sea, Essex. I write poetry and post film reviews on my website 'girlblog!'.

herthe by HMF Jenkins @hmfjenkins
HMF Jenkins is a writer originally from Warwickshire.

Surrender in Service to Your Body by Akinna Aquino @akinnakinna
Akinna Aquino is a versatile Producer, Writer, and developing Film Programmer working across short films and arts events.

Survivors by Tobi Alfier
Tobi Alfier’s credits include Arkansas Review, The American Journal of Poetry, Cholla Needles, Gargoyle, James Dickey Review, KGB Bar Lit Mag, Louisiana Literature, Permafrost, Washington Square Review, and War, Literature and the Arts.  She is co-editor of San Pedro River Review (www.bluehorsepress.com).
 

Broken by Kathy Bruce @kat10bruce
Kathy Bruce is a visual artist based in Argyll & Bute Scotland. 

She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Fellowship, 2 Fulbright-Hayes scholar grants and a Ford Foundation Grant. Her work has been exhibited in the U.K.,U.S. and internationally including Senegal, Taiwan, Denmark, Peru, France, and Canada.

“As a woman, I make art about women. It is what I know, see, and understand best, and what I feel most qualified to share artistically through my own particular feminist viewpoint. My images depict women experiencing unusual circumstances within the realm of  ordinary everyday occurrences. These images present conflicted, sometimes confused; self-assured women searching, evolving, becoming.”

Harrowing by Azalea Geist
Azalea Geist is a collector of words, an appreciator of bones, and the only member of her family to her knowledge to win a spelling bee with only one contestant.

The Person Next to Me Is Convinced the Government Controls the Weather, But I’m Pretty Sure That’s Just a Jet Stream by Hillary Smith-Maddern @sylviaplathsdrunkghost
Hillary Smith-Maddern is an educator whose work explores the intersections of feminism, queerness, and rage. She is a proud cat lady and an avid collector of neglected plants. When not writing, she can be found exploring obscure topics, hiking in the mountains, or passionately critiquing the patriarchy. Her poetry has appeared in Only Poems, Rogue Agent, and The Disappointed Housewife, among others. She lives in Western Massachusetts.

Smudge by Razvan Ivanov @razvan_ivanov
I’m Raz, a queer artist and architect based in London. My work is deeply influenced by political cartoons and satirical graphic novels, blending sharp social commentary with visual storytelling. Using traditional mediums like watercolor and pencil, I create narratives that reflect both personal experience and a broader exploration of social divides and political tensions—themes that also shaped my architectural studies.

Through my practice, I examine the ways people express identity, from behavior and clothing to makeup and performative acts. By highlighting these expressions, I aim to provoke thought and dialogue around the complexities of selfhood in a socio-political landscape currently marked by division and difference.

Under Construction by Sukriti Patny @wordsbysu
Sukriti lives in India with her husband and her anxiety, and turns to the words in a flailing attempt to stay sane. When she’s not making lists or staring at the moon or over-caffeinating, she can be found sharing her poetry and personal essays in her newsletter - Soul Gazing at Substack. Her work has appeared in Cosmic Daffodil, Dogwood Alchemy, and Molecule - a tiny lit mag amongst others.

 

your cat snores like you by Emily A. Taylor

Emily A. Taylor (she/her) is a writer based in London. She is the founder of the Queer Poetry Collective and The Poetry Society's Islington Stanza. Her work has been published in Anthropocene, Metachrosis Literary Magazine, Pinhole Press, The Coalition for Digital Narratives, and is forthcoming in The Madrigal Issue Ten: Discursion and Ink, Sweat & Tears. She was nominated for the Best of the Net Prize 2024, and is pursuing her MA in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths. You can find her on Instagram @emraylot and Bluesky @emwrote.bsky.social 

Cosette’s Garden by Lorna Wood @lornawoodz
Lorna Wood is a musician, teacher, and writer in Auburn, Alabama, with a Ph.D. in English from Yale. A featured poet in the erbacce-prize contest, she is internationally published and has a collection, The Great Garbage Patch: Reflections on Fascism, on Alien Buddha Press. She has also published fiction, creative nonfiction, and scholarly essays.

Absolute Zero by Kayla Starling @decaf.collage
Kayla Starling is a queer mixed-media artist from Central Florida whose abstract collage works explore grief, hope and existential thought. Combining surrealism and maximalism through 2D analog collage, they urge the viewer to grapple with their own despair — and challenge them to find a way through it. Kayla is currently creating 2D and 3D collages, perfecting their stained glass technique, studying the Spanish language, and working toward food justice in their local community of Tallahassee, Florida.

Rupi Kaur says by Elizabeth H. Winkler @ewinkler71
Elizabeth H. Winkler (she/her) is a queer, Austin-based writer with a publishing day-job who calls Upstate New York’s Adirondack Mountains home. When she's not cycling, making friends at estate sales, or exploring any city with canals, she writes about small beauties in the everyday—which is to say, she writes about love. Her creative work has appeared in "The Showbear Family Circus" and "Cosmographia Books," among others, and is forthcoming in "Wasafiri."

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On Writing by Jessica Bao @jessica_bao13

Jessica Bao is a writer based in New York City. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022 with a BA in English, where she received the Phi Kappa Sigma Fiction Prize, the Nancy Rafetto Leach Sweeten Essay Prize, and the Lilian and Benjamin Levy Award for Reviewing. She is an Essay Reader at Write or Die Magazine, and her work has been published in The F-Word, 34th Street Magazine, and various anthologies. She is from Shanghai, China and Rochester, Michigan. She has a cat who loves to sit on paper and books.

1 in 2 by Fiona Broadhurst @Fionarchist @where.the.word.things.live
Mood killer. Vibe ruiner. Emotional fucker.

Fiona Broadhurst is a queer, trans, disabled, poet writing about queer-love, anarchy, disability, and emotional shit™.

Her first chapbook, Apocalyptic Aphorisms, was published by Back Room Poetry.

She has featured at Incite, and Process. She currently curates Where The Word Things Live, a directory of poetry nights in London.

No More by Lorna Smart
Lorna has been writing poetry and short stories since she was nine. She is currently writing her first novel and creating her first poetry book.

Testament | Between the Jaws by Haley Hodges @haleyhodgespoet
Haley Hodges is an MFA (Poetry) candidate at Seattle Pacific University. She holds qualifications from Hope College, Shenandoah Conservatory, and Oxford University. Her work has been featured in Cassandra Voices, Ekstasis Magazine, Solum Journal, Pink Disco Magazine and elsewhere.

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Miniature Art by Amjad Ali Talpur @amjadali.talpur

Amjad Ali Talpur’s artistic practice defies cursory, inattentive readings. Trained as a miniaturist, he inverts the very trope by staying true to scale but by creating a mosaic of small images in the form of actual, physical puzzles instead of reducing the scale of motifs within one monolithic image. This invites a relationship with his viewers, involving them in the questions of domestic, economic and social pressures that the artist engages with.

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As Talpur states “… My work deals with the formal issues of making the possible views of the visuals. I enjoy the process of the work, randomness, playfulness and humor in my practice. This leads me to comment on the current situation of the society.”

Amjad Ali Talpur was born in Hyderabad, Pakistan in 1979, and received his bachelor’s degree at the National College of Arts, Lahore, in 2005. Recognized early in his career, he received considerable attention for his senior thesis solo show in 2005, and has been included widely in shows featuring contemporary miniatures like those at the Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore, in 2003; the French Embassy, Islamabad, in 2006; Nomad Art Gallery, Islamabad; Chawkandi Gallery, Karachi, in 2007; Aicon Gallery, New York, in 2008; and a solo exhibition at Canvas Gallery, Karachi, in 2008, Ojas art Gallery India 2024 amongst others. Amjad Ali Talpur's  work published in various art magazines articles like The Guardian,  Vouge India, Creative Boom and many more.

The artist was teaching at Shaheed Allah Buksh Soomro University of Art Design and Heritages, and lives and works in Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan as University Lecturer in department of fine arts major “Miniature Painting” and has 17 years of teaching experience. Amjad Ali Talpur recently received the precious UK’s “Global Talent Visa” for his talent and unique work. He is now residing and working in United Kingdom.

Surgery by Makena Metz @Makenametz
Makena Metz is a Writer & Songwriter for the Page, Screen, and Stage. Her prose and poetry have been published with The Literary Hatchet, The Fantastic Other, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Arkana, Strange Horizons, and many more. Find her work @ makenametz on social media and check out makenametz.com

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Chambermaid by Kendra Whitfield @kendrarising

Kendra Whitfield lives and writes on the southern edge of the northern boreal forest.  When not writing, she can be found basking in sunbeams on the back deck or swimming laps at the local pool.  Her poetry has been published by Beyond the Veil Press and Community Building Art Works.

Arca by Cam @camizzzzle
I work in radio, love to DJ with my best pal (as Ghost School) and live in Hackney, London.

Quilting after The Colour Purple by Allison Burris @alliesinklings
Allison Burris grew up in the Pacific Northwest and currently lives in Oakland, California. She received her MLIS from San Jose State University and her poetry appears or is forthcoming in various journals including Instant Noodles, Heartline Spec, Muleskinner, After Happy Hour Review, and The Marbled Sigh.

Jauntily; Magnanimously; Nectar by Michael Moreth
Michael Moreth is a recovering Chicagoan living in the rural, micropolitan City of Sterling, the Paris of Northwest Illinois.

In Defense of Autonomy by Haley Bossé @Haleyb____e
Haley Bossé (they/them) is a queer, non-binary writer, educator, and maker of things you can hold in your hands. They live on Kalapuyan land in the Pacific Northwest.

Eve in Eden by Van Rung @savvofragments
Van Rung is a writer, poet, and enigma based in the Chicago-Milwaukee area. She holds a degree in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Her work has appeared in PULP, House of Long Shadows, and Livina Press. She has work forthcoming with Candlelit Chronicles and The Blunt Space.

Alchemy Fodder by Kate M. Sine @enis.st.sparrow
Kate M. Sine is a poet based in Maryland, where she lives with her husband and their four cats. She has her English degree from Frostburg State University and has works published in HNDL Magazine, Gypsophila Zine, Coop Zine, and Maryland Bard Poetry Review.

 

#1014 by Hugo Espirito Santo @hugojuniores
Hugo Espírito Santo was born in Lisbon (Portugal) in the spring of 1993, and currently lives and works in Paris (France). Although he was always passionate about all forms of art, he was drawn particularly to the pouring technique of abstract painting, starting to develop his own pieces in 2020.

Using acrylic paint (mixed with water, pouring medium and sometimes black coffee) over old canvases, the focus is on depicting altered states of consciousness, while exploring abstract and non-linear shapes. This process involves letting the watered-down paint run its course, conforming itself to its own rhythm and the laws of gravity, without any brushstrokes or much interference at all, as if it had a life of its own.
This liberating process frees both artist and viewer from the constraints of form, structure, and intent. By partially surrendering control, the artist becomes a vehicle for the unpredictable, the unknown. A slave to the laws of gravity, motion and time.

The act of pouring itself is meditative, instinctive, and personal. As the paint dries, it shifts and settles, transforming before the eyes. Here, the canvas does not represent a scene. The canvas itself is the scene. The stage where paint continues reshaping long after it was poured.
The result are paintings that, despite (obviously) being open to interpretation, try to evoke feelings of disorder and conflicted emotions, inviting the viewers to engage with them and channel their own troubling experiences.

Avatar by Neha M. Sampat @nehainprint

As a besharam (shameless) brown, queer, disabled (daily chronic migraine) woman, Neha M. Sampat centers life on multiple margins through her speaking, writing, creating, advocating, and acting up. Their poetry and art are featured in publications and exhibits including The B'K Magazine, HNDL Magazine, and Mission Belonging's Art Saves Lives, and is soon forthcoming in wildscape. Neha is a mama, box-breaker, recovered people-pleaser, and founder of BelongLab. You can find her online at @nehainprint on Instagram and in-person in the SF Bay Area, drinking chai, breaking generational trauma cycles, and making community cool again.​