ABOUT BLACK TRANS AJF

The Black Trans Art & Joy Fund is a private initiative by Naïmah Janse, Sharona Lautoe and Xiomara Virdó that centers community care for Black Trans people (black trans women, black trans men and black trans non binary people).

We do this by organizing crowdfunding initiatives, as well as sharing & connecting networks, and offering practical support to provide the community with space to create, share their art and legacy, and above all: experience joy. 

Our team is based in the Netherlands and a combination of black trans and black and white cis people who are focused on tangible change for the black trans community worldwide.

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Please reach out to us via the contactform if you are a black trans person that could do with community care and we'll try to support you. 

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Community care

The Black Trans AJF is inspired by models of mutual aid, community care, and wealth redistribution. Our first beneficiary, Olave Nduwanje, wrote: “The challenge of these kinds of initiatives and many others (...) is to build community. Communities that give to each other, that support each other, that witness each other, that are powerful together. Communities that change lives, that change destinies, that change systems and structures.”
When we are in community with each other, we resist the idea that to need help is to be a burden. Instead, we care for each other out of collective responsibility. We share resources and redistribute wealth to create equity. We encourage community members that have more access to economic wealth and valuable resources through (generational) privilege, to proactively take on the responsibility of sharing.

We set up the campaigns according to the needs of beneficiaries. We invite you to get in touch with us through the contact form if you have any non-financial resources (skills, a space, knowledge, etc.) that you’d like to share.

Your voice centered
We are dedicated to creating space for your existence, your voice, your art, and your joy. In practical terms, we want to contribute to making the lives of Black trans people in our community easier by simply asking “what do you need?” and moving from there.
This can mean all sorts of things; from funds for a surgery, to an exhibition space, to administrative help. The Black Trans AJF has a global network to support you in terms of funds, community, organizing, practical necessities, knowledge, etc. There is no one-fits-all-model; you decide what kind of care you need, and together we figure out how to move forward.

When you get in touch:

• Please start by filling in the contact form

• We will get in touch with you to see how we can best meet your needs

• We will ask your consent for every step of the journey - you are always in charge

• According to your needs, we connect you to community and/or funds

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