The Place in Which I’ll Fit Will Not Exist Until I Make It

To conclude this year’s Pride Month activities, reads selections from writings and interviews featuring queer African American luminaries from the 1950s to the 2020s. Each of the eight Black voices in the reading, unveiled at the inaugural in 2023, corresponds to a decade in the 70+ years of One Institute's existence. This powerful tapestry not only captures snapshots of queer culture from the latter half of the 20th century to the present day, but also serves as a poignant timeline of our community's triumphs and challenges.

Content Warning: This program may contain explicit references to topics relevant to the Black LGBTQIA+ experience, including but not limited to sex, self-harm, substance abuse, racism, homophobia, and transphobia. This program may not be suitable for all ages.

Paul Outlaw is an award-winning Los Angeles and Berlin-based multidisciplinary performing artist. The central themes of his artistic practice are the constructs of race and sexual identity, and the ways in which violence—both physical and psychological— has haunted them throughout Euro-American history. Significant collaborations and solo projects have been presented in Los Angeles by LACMA, MOCA, the Getty, Boston Court Pasadena, Highways Performance Space, Gawdafful National Theater and Los Angeles Performance Practice; nationally by The Lab (San Francisco), Yale Union (Portland, OR); and internationally by the Maxim Gorki Theater (Berlin) and GES-2/V-A-C Foundation (Moscow), among others.

Outlaw was one of the LGBTQIA+ changemakers featured in One Institute’s peripatetic Pride Publics exhibition in 2021. The world premiere of his latest theatrical work, BBC (Big Black Cockroach), will be presented at Los Angeles’ Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in June 2024. For more about Paul Outlaw, please visit outlawplay.com.

Ray Busmann (graphic design) is a German-born artist and educator living in Los Angeles whose career extends across multiple disciplines and multiple continents. Ray’s mission is to enlighten minds and souls through his work on uplifting, heart-centered projects.

Host or Publisher ONE Archives Foundation