Please support a dear friend: Talented Black Queer Photographer's Journey to Stability
Bismillah. We begin everything with the name of Allah. We recite Bismillah to initiate an act, acknowledging the intention and ethics that follow.
Hi all!
I come to you all with an ask: please support a dear friend in getting back on their feet. It is very important that I support fellow artists. Nothing about being an artist is sustainable. It is important that we support one another. We are looking to raise 13,000 USD. This is an urgent request.
My name is Kameelah Janan Rasheed, and I am an artist committed to supporting fellow creatives. Today, I am reaching out on behalf of an extraordinary artist and advocate who wishes to remain anonymous for privacy.
This individual is a Black, queer, disabled nonbinary photographer whose photographic work has been featured in major publications nationwide. They have documented the lives and work of celebrated Black writers, musicians, and cultural producers, and has served as a mentor and advocate for marginalized photographers.
In 2025, they lost their full-time job, which provided both a stable income and essential insurance to manage chronic health conditions. Since then, the challenges have mounted: they lost their home, have been moving between friends’ places, and are without a clear safety net. Their storage facility, which houses their entire archive of negatives, books, framed works, and equipment, is now at risk of being repossessed.
Amidst these hardships, a moment of hope arrived in the form of an invitation to participate in a major museum exhibition. However, this opportunity is not possible without community support.
I am asking that we rally around this amazing human to ensure that they have funds to cover the next few months as they work to rebuild their life after this catastrophic disruption. More than anything else, our goal is to secure a period of relief for them. They suffer from very intense depression, and this time has been extraordinarily difficult for them.
For transparency, funds will be used for the following:
Rent for three months
Storage facility fees
Medical insurance
Production for the museum exhibit
Any and all support is appreciated and necessary. Your generosity will help ensure this artist has a moment of ease and can continue their very necessary work.
Kameelah 👽
Finally, while I don’t organize my finances around paid newsletter subscriptions, wouldn’t it be cool if this little newsletter let me take quarterly self-imposed writing retreats? Consider getting a one-year membership at USD 70 :)
How to cite this newsletter: Rasheed, K. (Year, Month Day). Newsletter Title. I Will (?) Figure This All Out Later. URL