Cassidy Arrington & “Naming Ceremony” (Conjuring Joy at the Bride)
(Photo: “Flores under city lights,” by Cassidy Arrington)
Conjuring Joy at the Bride artist-in-residence
Cassidy Arrington, “Naming Ceremony”
Photography, poetry, and queer identity
On Naming Ceremony: “As someone with complex feelings toward my body as a mark of gender, I intend to use self portraiture, portraiture, and poetry as a practice of noticing and excavating the queer self from the physical body. I will photograph myself and others in the studio setting, living spaces, and the surrounding landscape. Furthermore, I will channel my own experiences, quality time with subjects, and conversations into poems about gender, erotica, and love.”
Includes two free, public events welcoming all folks, but particularly West Philly queer and trans people of color (QTPOC). Space is limited, please RSVP at the links below:
- 8/3: SexEd Art Teach-In, a queer sexual wellness fair with art-making and information exchange stations.
- 8/15: QTPOC Film Screening Night, featuring short films by Philadelphia queer and trans artists, with talkbacks and light refreshments.
Upcoming Events
Telling Our Stories from “Back in the Day”: A “Voices of 52nd Street” Memory Salon
Your Voice – Your Vote: A “Voices of 52nd Street” voter education event
About the artist
Cassidy Arrington (they/them) is a 22 year old poet, photographer, and videographer from Philadelphia, PA with a BA in Ethnicity, Race, & Migration Studies from Yale University. Arrington’s artwork centers intimacy and adolescence in queer and Black kinships. Their practice has been heavily informed by their own experience growing up as a queer Black kid. Poetry has served as an important artistic outlet for Arrington through their involvement with the Philly Youth Poetry Movement, Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival, Yale University Art Gallery and WORD Performance Poetry at Yale. Growing up in the Philadelphia visual art and poetry scene, Arrington developed an intimate relationship to the arts as a means for survival. They channeled this perspective into their photography, determined to depict urban, Black, and queer communities with care.
