Gran Varones Retreat 2022

this is legacy work. 

when gran varones launched in 2014 in philadelphia, our primary goal was to amplify the stories and document the lives of latinx and black latinx lgbtq folks in philadelphia. never could we have imagined that the project would grow and expand in all of the ways that it has. and that it was only possible because of the support from the community. 

in 2019, with the support of ViiV healthcare, we launched the gran varones positive digital arts fellowship. this provided us the opportunity to work with, pay and support the leadership of emerging latinx and black latinx gay and non-binary storytellers and creatives living with HIV. in july 2021, we began work with our second cohort of six fellows from as many cities.

this is legacy work. 

two weekends ago, after almost a year of virtual meetings, we were able to convene in person in philadelphia. fellows were able to connect and reflect on all that they have learned about organizing events, creating digital content, and archiving stories. we were able to share time and space with each other and be reminded that we all building an archive of our stories that will live forever. 

this is legacy work.