About:
Rooted Resilience
Intersectional Narratives of 2SLGBTQIA+ Creatives in Western Massachusetts
Rooted Resilience: Intersectional Narratives of 2SLGBTQIA+ Creatives in Western Massachusetts is a multimedia project exploring narratives of current and contemporary 2SLGBTQIA+ creatives living on colonized Nipmuc, Nonotuck, and Pocumtuc land known as Western Massachusetts.
The project’s outcomes include a podcast, multimedia blog, and public discussion series that will launch in Spring 2025.
Our Project Mission
We seek to preserve and amplify the voices of marginalized contemporary creatives and their often overlooked contributions to the cultural and social fabric of the region.
For the individuals we feature, the project provides a platform to share creative and personal histories and present-day explorations in resilience and community through a holistic lens, validating and uplifting experiences and preserving unique perspectives.
Who We Are
Rooted Resilience is co-directed and produced by Luc Abbott and M Rudder and made possible by a grant from Mass Humanities, which provided funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC).
Additional fiscal sponsorship is provided by Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity, and these community sponsors:
Bloom Local
High Five Books
The Tiny Activist
Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market
Project Co-Directors
Lucas Abbott (they/he) is the owner and founder of Bloom Local and has been cultivating and queering platforms and spaces that foster collective growth in the River Valley of Western Mass since 2021. Bloom Local’s mission is to unite locals with 2SLGBTQIA+-friendly businesses and organizations, nurturing a community where a culture of support blooms. Since its founding, Bloom Local has served more than 50 local 2SLGBTQIA+-owned and -allied small businesses and organizations through its Community Guide and Partner Program and through hosting 25 2SLGBTQIA+-focused networking, cultural, and educational events, welcoming more than 400 event attendees
M Rudder (they/them) is an artist, entrepreneurial creative, and spiritual director who co-creates spaces, relationships, and experiences that affirm, center, delight, and strengthen under-represented intersectional communities and individuals. Their work includes partnership development, event programming for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and caretakers, co-founding and managing Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market, and their work as a Spiritual Director within the 2SLGBTQ+ community and the Bombyx Fellows program. Each of these is a reflection of their commitment to cultivating a deep and meaningful space for interconnection, agency, and resilience.
“Despite the queer roots that run deeply in the Pioneer Valley, this ongoing documentation and archival footage of the 2SLGBTQIA+ & QTPOC doing grassroots work on behalf of the entire community writ large is a project of monumental importance. The 2SLGBTQIA+ community has lost a generation already, and the privilege to age comes with the joyful obligation of preserving our rich history.”
— Corrie Locke-Hardy, Author of The Revolution Will Be Well Fed
Our Invitation
We are asking our community to join in supporting this project with your donation of any amount towards our launch fundraiser. Our goal is to raise $10,000 by the end of 2024 which will serve as a fiscal anchor for additional grant writing and sponsorship opportunities.
You can sign up here to receive email updates about this project and follow us on IG @rootedresiliencepod.
Dig Deeper
Send us a voice memo or write to us at rootedresiliencepod@gmail.com answering:
When you think about 2SLGBTQIA+ narratives being preserved today, what do you hope future generations will take away from hearing these stories?