June 29, 2024 – The Place in Which I’ll Fit Will Not Exist Until I Make It

To conclude this year’s Pride Month activities, One Institute is proud to invite award-winning performing artist Paul Outlaw for an encore presentation of “The Place in Which I’ll Fit Will Not Exist Until I Make It.” Unveiled at the inaugural Circa: Queer Histories Festival in 2023, the reading features selections from writings and interviews by queer African American luminaries from the 1950s to the 2020s. Each of the eight Black voices in the reading 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.

This program will take place at Mercado La Paloma in South Los Angeles from 6-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, 2024. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and the reading will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a reception with One Institute and the artists.

This event is free and open to the public. RSVP by clicking the button below.

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.

About the Organizers

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.

C. Jerome Woods (Event Co-Producer) is the founding/director of the Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project, an organization established to chronicle the lives, times, and contributions of Black LGBT persons and their significant others. He is a retired special education teacher and published poet. In addition, he is a recipient of various community, literary, cultural, and educational awards. Previously, he has worked with One Institute as an artist in Pride Publics: Words and Actions (2021) and as a member of the Circa: Queer Histories Festival Steering Committee (2023). As he continues to collect, exhibit, document, and share that which is Black LGBT (+), he hopes to establish a repository that will house, preserve, present, and provide study as well as research and discovery opportunities in Los Angeles.   

This event is presented by One Institute and co-produced by C. Jerome Woods. Texts selected and edited by Paul Outlaw. Graphic design and animation by Ray Busmann. Photograph by A.G. Jones. This program is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Special thanks to our venue partner, Mercado La Paloma.

Image credit: A.G. Jones.