member-generated medicine for today's social ills brought to you by Realest Exposure & Queerly Complex.
Over a DECADE of doing the damn thing!
Over a DECADE of doing the damn thing!
cover photo by Beam Yompool
GOALS
TO CREATE A PRODUCTION STUDIO for arts, media, wellness, and organizing that generates people power towards eradicating the Billionaire Agenda ruling City Hall.
TO PROVIDE FREE SPACE to people’s movements, formations, and education (e.g. Trans March, San Francisco People’s Budget Coalition, the Race and Equity in All Planning Coalition, Queer Art Club, Olive Branches, Gay Shame, Bay Area Anarchist Free School, etc. and individual artists, mediamakers, and organizers) for meet-ups, workshops, art builds, mutual aid drives, and popular education.
TO PRODUCE A SEASONAL CALENDAR (Winter / Spring, Summer, Autumn) of weekly events, activities, activations, exhibitions, and co-working days that establishes QOMPLEXI as an accessible, consistent, dependable, and resilient People’s Hub that can weather the shifting economic landscape (aka boom and bust cycles) fueled by Billionaire interests and money.
SPACE NEEDS
WE ARE LOOKING FOR FREE TO LOW-COST PHYSICAL SPACE IN SAN FRANCISCO with these preferences:
- Ground Floor for accessibility purposes
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A large room that can accommodate up to 30 people for meetings, workshops, art builds, etc.
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At least TWO OFFICES with doors that lock
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One that can be converted into a large closet for art supplies, mutual aid supplies, gear, all the things that make production possible.
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One that can be converted into a Media Production Studio, including photography and audio.
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An accessible bathroom
- A kitchenette or space for a hospitality station
- In the Mission, SOMA, Tenderloin, Castro, Western Addition / Fillmore neighborhoods
We are open and flexible regarding exact space needs and duration of lease. The most important thing is AFFORDABILITY, so we can give space away for FREE.
photos by Beam Yompool
Contribute to
By contributing to QOMPLEXI you are supporting a Black & white, queer, San Franciscan-led effort to build PEOPLE POWER through offering FREE SPACE for arts, media, wellness, & organizing production.
Frequency
One time
Monthly
Amount
$5
$30
$150
$500
$1,000
Other
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Comment (optional)
photos by Beam Yompool
Beliefs & Guides
QOMPLEXI believes the liberation of all our relations (human, other-than-human, and more-than-human) from the man-made systems of Power-Over dominating, punishing, and oppressing Us All is possible, present, and part of a rich history and tradition began by our ancestors.
QOMPLEXI believes curiosity, compassion, reliability, trust, flexibility, patience, integrity, pleasure, accountability, transformation, creativity, release, and accessibility are the seeds, soil, and sustenance of Power-With gifted to Us All by our ancestors.
QOMPLEXI believes We All have a shared responsibility to cultivate Power-With through practicing pluriverse praxis, intersectional meaning making, mutual care, and autonomous collective action in the here and now (aka interdependence) to propagate the seeds, soil, and sustenance for generations upon generations of descendants.
QOMPLEXI believes articulating guides, questions, and practices aids Us All in discerning how We All show up in space and time together to live within a QOMPLEXI cosmology, and how We All can hold collective accountability when Power-Over inevitably manifests.
NOTE: The usage and definition of We All / Us All grows from the book Right Story, Wrong Story by Tyson Yunkaporta.
Queer
Queer.
Organize
intersections.
Make
& remake.
Practice
patiently.
Love
all relations.
Embrace
flow.
eXpand
Access
Invite
complexity.
Who is QOMPLEXI for?
QOMPLEXI is building a People's Hub for art, media, wellness, and organizing production that will act as a FREE gathering space for member-based organizations, formations, and groups, so We All can get to know one another and generate People Power to eradicate the Billionaire Agenda ruling City Hall.
MEMBERS
are organizations, formations, small businesses, and individuals (e.g. Trans March, San Francisco People’s Budget Coalition, Queer Art Club, Olive Branches, etc.) that need access to FREE, accessible, and dependable space for meetings, workshops, art builds, mutual aid drives, & media production
MEMBERS' COMRADES
are the everyday San Franciscans (aka beloveds, comrades, and neighbors) of our Members.
NEIGHBORS
are the soon-to-be beloveds, comrades, and neighbors that are in physical proximity to wherever QOMPLEXI ends up being located.
photo by Beam Yompool
Sign Up 4 Announcements!
Tray Smith
Trayvon “Tray” Smith is a San Francisco based creative producer, curator, photographer, and cultural strategist whose work centers authentic storytelling, community care, and the visibility of Black and LGBTQIA+ communities. As the founder of Realest Exposure, Tray creates experiences, events, exhibitions, portraits, and multimedia campaigns that help artists and community organizations communicate their stories with clarity and intention. His practice moves between creative direction, event production, photography, and narrative strategy, blending artistic expression with the systems and structures needed to sustain meaningful work. Tray is especially interested in documenting people as they are: complex, evolving, and worthy of being seen beyond stereotypes. Through intimate portraiture and community-centered programming, he creates spaces where people can feel affirmed, represented, and connected. His work has included collaborations with artists, wellness practitioners, cultural institutions, nonprofits, and grassroots organizations throughout the Bay Area. Across every project, Tray approaches creativity as both an artistic tool and a form of relationship-building; one that can preserve stories, strengthen communities, and open new possibilities for how people see themselves and one another.
Jason Wyman
Jason Wyman is Queerly Complex. They are Queer in sexuality, gender, politics, and perspective, and these intersections inform how Wyman moves, shows up, and creates. Queerly Complex seeks to undermine and abolish Power-Over and cultivate the conditions for Power-With to flourish. Wyman believes all liberation is tied to one another. They were trained in the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond’s Anti-Racism framework while in AmeriCorps, and facing, naming, and understanding race and racism is core to Wyman’s identity, and thus Queerly Complex praxis. They have named themselves divergent, and Wyman was diagnosed with ADHD. They appear as a cismale and notice the privileges afforded when Wyman plays into that role. Wyman, too, is poor, and Queerly Complex understands and experiences that as a unique culture that is informed / influenced by precarity fueled by the state and the ruling class. Queerly Complex Cultural Strategy, Design, Performance, and Art has appeared in City Hall, in homes and cafes and galleries, on stages big and small, and in public plazas where all are invited to co-create. Wyman is a Steering Committee member of San Francisco People’s Budget Coalition, one half of Tree of Change with Crystal Mason, a Founding Member of 465 Collective, on the board of People Power Media, and organizes with Trans March.
photos by Beam Yompool
Digging into the Details
Digging into the Details
Objectives
♥︎ To find and sustain a long-term, deeply affordable space for arts, media, wellness, and organizing production run by Tray Smith / Realest Exposure and Jason Wyman / Queerly Complex ♥︎ To build a Member Network of individuals, organizations, small businesses, and formations that need space for their arts, media, wellness, and organizing production. ♥︎ To connect Member Network’s beloveds, comrades, and neighbors to one another to grow Everyday San Franciscan People Power that can take on the Billionaire Agenda ruling City Hall ♥︎ To educate Everyday San Franciscans on the issues, politics, and culture currently at play in San Francisco and reveal how it either advances or eradicates the Billionaire Agenda ruling City Hall ♥︎ To produce mass art and media for direct actions, social media, and tabling that educate San Franciscans about the Billionaire Agenda, Actions to Eradicate It, and How We All Generate People Power ♥︎ To be active neighbors and participants in the neighborhood in which COMPLEXI operates through efforts like Cultural Districts, Community Benefit Districts, or Merchant’s or Neighborhood Associations as a counterweight to Billionaire-aligned neighbors influencing neighborhood politics ♥︎ To grow a list of Everyday San Franciscans that can be activated for direct actions and other organizing efforts pushing back against the Billionaire Agenda ruling City Hall ♥︎ To eradicate the Billionaire Agenda ruling City Hall
Outcomes
★ A Member Network of at least 10 individuals, organizations, formations, or small businesses that need space for arts, media, wellness, or organizing production for building People Power ★ A Weekly Event Series (similar to Thursdays Are for Queers and Comrades or Tuesdays Together) that combines casual art making, mutual aid, and political education and is offered FREE to the general public Regular activity in the Community Room and the Media Production Studio by Members ★ Co-working days for Members and the neighbors as a means to get work done and make casual connections A Signal Group for Everyday San Franciscans that want to take action against the Billionaire Agenda ruling City Hall ★ Participation in at least one neighborhood-based Cultural District, Community Benefit District, Merchant’s Association, or Neighborhood Associate as a means to be an active neighbor ★ Art & Media (e.g. posters, signs, zines, carousels, short-form videos, memes, street theater, etc.) that creatively advances messages educating the broader public about the Billionaire Agenda ruling City Hall, Actions to Eradicate It, and How We All Generate People Power distributed through direct actions, social media, and tabling at community events
Finances
Known Expenses for Project ♦︎ Deeply Affordable Space Rental ♦︎ General Liability Insurance ♦︎ Commercial Property Insurance ♦︎ Hospitality (water, snacks, etc.) ♦︎ Internet ♦︎ Electricity ♦︎ Garbage ♦︎ Administration and Bookkeeping Services Revenue Streams ♦︎ Personal Investments ♦︎ Sponsorships ♦︎ Contributions Grant ♦︎ Significant Rent Discount Pro-Bono Support Needed ♦︎ Legal Support ♦︎ Bookkeeping ♦︎ Graphic Design ♦︎ Social Media Posting
