Artists Sphynxx and Nadeem Ahmed reflect on their queer, multicultural identities while inspiring pride in New York communities.

Always drawn to the intersection of creativity and activism, artist Sphynxx used support from the Artist Employment Program (AEP) to lead creative gatherings at The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center in collaboration with artist Christina Picciano. The Loft collaborated with these artists to empower the LGBTQ+ community in the Hudson Valley, celebrating pride and advocating for greater inclusion. They revived The Artists LOFT, a monthly creative gathering, and launched Queer Planet, an online group for queer ecology enthusiasts worldwide. Both artists helped build key connections with local organizations including the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center, Purchase College, and more.

Sphynxx had a previous relationship with the Loft, having participated in its programs while in the foster care system as an adolescent. “I remember just feeling safe and learning that I wasn’t alone in being queer,” they said. After high school, Sphynxx worked in the retail and veterinary fields to support themselves while always making art to inspire creative and social action. 

CRNY’s Artist Employment Program allowed Sphynxx to focus for the first time in their life on their art, which employs salvaged and recycled materials. By using reclaimed materials, Sphynxx finds value in unexpected places, likening it to recognizing untapped potential within people. The AEP also enabled them to grow as a teacher and leader, providing a platform for a possible future path as an art therapist and teacher. “I tapped into becoming a healing facilitator,” Sphynxx said, adding that they emphasized the joyful process and artistic journey, not the final outcomes of art projects. “People were having fun, and we had to be culturally responsive. So I’m learning with my community while also being a part of the community.” 

While collaborating with The Loft, Sphynxx enrolled in a Trauma Creative Arts Therapy certification program in Kingston, NY. “We need to reframe our minds about what an artist is and does, and that’s part of the social work that goes into it,” they said. “​​As a queer person of color, there’s some strife that comes along with just existing. I think art is an absence of fear and being able to say and advocate what you want to. I know what it’s like to be an outsider. I know what it’s like to be oppressed. This residency gave me the mission to teach technique and have a social impact on others.”  

Nadeem Ahmed, born in Bangladesh and currently living in New York City, is a musician who knows first-hand about being caught between two identities. “Bangladeshi people often, regardless of their social status, see LGBTQIAP+ people as unacceptable,” said Ahmed, a music producer and sound engineer who has contributed to New York’s Bangladeshi culture. “If a family member is a queer person and the others are aware of that, all will feel ashamed and carefully try to hide this identity from their relatives, friends, and families. Queer people struggle enormously in their life to fit into Bangladeshi society with respect and dignity.”

Having started in radio and television as a musician in the 1970s, Ahmed grew his skills and became involved in film, soon becoming a music director for movies in the 1980s. He has performed on stage and gone on tour in multiple countries, including England, Singapore, Qatar, and Bahrain, until settling in New York. Ahmed’s passion for music inspired him to create his own music studio, MIDI Music, which has helped spread the talents of numerous Bangladeshi artists for the past 34 years and taught music to many more.

Through the Artist Employment Program, Ahmed was one of three artists collaborating with the Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts (BIPA) in Queens, New York. Ahmed and the other artists created a series of multidisciplinary events called “Queer Reflections,” a combination of open conversations, video presentations, recitations, writing, composing and recording new songs and dances based on humanity and gender equality. The activities involved student performers at BIPA as well as artists from the Bangladeshi queer community. They also celebrated the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with LGBTQIAP+ guests by arranging an evening with Iftar, the evening meal to break the daily Ramadan fast, prayers and religious songs, sung by the vocalists from both communities. 

Ahmed said he believes that his art and his message have the potential to change hearts and minds in the Bangladeshi community. “Humans have the gift of introspection. Music can change people by inspiring and connecting them to each other,” Ahmed said. “My work with art and music has acted as a way to open the conversation floor between the Bengali community and the LGBTQIAP+ community where some people who were against non-heterosexual orientations and non-cisgender identities have now become sympathetic to this community and acknowledge their struggles.”

Ahmed said that the funding from AEP was invaluable to his family during the pandemic, and also allowed him to work full-time on his “Queer Reflections” projects. “It has also uplifted my spirits and made me feel honored to have been involved in something as important as this,” Ahmed said.

Photo of Artist Employment Program artist Sphynxx. Photo courtesy of Sphynxx.