Founder

Disclose Them was born out of a need for catharsis.

After years of witnessing and enduring rampant abuse within intersecting creative industries, and while receiving a growing collection of whisper network testimonials, I developed Disclose Them: a platform to disclose  abuse within the arts, with the mission of sparking discourse and dismantling complicity with violence across creative communities globally.

In collaboration with a select group of volunteers, we quickly created a revolutionary anonymous submission platform. This vehicle empowers survivors to share their stories with self-determined anonymity, in the privacy of their palms.

With a nuanced list of over 80 different types of abuses to choose from, our format presents a comprehensive approach to defining, and beginning to process one’s experiences, reflective of the expansive nuance that unwanted experiences often contain.

Our tactical vetting and filing system made it possible to confidently and consentingly share hundreds of the nearly three thousand initial entries submitted, all while maintaining  survivor anonymity.

Disclose Them has made justice possible for dozens of community members. We have successfully mediated resolutions on behalf of community members, holding entities such as record labels and venues accountable for their artists and colleagues. In other cases, we’ve fascilitated desired, meaningful amends being made and legal action being taken.

Most prevalently, our work brings impact through the process of disclosure and the power of discussion. Combing the archive of ones story and sharing it somewhere it is sure to be held has empowered our survivor led community to blaze their own trail toward healing and peace, and supplied our allies with insightful pathways to actionably uphold anti-violence.

To date, "Disclose Them" has received submissions from six continents. Our one and only publication of accused, available on a private Instagram account for just 24 hours, influenced journalistic exposes featured on The Fashion Law, The Cut, and the BBC.

Disclose Them is on hiatus, but our submission form remains active and can be accessed here. 

_{TRIGGER WARNING: The following graphics contain language related to abuse and sexual violence. Please practice self-care and assess if you are in the right space to read this sensitive learning material.}



^{Interview for BBC series, The Next Episode
Hosted by Miquita Oliver
Featured guest, Indigo Tshai
Runtime: 24 minutes}

Gender Authenticity Panel, BASIC/DEPT® ²⁰²¹

Panelist

Global branding and digital design agency, BASIC/DEPT, is a known leader in bringing greater cultural relevance to household names. With their finger on the pulse, B/D is uncompromisingly driven to provide memorable brand experiences to their clients' consumers.

Internally, BASIC/DEPT is dedicated to fostering a progressive and inclusive work environment for employees. As a testament to this, the company hosted a Pride celebration in June 2021, assembling a group of three LGBTQIA+ panelists across industries to share their journey in becoming authentically themselves.

Like many queer folks, I still experience hesitancy with being “out” in professional spaces. This panel served as an opportunity to reinforce and celebrate who I am, to commemorate where the queer community has been, and to consider where we can go when we live out loud.

Breath Work and Guided Meditation,
Clubhouse ^{2020 - 20021}

Host

Long-established yoga teacher Shakeera Kelly found herself in a sea of isolation and uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. However, Shakeera would soon find her footing, carving out a space for herself on the spellbinding social app Clubhouse.

Likening the platform to AOL Instant Messenger, Clubhouse consists of chatrooms. During the beta testing days of lockdown, users were able to  engage in real-time, audio-only conversations with people they had never met and couldn’t see. At a time when society was seeking connection more than ever before, Clubhouse rooms built connective superhighways for shared interests, new information, opportunity, and unique human contact experiences in a mesmerizingly intimate way.

With no mutual friends or acquaintances, Shakeera and I met by chance in a nondescript Clubhouse room. We connected over our values for intentional living, the journey toward inner peace, accessibility to alternative wellness practices, and yoga. Soon, we came together to share a special offering with our budding community.

As co-host and moderator, Shakeera introduced yoga fundamentals and answered questions pertaining to her practice. I followed by providing 20 to 40 minutes of guided meditation paired and live instrumentation, which I performed from my living room. Tibetan and crystal singing bowls, crystal singing bowls and chimes were utilized for the sound healing element of my offerings.

At its height, we attracted nearly 300 participating listeners, effectively demonstrating that world-building within the most trying of times is not only possible but life-sustaining.

Years prior, I shared a recorded meditation with my friend and would-be collaborator, Civil. As a revered producer and DJ with a distinctly progressive sonic identity, my innovative yoking of ancient, and simple yet sacred breathwork practices with emerging tech was met with great reverence. Inspired to take this work to yet another world, Civil integrated one of my recorded meditations into an experimental soundscape entitled, "Spatial."

“Spatial” was released in December, 2020 through indie record label, Jerome Worldwide.

^{Civil, “Spatial”
Feat. Indigo Tshai
Runtime: 3 minutes}

James Talib-Dean / JTD Housing Encampment ²⁰²⁰

Organizer

The James Talib-Dean Housing Encampment was formed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, led by resident organizers and unhoused activists in the city of Philadelphia.

As an organizer, I spearheaded an initative to establish relationships with service industry workers in the area. For five months, I coordinated and delivered several dozen family-sized hot food trays to our residents for dinner, and delivered artisan pastries provided by local cafes for late morning snacks.

I also led kitchen equipment and fodstuffs acquisitions. From propane, hot plates, refrigerators, and commercial-sized freezers to spices, oil, and, produce, I successfully sourced free and low-cost appliances and cooking essentials for our fully functional resident-organizer-run outdoor kitchen. These actions fed more than 300 residents and 200 non-resident food insecure individuals, daily.

Lastly, I assisted with social services applications, shelter placement, provided residents with laundry and ride services, and supported negotiations with city agencies and legislators to advance our mission.

Our collective tenacity garnered a monumental land trust deal with The Philadelphia Housing Authority, placing 15 formerly housless families in forever homes and ensuring a major shift towards fair housing for all Philadelphia residents.

Last pictured is Jennifer Bennetch, the leading organizer of the 2021 PHA standoff. A longtime advocate for fair housing, Jennifer was the force behind three self-sustaining houseless encampments across the city. Relentless in her fight towards a better life for her community, she trailblazed a path that saw several community-level victories.

Tragically, Jennifer passed away due to COVID-19 complications in February 2022. She was 36. She is survived by her three children and life partner. Her legacy lives on through the indelible mark she left on the city of Philadelphia.

The collaborative actions of JTD residents and organizers directly inspired dozens of collectivist initiatives and housing advocacy movements during and beyond the worst parts of the pandemic. This work galvanized groups across the US and Canada to take radical action towards fair housing in their respective municipalities and remains one of the most impactful experiences of my life.

^{Interview for NPR
Feat. JTD Housing Encampment Residents
Hosted by Susan Philips
Runtime: 3 minutes}

Founder

Ever seeking solace, I looked to bring my interest in connecting closely with fellow femmes to a tender, community-driven landing pad. Thus, Sanctuary – A Space for Women, was born.

In a floor-seated, circle format, thoughtfully considered themes were introduced to the group. With gentle encouragement, collective introspection, and a group-wide willingness to be vulnerable gave way to empathically supported and cathartic conversation. Topics included "Where Your Trauma Meets Your Opportunity" and "Letting Your Emotions Flow – Finding Fuel in Your Feelings."

Hosted at Sincerely, Tommy, Sanctuary offered an aesthetically pleasing, familiar, and serene space to let it all out amongst strangers and neighbors who would soon become friends. Offerings at Sanctuary’s bi-monthly gatherings included eye-contact exercises, candlelight meditation, yin yoga, and sound healing.

^{Concept, Topical Development, Art Direction, Illustration and Hosted by Indigo Tshai
for Sincerely, Tommy.}

011 ²⁰¹⁷

Featured Subject

🚧 UNDER CONSTRUCTION 🚧

011, the Belgrade dialling code, is a direct reference to the capital, which was repeatedly attacked, marginalised and had its agency taken away by western forces. Despite its ostracism from the conscience of western culture, whos acknowledgement it still seeks, Belgrade’s cultures and subcultures rose again and again from the ruins, maintaining cultural optimism and hope in the most severe circumstances.

Author, Jelena Jelly Luise

011 was written and self published in 2017 by Artist and Photographer, Jelena Luise

Talk To Me Like I’m Not Oppressed or Psychotic ^{2017 - 2018}

Founder

Beginning as a private Facebook group, "Talk To Me Like I’m Not Oppressed or Psychotic" was conceived out of frustration. With grave disdain, anguish, and exhaustion for the misogyny and violence I enduringly encounter as a Black femme, I yearned for refuge and identification.

Amassing roughly a hundred members, this BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ centered group, exclusively for women, femmes, and they/them individuals, participated in meet-ups, drove internal mutual aid, facilitated emergency housing among members, and shared guidance in navigating social services, higher education, and employment.

In March 2017, a core group of "Not Oppressed or Psychotic" members attended the Center for Justice at Columbia University’s annual conference, "Beyond The Bars". Every year, a trans-disciplinary group of students, educators, scholars, activists, and policymakers, in addition to formerly incarcerated individuals and those most impacted by criminalization, gather to discuss, share, and workshop change-making ways to strengthen abolitionist action.

Keynote speaker Dr. Angela Davis participated in several panels with esteemed contemporaries to dialogue on the 2017 theme, “Transcending the Punishment Paradigm”. Panelists included the National Organizer and founding member of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women, Topeka Sam, and the Lead Organizer for the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, Mujahid Farid.

Then 17-year-old Palestinian activist Hebh Jamal was also part of the conversation. As an inner-city high school student, Jamal’s electrifying service work drew considerable attention from local advocacy movements. As a torchbearer within the youth-led organization IntegrateNYC and the non-profit New York Appleseed (which advocates for greater integration in New York City schools), Jamal was central in pulling back the curtain on New York’s highly segregated school system and thus, its subscription to the preschool-to-prison pipeline. Despite both successful allegorical diversity branding, New York City persists as the most segregated city in the nation.

Sadly, much-admired speaker Mujahid Farid passed away due to pancreatic cancer in November 2018. He was 69 years old.

This three-day conference offered our group a life-changing opportunity to commune, consider, and imagine what our world can look like beyond the punishment paradigm, where the carceral state is maintained and funneled through systemic public policy and interpersonal acts of violence.

For me, both Beyond the Bars and "Talk to Me Like I’m Not Oppressed or Psychotic" were paramount in my turn toward activism and organizing. These transformational experiences remain tremendous sources of light, vigor, and wisdom, which I frequently draw from today.