I am Unity: Malachi Lily

Unity at the Initiative: a multi-site visual exhibition and at-home experience centering art by and for Queer and Trans Artists of Color. I am:_____ is a blog series to get to know our partners.

I am Malachi Lily (they/them), a shapeshifting, black, mixed, genderfluid poet, artist, curator, and moth. I connect to the Collective Unconscious via energy work, Active Imagination, mysticism, myth, magick, folklore, and fairy tales. This channelling often takes the form of poetry and illustration, as well as the curation of gallery and performance events, exhibitions, and experiences of queer, black joy. My art forms a tangible permeation into the concept of Oneness - living in the reality that we are all manifestations of the same source energy and we are connected through infinite possibilities of forms. It is my most humble honor to bring the divine forms of black and queer/trans, and especially black, queer/trans people into a tangible and visual existence through art. I offer myself as vessel for other black and brown queer/trans folk to channel their various forms and visions. Revealing the infinitely expansive divinity of our existence is my life’s purpose, period. I am also one of these deities. A being not between gender but above, below, dancing with it, and inside it, bursting through every cell of the concept, mutating gender into every possible form. One day I feel genderfluid, encompassing it all, and other days I feel agender inhabiting the negative space, the dark matter, where gender cannot exist. I’m one of those they/thems, a collective entity. My relationship with divinity is intimate. We are lovers, warriors, and friends, but most importantly, always together. Through my abilities and by listening to all that guides me, I offer methods to break barriers and reveal the symbols, archetypes, emotions, and lessons that exist in everyone to support the transformation of our collective consciousness. Specifically within human experience, my work aims to reclaim the spiritual body of black and brown people. Born and based in Philadelphia, I'm living as a freelance artist balancing all of my passions.

Finish this sentence with a word or two: I am a:_______

Shapeshifter

What's the most half-baked hobby you took on since the COVID-19 shutdown?

Ha! Frankly I have been more immersed in my art practice than ever before during this time. We are in a gestation time and so much is transforming and growing.

What are you binge-watching?

As much animation as possible

What's the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

I've been listening to various DND podcasts and youtube channels, and I've been really enjoying listening to Fantasy High on Youtube while I work, it makes me crack up!

If you were to create a signature skate move, what would the move involve/look like?

I don't skate but if I did I think I'd like to be known for staying on the board perfectly still for extraordinary amounts of time as if I was effortlessly gliding through space.

Anything you'd like to share with the world?

When black transwomen are free, we will all be free and we must dedicate ourselves to creating a reality where all black transwomen can feel consistently safe and joyful. Being one of these deities, being trans, does not excuse me from a dedication to revealing and asserting the divinity of all those further marginalized than myself. This is key to bringing balance to our existence.