Building Community

These masks are expressions of hope and identity—worn declarations of presence and protection.

I founded MaskOutHate at the height of the pandemic, a BIPOC artivist initiative that held multilingual community dialogues on experiences of racial hate during COVID, and explored what was needed to affirm our communities' identities and sense of well being. We drew and designed mask designs with community members and worked with BIPOC-owned fabricators to distribute them into our communities. Every group we met with asked for more—more time, more space, more connection. 

The project addressed immediate needs—PPE, income for artists and businesses—and built longer-term cultural visibility. Exhibitions of the masks helped shift awareness and public discourse while uplifting creative resilience.