Jaleel Campbell is a self-described multidisciplinary artist. He is an illustrator, community activist, storyteller, curator, event planner, videographer, fiber artist, podcast producer, doll maker and adjunct professor. Now he’s also director of what he calls his “dream project.”
In collaboration with the Syracuse-based theater and production company Breadcrumbs Productions, Campbell is leading Project Out Loud, an awareness campaign that aims to create safe spaces for members of the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities and eliminate barriers to accessing vital resources.
“Through a yearlong series of events and our visibility campaign, we want to amplify the voices of the queer people here in Syracuse, while also building community,” Campbell said. “When I think of the current queer landscape, I do notice it feels like there’s different pockets. What would happen if we were to unite all these different parts of our community? That’s what I’m hoping to do with Project Out Loud.”
Project Out Loud took shape through our new participatory grantmaking initiative, launched in fall 2023. Participatory grantmaking seeks to provide a space for members of historically marginalized communities to collaboratively identify the biggest needs of their individual communities and co-design projects. This includes the opportunity to receive funding to implement what’s needed to address those needs.
“Participatory grantmaking is now a part of our strategic plan to build equity and to invest in socially, culturally and economically diverse communities, those that have historically been disinvested,” said Qiana Williams, program officer at the Community Foundation.
Through monthly meetings and discussions, participants broke into groups based on common interests to focus on addressing a different community need. The LGBTQIA+ group, which included Campbell, Breadcrumbs Productions participants and other community members, noted a lack of support and physical space specifically designed for and by the LGBTQIA+ community, despite the best efforts of community members and nonprofits.
Building on their lived experiences and our life needs assessment data, group members co-designed several program proposals aimed at addressing isolation, resource needs and economic support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Coming together and offering feedback on the best ways to support our own community allowed us to learn from one another, and slowly our plan became more and more clear,” Campbell said. “When we all come together, we have the power to create something special.”
Upon a final vote by all participants, the Project Out Loud proposal was selected and presented with $33,000 in participatory grantmaking support. Funding will allow Project Out Loud to host educational and social events, such as small art workshops, providing spaces for people of all ages from across Syracuse to come together.
“I want this project to be as intergenerational as possible. I want to have everybody young and old. I want to capture queer Black youth. I want to capture queer families,” Campbell said. “I want to capture every type of experience that we have within this community, so that everybody feels seen and supported.”
Tanner Efinger, artistic director of Breadcrumbs Productions, is looking forward to analyzing and sharing the data collected through the project’s programming to better support the LGBTQIA+ community through real, measurable change.
“I’m excited to see what the data tells us and share those results with institutions that should be looking at it and should be asking more about this population and how to support them,” Efinger said. “I believe that through our research and collaboration, Project Out Loud can truly have a significant impact on someone who might be alone or afraid.”
