Programs & Events

Transhealth and Bloom Local are proud to announce the next installment of the Queer/Trans Valley Emergence Spring Meet-Up Series, a partnership created by and for the local Queer and Trans community, bringing you cultural events throughout the region this Spring! 

Transhealth and Bloom Local invite you to a Local Music Showcase at The Divine Theater at Gateway City Arts featuring musical performances by Doctora Xingona Diana Alvarez and Olivia Nied. 

When: Thursday, May 25, 2023; Doors open at 6pm, Show begins at 6:30pm
Where: The Divine Theater at Gateway City Arts (92 Race Street, Holyoke, MA 01040)
Cost: Suggested Donation $5-$20 suggested donation at the door/in advance via Eventbrite. Proceeds benefit the QTVE Partnership of Transhealth and Bloom Local.  *No one turned away for lack of funds

Accessibility: To foster safer spaces for community connection, we are strongly encouraging folx to wear masks at these events, and will have some available at the door. Get more accessibility information specific to each venue.

This event is made possible by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Holyoke Cultural Council, Gateway City Arts, and The Divine Theater. If you are interested in providing media support or press coverage of this event, please contact info@bloomlocal.live. 

About the Artists

DOCTORA XINGONA DIANA ALVAREZ

Doctora Xingona’s ancestors bloom in her/their voice. Her/their songs roar an otherworldly fire against oppression, exalt queer love and liberation, and create a gripping atmosphere for healing. Doctora Xingona’s poetic songs live in-between, where borders are a myth. An expansive multimedia artist and educator, Doctora Xingona’s music, poetry, performances, films, and gatherings center transcendence, kinship, and the co-liberation and nourishment of queer and trans artists of color.

Doctora Xingona is the composer and filmmaker behind the award-winning Quiero Volver: A Xicanx Ritual Opera, a multimedia performance altar for queer and trans BIPOC artists to convene and manifest futures. This performance, awarded by the New England Foundation for the Arts and multiple Massachusetts Cultural Councils, has been described by the press as an “acoustically stunning performance meant to honor women, nonbinary, and genderqueer artists of color.” Quiero Volver has raised over $10,000 to support immigrant justice initiatives, and currently benefits the BridgeSong Fund: Emergency Relief for Western MA Women, Nonbinary, Trans, and Genderqueer Artists of Color, co-founded by Doctora Xingona at the Institute for the Musical Arts in Goshen, MA.

Alvarez’s journey as a songwriter and opera composer began with her award-winning poetry, which centers genderqueer muse, Bruja Juana. In 2008, Alvarez completed her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College, where her poetry collection, Consultations with Bruja Juana, was conceived. Consultations was published by Toadlily Press in 2009, and two of Alvarez’s poems also appear in The Best of Toadlily Press (2011). Poet Sean Nevin said of Consultations, “Diana Alvarez writes the truth through a tincture of magic and prayer, and both the spirits and the living are cupping their ears to listen.”

Dr. Alvarez earned her PhD in Electronic Arts Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she was mentored by groundbreaking composer Pauline Oliveros. Alvarez’s dissertation research is titled Bridge Artistx: Gatherings of Women, Non-Binary, and Genderqueer Artists of Color. At Rensselaer, Alvarez composed her opera, and blended testimonio methods and video portraiture to document the lives and work of women, nonbinary, and genderqueer artists of color. Alvarez’s video art continues to expand. In 2018, Alvarez was commissioned to create a documentary for the world premiere of Sharon Bridgforth’s performance installation, dat Black Mermaid Man Lady at allgo, a statewide queer people of color organization in Austin, Texas. In addition to her documentary commissions for Bridgforth, Alvarez has directed her own music videos, as well as a music video for internationally recognized singer-songwriter and jazz musician, Pamela Means.

Doctora Xingona Diana Alvarez has been awarded grants from New England Foundation for the Arts, Iguana Music Fund/Club Passim, Easthampton City Arts, Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and Mass MoCA, Massachusetts Assembly/ArtPlace America. Alvarez is the recipient of the Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize from the Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown, MA) and the Malcolm S. Morse Graduate Research Enhancement Award in Honor of Pauline Oliveros from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Alvarez has also been an artist-in-residence at Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada.

Doctora Xingona is an invited performer, guest lecturer, workshop facilitator, and keynote speaker at venues and schools across the US and worldwide, including Festival Internaciónal Cervantino, MX, Philadelphia Folk Festival, PA, Banff Centre for the Arts, Folk Alliance International, and many more.

Doctora Xingona’s debut album, Ser Artista–a roaring, genderqueer, extraterrestrial, Xicanx collection of songs produced by Seth Glier–was released in December 2021.

OLIVIA NIED

Olivia’s poignant songs reflect her unique life experience shared with audiences through moving vocals and unique instrumentation on guitar, piano, bass, ukulele, melodica, violin and percussion.

Trained at Hampshire College, Goldsmiths – University of London, Berklee College of Music, and the Vermont Jazz Center, Olivia is an innovative composer, arranger, and producer who creates original music for live performance, modern dance, theater and independent film. She has performed across the US and Europe as a solo artist and session player as well as with various groups and ensembles exploring rock, indie-pop, new-grass and jazz. 

Stop by and visit our Community Room!

We offer free clothes and gender-affirming apparel from our Community Closet, LGBTQ resources and navigation services, video games, a library, a laptop with internet access for research, work, or job searches, and a safe space for trans and gender-diverse folks to hang out.

• Drop-in Hours: Monday-Wednesday as well as Friday from 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm. Open to Transhealth patients and clients as well as trans and gender-diverse community members.
• Community Closet: Visit us during drop-in hours or you can make an appointment by emailing thcommunity@transhealth.org. Our Community Closet is open to Transhealth patients and clients as well as trans and gender-diverse community members. The closet features clothing, winter materials, shoes, cosmetics, accessories, and other gender-affirming apparel, all free of charge.

Interested in donating to the Community Closet? We are currently accepting donations of new or gently used binders, trans tape, or unused make-up. Please email thcommunity@transhealth.org to arrange for a time to drop off your donation.

Join our new Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Group at Transhealth for Transhealth patients! This 12-week group is for beginners looking to form a foundation of knowledge around Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, as well as for more experienced folks who are looking to re-acquaint themselves with or build upon DBT skills they’ve acquired in the past. Transhealth patients only. 

When: Every Tuesday from 5 – 6 p.m. starting June 6th
Location: Virtually
Cost: All insurances accepted.

Facilitated by two experienced practitioners: our LICSW, (they/them) works in private practice, providing integrative psychotherapy to queer and trans individuals and their families. Outside of their clinical work, they enjoy solving puzzles, cooking, dancing, and hanging out with their siblings. Thee group is also facilitated by a Graduate Student from Antioch University (they/he). He is interested in providing trauma-informed and relationally-centered care for trans communities. They can often be found walking with their dog or riding their bicycle.

Email dbtgroup@transhealth.org to sign up and for more info.

We invite you to join our hybrid support group for parents who identify and belong to the trans & gender-diverse community. Facilitated by one of our experienced trans Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LICSW), this group is free and open to all!

When: Last Wednesday of Every Month at 6pm
Location: Join either in-person at Transhealth or virtually via zoom
Cost: Free

When: Monthly in the evening

Location: In-person or via Zoom

Description: Transhealth offers a peer support group for our patients and clients as well as trans and gender-diverse community members ages 13-18. This group is non-clinical and is not intended as group therapy. Rather, this group is for trans and gender-diverse individuals to build support and community through discussions and activities. For more information, please email Mia (she/her) at thcommunity@transhealth.org.

When: Monthly in the evening

Location: In-person or via Zoom

Description: Transhealth offers a peer support group for our patients and clients as well as trans and gender-diverse community members ages 18-30. This group is non-clinical and is not intended as group therapy. Rather, this group is for trans and gender-diverse individuals to build support and community through discussions and activities. For more information, please email Mia (she/her) at thcommunity@transhealth.org.

When: Monthly in the evening

Location: In-person or via Zoom

Description: Transhealth offers a peer support group for our patients and clients as well as trans and gender-diverse community members ages 30+. This group is non-clinical and is not intended as group therapy. Rather, this group is for trans and gender-diverse individuals to build support and community through discussions and activities. For more information, please email Mia (she/her) at thcommunity@transhealth.org.

Join us for our latest Queer and Trans Listening Circle series. Our Trans Listening Circle will be held the following dates: March 20, April 6, April/17, and May 1 from 7:30-9pm. Our Queer and Trans Listening Circle will be held on March 23, April 6, April 20, and April 27 from 7-8:30pm.

Location: Zoom

Cost: $8-$100 sliding scale for the full series paid in advance

Description: Deep Listening Circles are a practice that nurtures relationships with ourselves and others in an inclusive and reflective environment. Each individual has the opportunity to speak without interruption, to sit in silence, or to pass, cultivating an opportunity for deep listening, respect, and acknowledgment of the importance and validity of each person’s experience and presence. The wholeness of an individual’s experience is welcome in the circle. Participants commitment to attending all four circles.

The circles are led by M. Rudder (they/them) and Ylisse Bess (she/they). For more information and to register, contact M. Rudder at m@mrudder.com.