X collective X brings together Black and Afro-descent writers, editors, and artists who are trans, queer, and/or disabled. We create spaces for marginalized artists, amplifying their voices through literary and artistic contributions.
"Sometimes, all you need to feel supported and continue to thrive, are the words from
those that understand the path you were born into"
Slayeth Love
What we do
Through theater, poetry, essays, and visual arts, we use art to imagine an inclusive world. Via artist residencies, publishing, literary creation, and archiving, we work towards more engaged and accessible institutions.
Why we exist
Our mission is to use art not only to imagine but build together for a more diversity empowered inclusive world. Through publishing, literary creation, and archiving, we work for accessibility, representation, and equity in the arts, believing in its transformative power not only for marginalized communities, but all humans on the planet.
OUR STORY
Founded in Geneva in 2018 to create safer spaces for Black queer individuals and their families, the collective began with community brunch gatherings. As attendees shared their artistic practices but lacked access to the institutionalized art world, we shifted focus to provide a platform for artistic expression and archiving. With Blackness as a political stance, we embrace an inclusive approach across marginalized identities, challenging societal norms and creating a supportive environment for artistic growth and experimentation - particularly for queer, trans, and disabled Black and Afro-diasporic artists.
Activities/projects/events
on ne vous l'apprend pas – Podcast and Sound Creation Practice An experimental audio project blending indigenous science fiction, Afro-cosmic autofiction, and binaural sound to question Earth-bound systems of categorization. Publishing Spring 2026, it examines how language creates borders between identities, geographies, bodies, and ways of knowing. The first edition of our podcast series builds the foundation for our ongoing sound creation practice and archiving.
U N ~ T E A C H A B L E - An initiative honoring creative processes and marginalized artistic practices in archiving and artistic education, centering care, experimentation, and situated knowledge. The current iteration, Embedded Perspectives, funded by Pro Helvetia, will culminate in a digital syllabus as an immersive experience. [Watch the videos here.]
Literary Kiki - A series of relaxed performances celebrating poetry, disability, and queer expression—offering a space for joy, resistance, and experimentation beyond normative formats. Held 2024-2025 at Kaserne Basel, Humbug Basel, Gessnerallee Zürich, and Theaterspektakel Zürich. [Watch the videos here.]
Talk Talk Talk - Sound Creation Practice Our first podcast in collaboration with Migrart (February 2025), exploring embodied archives, voice, and storytelling as tools for queer resistance and relational knowledge. [Listen here.]
QUEER LINEAGES / QUEER ROOTS - Performances and collective reflection centering diasporic queer and trans experiences in Europe, with special attention to racialized queer/trans Europeans. Held at The Recovery Plan, Florence, September 2024. Funded by the city of Geneva.
SLAYETH LOVE - Published by Edition Assemblage, March 20, 2024. A collection of letters by and for Queer Afro-diasporic individuals—celebrating and archiving complex experiences of identity, love, memory, community, and resilience. [Link to the book here.]
Blackity Black Black - Our first publication: a poetry zine by queer Black authors for Cassandra Press' LUMA exhibition, 2021. [Link to the zine here.]
