Who: Eden
– What: Graphic Designer/Artist
– What have you done to make a safe space in the greater community for drag and trans people?
“I have collaborated with Lansing Pride and worked with local performers to grow their own shows.”
Over the years, and since its creation, I have performed with and raised money for Lansing Pride. In the 2025 festival year I partnered up with them to help grow their pageants and drag shows. I have also advised and helped local performers grow their own shows as well, providing guidance as to how to run them and how to traverse different hurdles they face. After Club Spiral closed in 2020, Lansing lost a hub for queer people, and for the local drag scene to grow like it used to. With limited spaces that are intended for queer people in Lansing, it is so important to me that these shows and this festival are successful. So many people don’t have places they can go and feel like they see themselves. Some days it feels like they are living in another person’s world. But if a queer person can walk into a show or a festival and feel like they’ve entered into a slice of the world that is theirs, then I will do what I can to keep those spaces alive. Having places for queer expression is so important!
– What does “With US!” mean to you?
“To me, being ‘With US!’, is seeing the human behind the identity.”
It’s showing that trans people come in different shapes and sizes, that we are normal people with normal jobs who are living one day at a time, like everyone else.