“To Bloom in the Desert” portrays the resilience and beauty of trans and non-binary people in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The third iteration of a project organized by local organizer and artist Melina Baron-Deutsch, this project has existed primarily as a calendar to benefit the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico. This year (2020), Bagel’s Florals, a local queer-owned floral shop, participated to design floral pieces that accentuated different parts of each model’s gender expression and identity. All proceeds for the calendar were donated to the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico.
The photographs were created in collaboration with each model and their specific goals for representation and empowerment through the image-making process. Each model was photographed in an environment where they could stand out and be their most resilient, colorful, vibrant and full selves, where they could flourish, thrive and stand tall in the desert.
