About Us
An organization of creatives exploring what it means when our identity is not seen as a limitation, but the root for a more expansive vision of creation...
Our Mission
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Collections of Transience is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that elevates writers and creatives that have been historically excluded from the dominant culture, especially creatives of color.
For those who exist in the margins, we are often asked to commodify our identity to justify our existence in creative spaces. Instead, we ask, what it means to not lay aside our identity, but to go beyond it, firmly rooted in who we are to define a new space, voice, and art.
We are an organization of creatives exploring what it means when our identity is not seen as a limitation, but the root for a more expansive vision of creation.
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Values
Anti-Colonial
We stand against imperialism, racism, and other forms of bigotry. We seek to create space for historically underrepresented and marginalized voices within the literary landscape, to center humanity and the experiences of those who have been oppressed.
Equitable
We strive to create a more equitable space within the literary landscape, to work with, give opportunity to, and elevate voices within the communities we represent through our work. We strive to center critical thoughts, voices, and ideas that are pertinent to the world we live in today.
Collaborative
We believe that building an equitable and inclusive community is a collaborative endeavor, one where everyone has the opportunity to actively and safely learn and engage with each other in dialogue, discourse, and radical candor for the betterment of our community.
Expansive
We believe in the idea of expansive solidarity, as coined by Viet Thanh Nguyen, to continue to expand the stories that are being told, to go beyond dominant narratives and give voice to those who have historically been silenced, ignored, or oppressed. We also work to recognize the complex humanity and experience of individuals from a variety of backgrounds.
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History
Collections of Transience was a literary collective founded as a “passion project” by Chris Fong Chew in the summer of 2023. COT originally featured a cohort of six artists-in-residence for a year-long program of workshops across both visual and written genres founded on the principles of “what it means (for writers of color) to not lay aside our identity but to go beyond it, firmly rooted in who we are to define a new space, voice, and art.”
Since then, COT has transformed into a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has expanded its original mission into uplifting the voices of marginalized communities. This includes creating a space for artists of color and practicing the values of anti-colonialism, equity, collaboration, and expansiveness within its work. The organization runs a residency program from December to May, with workshops for both poetry and fiction, has a literary magazine imprint at Shaved Ice Collective, and continues to build programs and projects all rooted in honoring the original, founding values.