Ajamu X’s “Fierce: Pittsburgh” runs from March 5 to May 2, 2026 at the Silver Eye Center for Photography with an opening reception from 6-9 on March 5th.
Foreword
Mikael Owunna and Marques Redd
(Rainbow Serpent)
FIERCE: Pittsburgh emerged through relationship – between artist and sitters, between cities, and between institutions committed to sustaining Black queer cultural memory. Ajamu X’s practice has always understood portraiture as an exchange: an act of trust, attentiveness, and mutual recognition. In collaboration with Rainbow Serpent and Silver Eye Center for Photography, this iteration of FIERCE situates Pittsburgh within a growing international archive of Black queer presence.
Rainbow Serpent’s longstanding engagement with Black queer art, spirituality, and community-making provided the relational ground from which this project could unfold. Silver Eye’s commitment to photographic excellence and contemporary discourse offered the institutional space for the work to resonate publicly. Together, this partnership affirms that Black queer lives are central authors of cultural history rather than marginal footnotes to it.
FIERCE: Pittsburgh is a pivotal moment within an evolving global conversation, and its images will endure as part of the city’s artistic and social record.
Bekezela Mguni
I’m Bekezela Mguni. I’m an artist, a librarian, and a cultural worker, and I am fierce.
I see myself contributing to Pittsburgh’s queer culture by doing my best to cultivate opportunities and spaces for us to celebrate our legacy as queer and trans Black people of the diaspora. I also try to create opportunities for us to learn about ourselves, to be in connection and relationship with each other, and to create access for folks to learn about what we’re doing now, as well as what we’ve done, and what our inheritance is.
Walking out of the studio today, I feel grateful. Also inspired.
Being part of this global archive, I feel extremely honored and encouraged on my path. I feel so grateful to know folks in my community that are holding this space, and grateful to be invited into this large constellation of beings who are celebrating our Black queer divinity.
Fierceness beyond this photo shoot looks like continuing to accept the challenge to not self-sabotage; to accept the challenge to love myself in the face of great odds; and to accept that generous invitation to take up as much space as I can, in the face of being encouraged to shrink every day. Fierceness looks like a continued devotion and commitment to loving myself, and also being intentional about actually seeing people, beyond the superficial.
This archive is so important: we get to define its content. We are recognizing the importance of our own existence. We get to name ourselves and who is important to be remembered, who can be honored, and who can be celebrated across the many ways we show up.
We don’t often get to see reflections of ourselves on a regular basis. So I’m really excited that we’re creating an abundance of visual representation—images we can hold now, and that people will see coming behind us. I’m grateful that we’re creating this opportunity to honor, remember, and celebrate ourselves.
Image caption: Ajamu X, Bekezela Mguni (she/they), 2025
Devan Shimoyama
I’m Devan Shimoyama. I’m an artist, and I am fierce.
How do I see myself contributing to Pittsburgh’s queer culture? For me, it’s a lot about the way that I engage with community and the arts, specifically. I was teaching for a long time here, and engaging with students was really important. Now that I’m not teaching, I’m trying to find ways to engage with individuals or groups, like Rainbow Serpent, for example.
One word I think of when I leave the studio is probably, curious.
For me, being part of this global archive is significant. To be in and among groups of Black people—Black creators, Black thinkers—is incredibly exciting. To identify myself as one of them is an honor.
What does fierceness look like to me beyond this photo shoot? I think it can look like a lot of different things. For me, I’m often in my studio, very much in my own headspace. Fierceness looks like finding ways to engage more with the public as myself, directly with them, and not just hiding away in that headspace. For me, that feels much more fierce.
Image caption: Ajamu X, Devan Shimoyama (he/him), 2025
Mo Marshall
I’m Mo Marshall, and I’m a multidisciplinary artist. I’m a jeweler, a model, a go-go dancer, and I’m fierce.
I contribute to the Black Queer Creative Community in Pittsburgh by creating safe spaces for LGBTQ people to dance and have fun and fall in love with themselves and meet people who have similar thoughts and goals.
Waking out of the studio today, I feel empowered. I also feel reminded of the power that we hold when we come together and create beautiful things.
To be documented and to be a part of this global archive is cementing our existence in history, because they will erase us if they can, so for us to have these beautiful moments captured and immortalized forever, is such an honor, I feel so grateful.
Fierceness to me is stepping into a room and owning it, knowing who you are, not changing who you are for anybody or anything. And we just love our people, and we are who we are, unapologetically.
Working with Ajamu was a one-of-a-kind experience. Having a space where we can bring together all of our intersectional identities and feel celebrated and feel beautiful, you don’t get that often. So to be able to collaborate with people who also share that same vision, it’s revolutionary.
It’s a scary time in the world for people who look like us, who love like we love. And we need to feel seen, loved and valued, so we can connect with each other and be safe.
I wish for these images to reach out to as many people and places as they can. I didn’t see myself in a lot of people in the media or in photos or in magazines, so to create that with other people and to have reflections of who we feel we are in an honorific way is really important for people, especially young Black queer people.
Image caption: Ajamu X, Mo Marshall (she/they), 2025
Michael Tikili
My name is Michael Tikili. I am a health activist, Mr. Pittsburgh Leather Fetish 2024, and I am fierce.
As Mr. Pittsburgh Leather Fetish, I created new spaces for the community, including a monthly kink-and-draw class with another leatherman and artist, Clint. I wanted to create something where individuals who were not into bar spaces could feel included and participatory. Every month featured a different community model, diverse in gender, body representation, and background, representing a bigger picture of Pittsburgh’s queer community.
I also am a big admirer of the Pittsburgh ballroom community, where many Black and queer folks are centered in fashion, style, and art. During my title year, I wanted to bring the Black ballroom community and the Pittsburgh leather scene together. I collaborated with True T Pittsburgh and Hazel Revlon to create the Kink-Dom Mini Ball. We did a pop-up with Don, who used to own the ER Leather Kink Store in Pittsburgh. Don was highly influential in the Pittsburgh leather scene for many years, and I believe that just because people get older, doesn’t mean they lose their value or contribution to the community.
Leaving this shoot, I feel glorious. Over the past few years, I’ve struggled with feeling seen and feeling like my presence is valid in these spaces. There aren’t a lot of notable Black local leathermen, so being visible is important. I want other people of color to know that they have agency in this space too and their vision of kinkiness is also valid.
Being part of this global archive is exciting. I am competing internationally, and this is a road to that future. Sharing myself and the work I do speaks to who I am, and I want to share that with the larger community.
Fierceness to me is about individuals letting their light shine. Especially now, with the amount of hate that is being spewed upon our community from the current administration. Transgender folks, people of color, we’ve experienced this a lot of our life. It’s being doubled down by administration and we as a community have a duty to let our light shine.
Image caption: Ajamu X, Michael Tikili (he/him), 2025
