Collaboration as Resistance: Supporting Black Queer Art with the Massimadi Foundation

Connection Through Shared Purpose

When Naomie Caron, the founder of the Massimadi Foundation, first reached out to me, I knew right away that we had a lot in common. She runs another small, handmade-in-Montreal swimwear brand called Selfish Swimwear, and like Origami Customs, her work is grounded in ethics, representation, and care.

Naomie wanted to talk about three things: a new organization supporting local creatives who manufacture right here in Montreal, a shared love of slow fashion, and an opportunity for me to present my gender-affirming designs at the Massimadi Festival’s art opening for a project called the SoftBoi Project.

Shared Roots in Montreal’s Fashion Community

Naomie and I have overlapped in Montreal’s fashion world for years. We both won the MMODE Diversity and Inclusion Award, in different years but for similar reasons. We’ve seen firsthand how much the industry wants to support artists and makers, but too often, those opportunities end up going to large brands that already have access and visibility.

That’s why Naomie’s values- collaboration, equity, and uplifting marginalized voices- resonated so deeply with me. They mirror my own approach to fashion and community-building. And that’s also why she founded an organization dedicated to amplifying Black queer and trans artists: The Massimadi Foundation.

The Massimadi Foundation: The Art of Resistance

“The art of resistance, the strength to exist. We create spaces where Black LGBTQ+ people are seen, heard, and celebrated - through film, art, and community. Because to exist is an act of resistance, and to thrive is a revolution.” -Naomie Caron

The Massimadi Foundation celebrates Afro-queer stories and fosters emerging artistic talent through mentorship, film, and community events. Since 2009, the foundation has been a driving force for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC artists in Montreal and beyond, providing a vital platform for those whose work is too often excluded from mainstream arts and media.

Through cultural mediation, mentorship, and creative empowerment, Massimadi challenges homophobia, transphobia, and racism, using art as a vehicle for healing and transformation.

Even the foundation’s name carries a powerful story: “Massi” (in Haitian Creole, a slur for a gay man) and “Madi” (from madivinèz, used to refer to a lesbian woman) are reclaimed as symbols of love, pride, and Afro-queer resistance.

Mentorship and the Momentum Film Program

One of the foundation’s cornerstone programs is Momentum, a screenwriting mentorship that supports Black LGBTQ+ storytellers in developing their craft. Participants receive guidance, resources, and creative space to bring their audiovisual projects to life, amplifying new voices and opening doors in the film industry.

Through programs like Momentum, the Massimadi Foundation isn’t just fostering art. It’s creating pathways for representation and visibility that ripple far beyond Montreal.

The SoftBoi Project: Queer Masculinity and Radical Softness

The Softboi Project is a multi-faceted visual arts gallery show presented at the Massimadi festival this year by SickKid (Ornella Salnot), a visual artist from Guadeloupe. Weaving video interviews with other Black transmasculine individuals, interactive participation, photography, and an immersive exhibit featuring intimate objects that represented their trans identity and experience, this exhibit drew its visitors through a rich and deeply personal display of identity, community, and radical softness.

“As individuals who present themselves to the world through the lens of masculinity, we are often confronted with the expectations that society associates with men: insensitivity, strength, dominance. Yet, this imposed image does not always reflect our realities, and all too often, we find ourselves trapped in these projections, which confine us.

Softboï is a celebration of queer male identities. Because we are the only ones who define our way of existing, this exhibition invites us to let the gentleness that lies dormant within each of us emerge.” -Ornella Salnot

When I attended the show, I listened to SickKid speak about the project and watched their film interviews with Black transmasculine individuals discussing their relationships to masculinity and self-expression. It was thoughtful, raw, and profoundly human.

Creating Space for Gender-Affirming Education

Naomie wanted to include a gender-affirming education component at the SoftBoi exhibition. Not just to showcase products used by masc-of-centre folks, but to help people access them safely.

She had seen the new printable safety guides I developed for binding and tucking, and decided to set up a “Safety Information Station” near the entrance. Visitors could browse Origami Customs’ binders, Banana Prosthetics’ handmade prosthetics (another trans-owned Montreal brand), and pick up our educational flyers on safe gender-affirming practices.

It was a small but powerful way to make care and safety part of the art experience. To show that gender-affirming products aren’t just tools, but affirmations of identity and belonging.

Why Queer Visibility Work Matters

Being part of the Massimadi Festival and the SoftBoi Project felt like a natural extension of everything Origami Customs stands for: community, education, and empowerment through design.

Naomie and I share a vision, uplifting marginalized voices in fashion and art, and building independent, community-centered brands right here in Montreal. Our work is rooted in lived experience and a commitment to creating spaces where queer and trans people can be seen, supported, and celebrated.

Foundations like Massimadi are essential because they transform visibility into opportunity. They make space for Black queer and trans creators not just to exist, but to thrive. Reclaiming narratives, celebrating identity, and reshaping the cultural landscape of Montreal.

Conclusion: Art as a Catalyst for Change

Collaborations like this remind me why community matters so much in creative industries. When queer and trans artists come together across mediums, identities, and disciplines, we build something greater than art. We build a future where inclusion isn’t an exception, but the foundation.

Supporting organizations like the Massimadi Foundation ensures that the future continues to grow. It’s an honour to be part of that story, and to use our work at Origami Customs to help it unfold.