BY BETSEY LEWIS in coversation with JAKE MAKELA, ELLEN MILLER, AND CASEY SOPER
Born from kYOU magazaine–KU graduate Rachel Paese’s 2023-4 honors thesis and a collaged homage to student creativity with spotlights on artists and creative groups–KUnity is “a queer and trans-centered club focused on creative community building” (@kunity.mag).
Co-directors, Ellen (she/her), Jake (he/him), and Casey (he/him), wanted to build on the creative connection(s) established by Paese and collaborators during the mag’s time as kYOU, as well as its potential for more. This explicitly queer and trans-centered club is grounded in “the expansive notions of queer connectivity and trans relationality” (Jake). It is this conceptual orientation that KUnity comes from, however, the co-directors want to emphasize that participation in the club is NOT limited only to queer and trans* folx. All are welcome.
The group recently joined the Save Our Centers Coalition and will be undertaking an archival project documenting these centers and current resistance against their closures. KUnity hopes to collaborate with other KU and community-focused organizations in the future, but at the moment, they are really just trying to get off the ground.
Right now, their priority remains creating space for creative connection, in which collaging sessions play a huge role. These sessions are open to all as an opportunity to create, hangout, and on individual passions in caring community. Below is a meta-collage from their first session.
Interested in joining? The club meets on Tuesdays at 5 PM, oscillating between Cap Fed 4011 and Chalmers (consult their socials for more information). Contact kunitymag@gmail.com or DM @kunity.mag on Instagram with any additional questions you may have!