Local Artists Auction For Palestinian Aid

In Emmeline Kaiser’s painting, a vibrant blue Palestinian sunbird perches in a blooming meadow, a picture of peace. 

That bird has raised $75 and counting in a fundraising effort organized by local artists of color for humanitarian aid to Palestinian communities now facing bombs and evacuation orders.

A growing network of New Haven-area artisans of color, collectively known as Crafters of Color, has raised at least $1,700 so far for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and Medical Aid for Palestinians from a craft fair and raffle event hosted on Sunday by Possible Futures bookstore on Edgewood Avenue.

In addition, the group has organized a silent auction of local, handmade artwork and home goods open until 4 p.m. on Friday. Among the items for sale are the painting by Kaiser, a hand-crafted rug with the face of James Baldwin haloed in multicolor tufts of light (by Michelle Anais Beaulieu-Morgan), and a swirly Staghorn Fern mounted to wood by Your Queer Plant Shop. 

Tiffany Hsu, a 3‑D crochet artist who founded Yarnshaper, and Mer Clark, a leather artist and repairer who founded Beacon Craft Studio, co-organized the fundraising effort. 

“The U.S. is sending so much money to Israel,” Hsu said, prompting the artists to consider, ​“How can we share that wealth and support Palestinians?” 

“There are amazing and beautiful artists in Palestine who are struggling to survive right now,” added Clark.

When Hsu and Clark reached out to Crafters of Color members about participating in the fundraiser, 13 vendors submitted applications for the seven available spots. Fifteen additional artists donated a total of 30 items for the auction and raffle.

The event on Sunday afternoon was at once a fundraiser, small business booster, and a spark for new friendships and connections. According to Hsu, a group of artisans and attendees rallied around honorary Possible Futures staffer and local middle schooler Anyla Whyte, pooling raffle tickets to ensure that she won the item that had caught her eye — one of Hsu’s own works, a crochet chicken wearing a Palestinian flag.

Crafters of Color was founded a year ago in that spirit of community building. After Hsu and Clark met at a New Haven Pride Center block party in 2022, they gradually built connections with other local queer artisans of color, bonding in part over frustration with high vendor fees, racist comments, and a competitive culture at the craft fairs they’d participated in. 

Clark and Hsu decided to join forces with the founders of Bright Raven Studio, Creampuffpal, and WrapArtistGems to create Crafters of Color. Since the fall of 2022, the group has convened nine craft sale events focused specifically on artisans of color, with no fee at all thus far for vendors to participate and with a goal of creating a mutually supportive environment.

The collective grew out of a desire to ​“be involved in the community” and join forces with other New Haven area artists, said Clark. Members have helped newer crafters navigate the process of pricing and selling their work — which can be a big step to take for those who wonder if they’re ​“good enough” for their art to be more than a hobby.

Since ​“it’s a pretty vulnerable thing to show your craft to the world,” the Crafters of Color community is focused on ​“giving each other confidence,” Hsu said. ​“There are so many different ways this world is not set up for us, so we have to help each other.”