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Document Type
Interview
Publication Date
5-7-2025
Keywords
Santa Clara County, Genderqueer, Caribbean American, Photographer, Writer, Neurodivergence, Precarity.
Abstract
This interview with Omari Stephens, a Caribbean American queergender, photographer and writer based in San Jose, explores the intersections of neurodivergence, documentary storytelling, and the struggle to navigate exclusinary artistic spaces. Strephens' work is deeply rooted by a neurodivergent perspective that rejects thraditional aesthetic mandates. Stephens emphasiezes context, enviroments nuance, and a "darker" aesthetic that capture the humanity in local stories. Stephens highlights a specific challenge within the LGBTQ+ community; that is the alienattion experience as an asexual person of color, noting that queer spaces are often hyper-sexualized while asexual spaces frequently center White experience. This struggle to find spaces is compounded by a profound lack of physycal safe spaces in Santa Clara County compared to other regions in the Bay Area.
Recommended Citation
Omari Stephens and Johnny Santaella. "Mosaic Atlas: Interview with Omari Stephens" Mosaic Atlas Interviews (2025).
Transcript
Network
LGBTQ+ BIPoC Artists
Address
San Jose, Santa Clara County
Neighborhood
Santa Clara County
