From the Queerlective Facebook page.
When Randall Nielsen moved to New Hampshire in 2017, he found himself searching for community. As a Black queer man, he longed for spaces where his full identity could be seen and celebrated, but struggled to find a sense of belonging in the Granite State. “For the first four years, I didn’t leave my apartment; I couldn’t find the community I was looking for,” he recalled.
Out of that isolation came a transformative idea. In 2021, as the country emerged from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nielsen made a commitment to live more authentically, to step out of his comfort zone, and connect with others. That decision set in motion a series of bold actions that led to the founding of Queerlective, a fast-growing, community-powered arts organization dedicated to uplifting queer and BIPOC voices.
Dreaming Up Community
In early 2022, Nielsen launched his first art business, From Strange Pieces, inspired by a dream about arts and creation in which “the ones you built from strange pieces, they don’t look like they’d work but they do,” he shared. The phrase captured something essential about art, identity, and belonging - and it also became the foundation of his broader organizing work.
“I've always been drawn to the idea of bringing together disparate components that may seem unrelated,” Nielsen explained. “Together, they make something that is ultimately greater than the sum of their parts.”
That same year, Nielsen decided to get involved in the organization of Manchester Pride and chaired its art committee, bringing over 40 artists to the event. It was in those early conversations with fellow creatives, and future co-founders, Taylor Brown, Ashley Johnson, and Jason DeYoung, that the seeds for Queerlective were planted.
“We found ourselves asking, ‘What are the ongoing opportunities to bring people together more than just once a year?’” Nielsen said. Together, they imagined a year-round, artist-led space where queer and marginalized voices could lead, create, and thrive.
“I’ve always been drawn to the idea of bringing together disparate components that may seem unrelated. Together, they make something that is ultimately greater than the sum of their parts.”
Building a Creative Ecosystem
Queerlective officially launched in the fall of 2022, a collective grounded in creative expression, storytelling, and collective action. Within months of launching, the organization had created a dynamic calendar of events, secured grant funding, and started building relationships with artists, community organizers, and grassroots leaders across the state.
Now in its third year, Queerlective has developed a strategic plan centered around three impact areas:
Art as a tool for social change,
Community resilience,
Helping to build a social change ecosystem.
“We're trying to be an organization by the community for the community,” emphasized Nielsen. “We celebrate our shared humanity through queer joy, art, and community connection.”
Amplifying this ecosystem of creativity is CoLab, Queerlective’s community studio in Manchester, NH. The vibrant, low-barrier space provides tools, workspaces, and a sense of belonging for emerging artists and makers.
“It’s a makerspace model, but we envision it as a mutual support network,” Nielsen explained. “And I'm very curious about opening it to other community organizers as well, because there are a ton of small organizations trying to get started that don't necessarily have the tools and resources to do so.”
“We’re trying to be an organization by the community for the community. We celebrate our shared humanity through queer joy, art, and community connection.”
Connecting Artists With Shared Resources
Beyond ensuring that Queerlective builds its own infrastructure, making those resources available to others and supporting growth is also a priority. “We're a fiscal sponsor for S.T.O.R.Y. [a grassroots, all-volunteer organization dedicated to assisting and empowering youth from culturally diverse communities in Concord, New Hampshire], and that is something we want to offer to more grassroots organizations,” Nielsen said.
As part of this commitment, Queerlective invests in at least one collaborative community art project each year, each reflecting the organization’s commitment to visibility, empowerment, and creative expression. A recent example is We Are Your Neighbors, a board game co-created by over 20 local artists, writers, and community residents, with support from Dr. Loretta Brady and the Community Resilience and Social Equity Lab at St. Anselm College, that follows characters navigating real-life challenges, from accessing healthcare to aging out of foster care.
This year’s project is the Queer Community Quilt, a statewide collaboration inviting individuals to decorate six-inch fabric squares that will be sewn into a large-scale quilted Pride flag, symbolizing collective identity and resilience.
And although much of the current programming is centered in Manchester and Concord, Queerlective is committed to statewide growth. “As we build our capacity, we want to meet the requests we’re getting to be more present in places like rural New Hampshire,” Nielsen said.
Investing in Representation
Since its founding, Queerlective has distributed over $45,000 directly to artists and community members through grants and assistance programs. One of its flagship efforts, the BIPOC Artist Exchange and Activation Grant, provides travel stipends to artists so they can share their work across New England through pop-ups, performances, and public art.
“Very early on in our work, we saw a lack of representation of BIPOC artists in the creative community here,” noted Nielsen. These efforts ensure that New Hampshire’s cultural landscape reflects the diversity of those who live and create here.
“Very early on in our work, we saw a lack of representation of BIPOC artists in the creative community here.”
However, Queerlective’s commitment to equity has not been unchallenged. In 2023, the grant program, which was funded through a private foundation grant, was publicly questioned by a member of the Executive Council during a review of Queerlective’s application for capacity-building funds from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA). “One councilor claimed we don’t support white artists, which is not true,” Nielsen recalled. “Being in New Hampshire, Queerlective's community of artists is predominantly white, but we know that representation matters, and that BIPOC artists face barriers.”
Though the grant represented a small percentage of Queerlective’s operating budget and was unrelated to their application from the NHSCA, the council tabled the application in a public session, sending a clear message that echoes the broader backlash against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts seen across the country in recent years. “That same week, someone yelled the N-word at me from a truck window while I was walking to our studio,” Nielsen recalled. “It was a brutal reminder that in this work, visibility also makes you a target.”
“It was a brutal reminder that in this work, visibility also makes you a target.”
Framing Joy as Resilience and Resistance
Despite the pushback against DEI, including through legislation in NH, and the growing hostility toward BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, Queerlective remains a space rooted in hope, creativity, and connection. Through collaborative art projects, mutual support, and shared vision, it serves as a place where people can show up as they are, contribute what they have, and begin to see themselves as part of a larger community.
Nielsen remains optimistic. “Potential and opportunity are two of my favorite words,” he said. “New Hampshire has so many opportunities to become better. There is a strong, beautiful, diverse community here; they just need support to get more involved.”
As organizations like Queerlective continue to bring people together and empower them, the potential for inclusion and belonging starts to take shape. With every ‘strange piece’, we can create lasting change.
“Potential and opportunity are two of my favorite words. New Hampshire has so many opportunities to become better. There is a strong, beautiful, diverse community here; they just need support to get more involved.”
About Randall Nielsen
Randall Nielsen
Executive Director, Queerlective
Randall Nielsen (he/him) is an artist, engineer, and community organizer based in New Hampshire. They are the founder of Queerlective, a nonprofit that uplifts LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and other marginalized communities through art, storytelling, and collective action. Randall also serves as the Advocacy and Engagement Director for 603 Forward, where they work to build youth power and support emerging leaders across the state. Their work bridges creative expression and systems change, using collaborative projects to foster resilience, equity, and connection. Whether leading workshops, developing community games, or supporting grassroots advocacy, they believe in art as a powerful tool for building community and catalyzing social change.