Holding Space: Creating Belonging in Rochester
What it means to gather, resist, and create belonging in a world that profits from our division
Almost daily, in person and online, I am met with a barrage of hate, propaganda, and violence.
This is not hyperbole. It is the reality of moving through the world as a disabled Black man in America in 2025. Many of you may remember when I experienced racist harm earlier this year and shared my reflections here on Facebook and on Substack.
The outpouring of support I received in response was profound. It moved me deeply—so much so that I began to imagine a community conversation. Because what I know from both my lived experience and my work as an artist is this: healing and processing require more than solitude. They require gathering. They require collaboration.
And so, I am honored to announce an upcoming event that I am co-curating with Visual Studies Workshop on Thursday, October 9th. With 540WMain, Inc. coming to a close at the end of this year, this gathering will also mark the debut program of my new venture, Morethanisms, LLC—a project I am cultivating digitally through my new website www.calvineaton.com.
Why “Holding Space” Matters Now
If ever there were a time to talk about holding space, it is now.
Our world is hurting. Innocent people are being murdered in broad daylight. And instead of responding with grief, too many have grown numb. Worse still, some are cheerleading for these brutal acts to continue.
Meanwhile, those of us who remain awake are being gaslit and lied to daily. The constant cycle of violence and denial erodes our humanity and fractures our sense of belonging. As far as I can see, coming together has never been more urgent.
“Holding space” is not a cliché. It is an act of resistance. It is a refusal to allow silence, erasure, or fragmentation to be the final word. It is a practice of saying: I see you. I hear you. I am willing to share the weight with you.
About the Event
Holding Space: Creating Belonging in Rochester is a public gathering that invites our community to reflect on the lasting impacts of everyday racism, ableism, and sexism, especially when these harms go unacknowledged. Featuring media from the VSW archives, testimonials, and an interactive conversation with Eaton and several community members, this event invites us to unpack what it means to “hold space” for one another and discuss how creating a culture of belonging can be a healing, disruptive, and liberatory act. This event is FREE and open to the public. Register here
The evening will feature:
Archival media from the VSW collection that grounds our dialogue in a broader history of storytelling and resistance.
Testimonials that center on lived experience.
An interactive conversation facilitated by me alongside community members, designed to help us unpack what it means to “hold space” for one another and how creating a culture of belonging can be both healing and liberatory.
Date: Thursday, October 9, 2025
Location: Visual Studies Workshop, 36 King Street, Rochester, NY 14608
Register here
VSW program funders include The New York State Council on the Arts with support from the New York State Legislature, The Joy of Giving Something Foundation, and Monroe County, NY.
You Are Invited
I hope every single one of my Rochester friends will make space to join me.
Register to attend.
Share the event with your circles.
And, if you are able, donate to the critical work of Visual Studies Workshop, whose commitment to community and truth-telling has never been more vital.
Endings and Beginnings
This moment is bittersweet for me. As many of you know, 540WMain—my organization, which I have poured nearly a decade of my life into- is ending at the end of this year. 540’s final event will be the 540WMain Legacy Exhibition taking place on Friday, December 12, 2025. Founding and leading this nonprofit has been the greatest joy and biggest challenge of my life thus far. Deciding to close has not been easy, but I believe in endings as much as I believe in beginnings. I hope that you can attend the celebration. Get your tickets here
Morethanisms, LLC is the beginning. It’s a venture born out of both necessity and vision: necessity, because the work of addressing racism, ableism, and systemic injustice doesn’t stop when one chapter closes; and vision, because I believe there is a need for new models that are nimble, digital, and deeply personal. Launching MoreThanIsms with the October 9th event is my way of honoring what has come before while stepping into what is next. It is a reminder that our work as individuals and as a community is never static—it evolves, just as we do. ‘
As 540WMain ends and Morethanisms begins to grow, this event represents more than a program launch. It is a marker of what is possible when we choose to come together—even in the face of despair. We are not powerless. We are not alone. We must come together and hold space for one another.
Support My Work, Build This Community
To meet this moment and tell the real stories—about my existence and experiences, I must be compensated for my knowledge work. I follow a legacy of renowned Black writers, creators, activists, provocateurs, like Langston Hughes, Malcom X, Marcus Garvey, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ida. B. Wells, Billy Holiday, Nina Simone, James Baldwin, Dr. Maya Angelou, Octavia Butler, bell hooks, Toni Morrison, and so many others. They didn’t do it alone or without monetary compensation. Neither can I.
There are many ways you can support my work right now:
Become a paid member of this Substack.
Give a paid subscription to a friend or family member
Preorder a copy of my new cookbook Just Desserts: 40 Step-by-Step Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes
“Tip” me via Buy Me a Coffee
Subscribe (for free) to my new social platform, The Gluten Free Chef Digital Network
Visit my new website
Read + Share this essay with your community