When Humanize My Hoodie’s co-founder, Andre Wright, was donated a vacant building in downtown Iowa City, he sought to turn its vacancy into a space that could provide liberation for marginalized communities. HMH invited allies and supporters from near and far to transform the space into a resource for change. The results? An array of art forms ranging from fashion, paintings, graphic design, sewing and manufacturing, screen printing, filmmaking, gardening, and the occasional haircut and lineup.

By fostering a new community, the space was beaming with diverse perspectives and people from different backgrounds that included graduate students attending the University of Iowa, LatinX folks, Indigenous people, and other community members who needed healing during uncertain times.
The Black Liberation Space represents art as a form of resilience.