About Us

OUR MISSION

The Trans Calendar Project is a non for profit collective of trans* identified individuals working for positive social change through art. Our mission is to create an annual calendar as a way to represent ourselves through our own eyes, in all our diversity of identities and narratives. This not only empowers our own trans* communities, but serves as a way to uproot transphobia by raising awareness and visibility.

Our project supports trans* artists both financially and by giving them an international platform to showcase their work. We believe in solidarity over charity, allocating fifty percent of all profits for project members struggling to finance their gender transitions. Because we don’t just experience transphobia, we strive to foster an awareness of the intersectionality between all different forms of systematic oppression. The byproduct of all of this is a nurturing of community amongst trans* people of all ages and from all walks of life.

OUR 2015 TEAM

Matisse Verheyden: Project Manager and Illustrator
Matisse is a Montreal based artist who has worked on various projects such as animated tv-shows, featured-length film and video games. He finished his studies in 2D animation in 2011 and has always had the desire to create art supporting causes dear to his heart. He is grateful for the opportunity to be involved in The Trans Calendar Project as cover illustrator and extremely happy to give back to the community.

Cailin Gallinger: Project Manager and Musician
Cailin started out as a model for The Trans Calendar Project, but as time went on their enthusiasm for its goals and impact led them to play a larger part in its organisation. They are now one of the project managers, overseeing the many tasks that go into making the project so open, connected and successful. These include social media, event planning and creating music for the various video segments. All of this provides a glimpse into the project's process on a personal level. They are also currently a full time student studying planetary science at the University of Toronto, and a sound dabbler in their (limited) spare time.

Alex Haney: Project Manager and Photographer
Alex is an artist, activist and entrepreneur based out of Toronto. He has studied photography at both Mohawk College and through Ryerson University's Image Arts Program. He founded The Trans Calendar Project in May 2012 and currently acts as project manager and photographer. In addition, Alex does freelance art and consulting work and is very active in multiple ventures supporting the various LGBTQ2S communities. He is a co-founder and trip leader for Camp Unicorn, which organizes backcountry hiking and canoe expeditions for queer and trans* adults in Ontario. He is also co-owner of Glad Day Bookshop, the oldest surviving LGBT book shop in the world.

Wynne Neilly: Photographer and Web Designer
Wynne is a Toronto based visual artist working mostly within the queer and trans communities that surround him. Wynne graduated from Ryerson University's Image Arts program in 2012 and since then has had two solo shows and has had features on various news/blog websites such as Xtra!, Huffington Post, Upworthy, Refinery29 and Feature Shoot. He is one of the photographers working on the Trans Calendar Project this year and is motivated to make this successful in order to give back to the trans* community.

Meredith Talusan: Photographer
Meredith completed her BFA in photography at California College of the Arts, and has exhibited work in New York, Boston and San Francisco. These days you can find her photography and writing about trans issues at A Self Made Woman.

Phoenixx: Model and Graphic Designer
Phoenixx is a 23 year old designer based in the U.S. After getting his master's degree in Architecture, he has decided to focus his skills on more artistic projects. Since graduation, he has worked on everything from book covers to to branding and more. Phoenixx is excited to be part of the calendar project this year as both model and designer.

Trytten: Photographer
Trytten is a self-taught photographer who started their own portrait business at the age of 15. They have been published in magazines such as InPrint and FUZE before the age of 18. They are currently attending Western Washington University and have made the Pacific Northwest their home because of the comfort of the rain and trees (plus, overcast weather gives the best light). Trytten is the West Coast photographer for TCP 15 and is so delighted to give back and become more involved in the trans community beyond Youtube.

Wes Chernin: Model
Educator, paradise hunter, man of trans experience, 28yo. Wes currently lives in Portland and attends grad school for speech language pathology. He enjoys travelling, and has lived in both the San Francisco Bay Area as well as Israel. He loves to be outdoors, explore, hike, swim and be around good people. /div>

Nora Klein: Model
Nora is an undergraduate student studying creative writing and literature in Southern Illinois. She is a writer by trade and a visual artist for fun. Nora's creative writing and visual art track the everydayness of living as a transgender person in a cisgender world. She enjoys attending music and art festivals including Burning Man and spends her free time smoking hookah with friends and attending to her bird, Gibbous. Nora prefers feminine gender pronouns and identifies as a transgender and transsexual woman.

Alex Carter: Model
Aspiring activist, part time designer, full time nerd. Alex identifies as non-binary, femme and trans. They are currently in their second year of college in Windsor, Ontario and do freelance graphic design. They hope to combine design with social justice and activism. They also love to read- always in the middle of several books, and continually building upon their comic book collection.

Vanessa González: Model
Vanessa is a 20 year old queer cuban/middle eastern trans woman living in New Jersey. She studies gender studies and social justice and is passionate about issues of race, gender and class. She hopes to go to grad school for student affairs in order to create environments where students feel safe to be themselves.

Tuk Gordon: Model
Inuit, queer trans barista boy. Tuk currently works at a gluten and nut free local restaurant in Saskatoon, Canada. He is passionate about yoga, reading, travelling, people and art. He wants to get back into drawing and learn to sew his own clothes. Tuk hopes to go back to school to become a social worker in the LGBT realm.

Katherine Hoffman: Model
Katherine was Seattle born and raised. She has been transitioning for 11 months, and excited for her upcoming one year on hormones anniversary. As she gets further into her transition, she has found she finds more strength in feminism than ever before. She is passionate about makeup and hopes to one day become an esthetician.

Jamie DiNicola: Model
Jamie DiNicola is a recent graduate of Rutgers University. He graduated with a double major in Gender Studies and Political Science with a minor in filmmaking. Jamie founded and served as the president of Rutgers’ first ever transgender organization, Trans*missions. His organization drafted and proposed the Preferred Name for Trans Students bill. The bill passed unanimously and Trans*missions’ work was featured in many local publications. Jamie has a strong interest in filmmaking and video editing and is now currently working on a new website, justqueers.com.

Andie Miller: Model
Shy, queer, butch, MTF, pagan, gamer, computer geek, sci fi and fantasy nerd. Andie is 37 and lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is excited to be able to represent butch MTFs in this year' calendar- a minority that lacks visibility.