Tis the season to be jolly! One of my favorite holiday events in the city is the much anticipated Independence Business Alliance (IBA) Holiday Party returning this year on Tuesday, Dec. 19. The event is being held at the brand spanking new venue by Cescaphe, The Switch House at The Battery. This is one of those get-your-tickets-now events but it’s not the only event the IBA is involved with this month. Through the TransWork initiative, IBA is helping to promote the Trans Art Market on Dec. 10 in the Bok Building. More than 50 talented artists from the trans community will be offering up art, jewelry, photography and more for sale in time for the holidays. I managed to pull one of the hosts/facilitators of the event, Miller Potoma, away from work long enough to learn more about what to expect at the event as well as his life, art and other things.
Let’s get started with some bio info. Where are you from?
I’m from here in Philadelphia — the Roxborough/Manayunk area. I spent birth through 14 years old in that area until my parents moved to Montgomery County. [There were] a few other moves and then I moved back and I’ve lived in Philly again since about 2017.
Tell me a little bit about the family.
It’s a relatively big family, my mother remarried when I was young and my stepdad has quite a large extended family, so I grew up with a good amount of cousins my age and aunts and uncles and a brother, who’s a year older than me.
What a good family memory?
I grew up with horses — well one horse really — and a good memory is of horseback riding together with my mother in the Wissahickon area in the winter. Those were sweet memories.
I rode too, and there’s something amazing about the peace and quiet on a trail ride, especially if there’s snow on the ground, hearing the horses’ hooves crunching into the snow.
Oh, for sure. I only rode for a few years though. I was in a 4H club for horses here in Philadelphia but then I switched to a different animal. So from age 12 to 18, I worked with sheep.
Sheep?
Yes, I raised them for market and also for breeding. That ended up being more of my focus than horses.
[Laughing] I think this is my first interview with a sheep herder! What was something you enjoyed about school and something that was maybe not-so-much fun in school?
I went to Catholic school, St. John the Baptist, until we moved to the suburbs in Montgomery County. I shifted to a school that was pretty wealthy because of the people who lived there. The amount of wealth that people had there was really mind boggling, especially everyone at the Catholic school I went to were mostly working class people. But I loved the art classes at the new school. It was something that provided me joy and safety in those spaces. Least enjoyable aspect? It was for sure the bullying I experienced. I went through a lot in high school.
Yeah, we moved from a very poor area to Radnor, PA, so I know that culture shock! What did you do after high school?
I went to Montgomery County Community College and that kind of spearheaded the rest of my education. I started out as a fine art major and then I experienced some mental health difficulties in college. I had dealt with them all throughout childhood but that prompted me to shift my major to psychology. I worked full time and put myself through college over the course of several years. Then I moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina to go to an “All Women’s” college where I got my Bachelor’s in art therapy [laughing], which you can’t actually do anything with! You really need to get your master’s. In the meantime, I would come home on summer breaks and while here, I fell in love. So when I finished school, I moved back to Philly to live with my former partner, took a gap year and started grad school. I went to Drexel for a master’s in art therapy and counseling.
[Laughing] You do know we have an all women’s art school right here in Philadelphia on the Parkway. You didn’t need to go all the way to South Carolina!
I know! But they didn’t offer degrees in art therapy. None of the schools around here did at the time. Plus, I just wanted the chance to escape, [chuckles] well, maybe that’s not the right word. It’s not like home was an awful environment or anything. I just wanted to experience being on my own. I was 23 and had always lived with my parents. And it was a chance for me to begin to discover, “OK, yup, I’m gay.”
I agree. If it’s feasible, I think it’s important to have that time outside of the parental realm to try to figure things out on your own and do that self discovery. So that’s a nice segue into your queer journey.
There were always clues of my queerness, but I first came out to my parents as a lesbian, which I told them over the phone. I will say they were generally very supportive. And they continued to be supportive of me as a gay woman. They were at my wedding and there was support from extended family on my mom’s side, though not so much from some of the other family members who felt that I chose to be gay and that it was against God’s wishes and all that bullshit. And so they’ve had to miss out on being part of my life.
Then there’s a difference in the story once I came out as a trans person. It has been much harder for my parents. It’s difficult for them to understand and to accept, not to get too sad or too deep, but there are responses like, “But there were no cues that you weren’t a girl. You liked Barbies and the color pink!” They don’t realize that I still love those things, which makes sense, because I’m a faggot! I say that in love with the hope that no one gets offended. So yeah, I still love Barbie’s and I still love pink. I’m a gay trans man.
When did you start your transition? [Laughing] I know there’s not a specific date and time, “OK, I’ve transitioned and I’m officially authentic now at 6:25 on Thursday the 11th!”
[Laughing] No! No! I came out as nonbinary in 2017 and I started my medical transition in 2019.
Just in time for the pandemic! Well, it sounds like you took all that and put it to good use with your practice. Tell me about it.
Yes. I work with all trans and queer clients, working on things like gender and sexuality, how to address trauma, coping with late-stage capitalism, handling ADHD and autistic burnout, self understanding, and relationships. A lot of my clients tend to be non-monogamous or into kink, so those are all focuses of my practice as well. I also work as a part-time therapist at Morris Home, which is a residential treatment home for trans people. It’s the only residential recovery program in the country to offer comprehensive services specifically for the transgender and gender-expansive community.
I understand that it was named for Nizah Morris, the transgender woman who was allegedly murdered in Philadelphia in 2002. Our paper has written a lot about her over the years. It’s nice that she was honored like that.
Yes. Morris Home is named after Nizah and the importance of her life and legacy have not been forgotten. It’s an amazing place.
I saw on your site that you address late-stage capitalism? What’s that, and how do you deal with it?
It looks very different depending on the client, but it’s about acknowledging that we live under an oppressive system. While I encourage my clients to explore ways they may cope individually and collectively around capitalism, I will never discredit their concerns and valid distress about it. I’m the type of therapist that’s been known to say, “this fucking sucks.”
Ha, I thought it might have meant something about someone who was a late-stage capitalist coming to grips with their guilt!
[Laughing] No, I’m pretty anti-capitalist and so are most of my clients but one of our topics of discussion sometimes is looking at the wealth and identities of privilege that they have and what would it look like to put money aside each month to go toward reparations.
And let’s talk about the other side of what you do: Your art practice. I saw some things you had on display in the South Street Art Mart and you have some very fun pieces.
Well, my art process has shifted a lot over the last several years. Especially this past year as I’ve come more into my identity. There was a time when I think that I was making art that was more… consumable? Right? I think the work that I do with clients, the community I exist in and the people I share my life with have really impacted my work and it has shifted on to something that feels more authentic for me. It’s just in the last two months that I’ve been actively making new work again.They’re things my parents definitely wouldn’t approve of! The new work reflects my identity as a trans fag and a leather person. And they will be available at the market!
Woo hoo! So what else will be there?
Our initial mission was to provide a space for trans people, nonbinary people, and gender-expansive people to showcase their art. I’ve also heard from many people that what they find most important is just the energy of the event. There’s just something magnetic about coming here. There’s a lot of joy and excitement in having so many trans and queer people in one space with a collective goal to create. The simple goal is to have a place where trans artists can see their work and be seen and connect with folks who want to buy their work. One of our goals is to see that trans people get paid, so all of our workers are trans and will get paid. Cis people can volunteer to hang up flyers and things outside of the venue, but the actual event is completely staffed by trans people. And 50% of the entrance fee will go to Housing Reparations Philly and Cars For Philly, which are under the same umbrella. The other 50% of the door goes to the staff and venue rental.
How did you get involved with the IBA?
I have a friend who connected me with them. He said they’d be a good group to help get the word out and could possibly help with resources in the future. They are a great group and I’m excited to see how the partnership evolves.
My two favorite pieces that I saw of yours were the Gritty Christmas ornament and the “$5 Misgendering Fee” stickers.
Oh yeah! Those have been great sellers. I will have the Gritty ornaments for sale at the Art Mart, but I’m sold out of the stickers. I think you can still get them at the South Street Art Mart.
I was just at an IBA event and there were three people who were new to Philadelphia and weren’t familiar with our mascots. One of them said that he’d seen the green monster, which we had to inform him was called the Phanatic, but none of them had heard of (or seen) Gritty. It was fun to hear different people try to describe him. I think my interpretation was the most accurate. I just said, “Picture a large orange dust mop with eyes.”
Gritty has been very much taken over by the queer community and labeled as inherently queer and nonbinary. As a non-sports watcher, I may have to go to a game just to see Gritty.
The Flyers have been becoming very LGBTQ friendly. They have a Pride night now and just donated some tickets to The Women’s Film Festival! OK, rapid fire time! Something you should throw out but won’t?
That’s a really hard question because I have so many things I should get rid of! As an art therapist, I save everything! The thing I should throw out is a dead plant and I won’t, only because I can’t reach it! It’s on top of a tall shelf that I can’t get to!
That’s funny. What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?
A sheep! When I was 16, I entered a writing competition and I won a Southdown lamb, which is a breed of sheep. My parents and I drove all the way to Kentucky to pick her up!
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
When I was a child, I wanted to be a vet. But all that medical stuff was too scary. But if I could, I’d be a professional pet sitter. I just love animals.
Well, thank you so much. It’s been fun chatting.
Oh! I want to let people know that we will be following COVID protocols, so we’ll be checking vaccination cards at the entrance of our event (photos/digital proof of vaccination will be accepted). The only exception is if it’s a medical exemption. If people don’t have proof, we can do a rapid test onsite and it’s free. And masks have to be worn by attendees, vendors and staff at all times — over both nose and mouth. We’ll have plenty of masks available for anyone attending and we’ll even have masks and tests for people to take home. We want to make sure everyone is safe.
The Trans Art Market will take place 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Bok Building’s West Gym, 821 Dudley St. Visit transartmart.weebly.com/events for more information. To learn more about Independence Business Alliance, visit thinkiba.com.