About Us
BLACK FARM STUDIO HOUSE CO. is a 501(c)(3) organization connecting art, agriculture and wellness through public programs, community engagement, and resource sharing.
Our mission is to support artists and urban farmers, and provide reproductive health services for Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2 and nonbinary-identified individuals and families.
We envision our programs will demonstrate the impact of thoughtful ideas, meaningful exchanges and inclusive black spaces to support and strengthen our community.
Our mission is to support artists and urban farmers, and provide reproductive health services for Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2 and nonbinary-identified individuals and families.
We envision our programs will demonstrate the impact of thoughtful ideas, meaningful exchanges and inclusive black spaces to support and strengthen our community.
We’ve proritized our programs and initiatives for Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2 and nonbinary-identified individuals since these groups are often vulnerable, challenged or go unrecognized in many industries, services, and advocacy.
Founded and led by Racha Tahani Lawler Queen and dana washington-queen, Black Farm Studio House Co. is the materialization of our freedom dream to provide spaces to gather, rest, create and explore, as well as advocate for the personal and social well-being of marginalized bodies and genders.
Founded and led by Racha Tahani Lawler Queen and dana washington-queen, Black Farm Studio House Co. is the materialization of our freedom dream to provide spaces to gather, rest, create and explore, as well as advocate for the personal and social well-being of marginalized bodies and genders.
We are currently taking a pause to consider how best
Black Farm Studio House Co. can serve our new community in Richmond, VA.
Our Founders
Racha Tahani Lawler (Queen) is her family's fourth generation to carry on the midwifery tradition. As a licensed and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) of eighteen years, Lawler has supported over 1,400 families in out-of-hospital births. For ten years, she has supported midwifery students as a clinical and academic preceptor. Lawler is a regular speaker and educator for several midwifery schools, including Charles Drew Medical School.
Early in her midwifery practice, Lawler supported midwives in their homebirth practices and birth centers. In 2011, The Community Birth Center opened in South Los Angeles and Mid-City, serving the community for five years. Thereafter, Lawler returned to a homebirth midwifery practice after becoming credentialed as a Traditional Healer (Sangoma) and healthcare provider in South Africa. Now, Lawler combines the Southern midwifery traditions of her family with South African ancestral traditions to elevate and enrich the healthcare that families receive.
The importance of centering Black bodies in reproductive health and midwifery, along with creating access and normalizing birth, remains Lawler’s focus. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, she has established The Black Community Homebirth Subsidy, a subsidized midwifery care program created from the generous donations of past Black homebirth families.
Website: crimsonfig.com
Early in her midwifery practice, Lawler supported midwives in their homebirth practices and birth centers. In 2011, The Community Birth Center opened in South Los Angeles and Mid-City, serving the community for five years. Thereafter, Lawler returned to a homebirth midwifery practice after becoming credentialed as a Traditional Healer (Sangoma) and healthcare provider in South Africa. Now, Lawler combines the Southern midwifery traditions of her family with South African ancestral traditions to elevate and enrich the healthcare that families receive.
The importance of centering Black bodies in reproductive health and midwifery, along with creating access and normalizing birth, remains Lawler’s focus. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, she has established The Black Community Homebirth Subsidy, a subsidized midwifery care program created from the generous donations of past Black homebirth families.
Website: crimsonfig.com
dana washington-queen is a photographer, filmmaker, visual artist, and creative writer based in Richmond, Virginia. They are interested in poetic, experimental and documentary forms to render and celebrate black life, culture, and queerness.
In 2020, they received a MFA in Visual Arts from UC San Diego as a SEED Fellowship recipient. In 2016, they received a BA in English: Rhetoric and Composition from California State University-Long Beach.
Their work has been exhibited and screened throughout North America, including the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Visible Records, Jeffrey Dietch in Los Angeles, Art+Practice, Black Radical Imagination Film Tour, BlackStar Film Festival, OUTFEST Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival, and DTLA Film Festival.
In 2022, washington-queen was the Artadia Los Angeles Marciano Art Foundation award recipient, and received the Foundation for Contemporary Art Ellsworth Kelly award in 2020.
Website: danawashington.com
In 2020, they received a MFA in Visual Arts from UC San Diego as a SEED Fellowship recipient. In 2016, they received a BA in English: Rhetoric and Composition from California State University-Long Beach.
Their work has been exhibited and screened throughout North America, including the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Visible Records, Jeffrey Dietch in Los Angeles, Art+Practice, Black Radical Imagination Film Tour, BlackStar Film Festival, OUTFEST Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival, and DTLA Film Festival.
In 2022, washington-queen was the Artadia Los Angeles Marciano Art Foundation award recipient, and received the Foundation for Contemporary Art Ellsworth Kelly award in 2020.
Website: danawashington.com
BLACK FARM STUDIO HOUSE CO. amplifies artists and urban farmers, and advocates for the wellness of Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2 and nonbinary-identified individuals and families.
Mailing Address
506 S Spring St #13308
SMB #10586
Los Angeles, CA 90013
506 S Spring St #13308
SMB #10586
Los Angeles, CA 90013