FROM THE ARTIST: "Moving to NYC was hard. I grew up in a very small conservative town in Ohio. The people around me were very close minded about topics like race and the LGBTQ+ community. As a gay man, it was very hard to express myself and feel confident and comfortable with who I was. After high school, I packed my bags and moved 30 minutes away to the college where my dad worked. My environment didn’t change a lot. I was still seeing the close minded people I grew up with on a regular basis. It wasn’t until I graduated college and moved to NYC that I was able to escape from that mind set completely. This piece is about rediscovering yourself and realizing that change is hard, but it can be so beautiful if you wait for the flowers to bloom."​

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ABOUT THE ARTIST: Eli is a projection designer, photographer, and graphic designer based in Manhattan. He started his professional journey last January when he moved to New York. Since then, he has work on multiple off-broadway and off off broadway shows, including Max’s House which was produced by First Kiss Theatre Company.