In the summer of 2019 Alma was invited to be an artist-in-residence with Social Studies Residency. Social Studies, located in Colusa County, California, focuses on bringing artists into rural communities.

Queer folks are everywhere. This project sought to call in queer community in this rural town. After running into a few dead ends while researching queer history in Colusa, Alma decided to send up a flare by posting “queer here” paintings all around Colusa. Soon the residents of Colusa got to talking. Parents of trans youth who’d fled, queer elders who stuck it out, and strong allies all came by for studio visits to share their stories and sit for portraits.