Dear Creative Community, Diaspora CT is a community-focused arm of my business, Rochester Coaching and Consulting. It was conceived from my experience at the Harlem Fine Art Show. The key objective of Diaspora CT is to uplift Black artists and arts administrators across the state of Connecticut. This is accomplished through free promotion on social media (www.instagram.com/diaspora_ct) and collaborative efforts to expose artists to a broader range of support and clientele. Creating a path for artists to participate in art fairs is a capacity-building initiative that exposes them to a national audience. Having a booth for CT artists at the Harlem Fine Arts Show in 2026 is the impetus for more collective efforts for artists from our region to experience the benefits of showing up as contributors in these spaces. Additionally, I want Diaspora CT to serve as a resource to strengthen connections within our African diasporic arts population. There is strength in numbers, and CT has a lot to offer in the creative sector, especially within our community. I was the only artist from our entire state who had a presence in the booths at the Harlem Fine Arts Show this year. Art fairs are a cost prohibitive endeavor for most artists. However, it gives access to high-end collectors, gallerists and art patrons from all over the country. Artists are often forced to depend on galleries to represent them in order to participate in art fairs. Gallery representation is not easy to achieve, and it requires us to navigate through a lot of gatekeeping. I was blessed to be able to raise the money to pay for my booth early last year. Even after overcoming the obstacle of finding representation, artists still have limited exposure because the galleries are still juried in by a committee. Diaspora CT’s initiatives begin with this inaugural group for HFAS in 2026, but the mission will continue with presenting other opportunities to a broad network of artists every year. My experience inspired me to bring people with me to ensure that artists from home can have access like I did. Having a booth at HFAS affirmed my journey as a professional artist and it confirmed where my work belongs. I am one of many artists from across our state for whom financial limitations and lack of local opportunities have been obstacles to showing up in places where we can broaden our reach. We too often settle for being a spectator because we aren't allowed to play in the game. Diaspora CT is bringing local talent onto the field. Thank you for your support. In community, Andre E. Rochester, Sr. Fine Artist, Curator, Creative Consultant Founder- Diaspora CT, an initiative of Rochester Coaching and Consulting