Hello! My name is Kieran in English, Kique en español, and Kiki in drag. I’m passionate about developing creative solutions that strengthen communities. If you’re reading this, I’m probably interested in doing that at your organization!

Going beyond my resume, the intention of this website is to demonstrate my strategic problem-solving abilities by summarizing three projects I’ve developed: La Agroteca, Queer Readings, & Seres Exótikes. Each summary is divided into three sections: The Opportunity | The Approach | The Outcomes. I hope you enjoy learning more about me and my work!

Resume | LinkedIn | Email: kieranmurray3000@gmail.com

La Agroteca (2018-present)

A resource library for farmers in Puerto Rico with tools, seeds, and educational materials.

THE OPPORTUNITY (2018)

After Hurricane María, I joined a team of people organizing trips across Puerto Rico with a bus full of tools and supplies. We visited different farmers each week to support with reconstruction, cooking, and replanting.

One year after the hurricane, we began to imagine what it would look like to continue providing long-term support for Puerto Rico’s sustainable agriculture movement.

THE APPROACH (2018)

We interviewed and surveyed over 25 farmers from different regions of the island to understand their current challenges and needs.

We researched and studied different types of non-profit organizations, community libraries, and mutual aid networks.

We developed a non-profit model, wrote grant proposals, and identified key collaborators to support in launching our organization, El Departamento de la Comida.

THE OUTCOMES (2019-22)

Within 6 months, we incorporated as a non-profit and wrote grant proposals that were awarded $75,000 from PRxPR, World Central Kitchen, and Projects for Peace. This enabled us to launch the Agroteca: a resource library for farmers with tools, seeds, and educational materials. Here’s a virtual tour of the Agroteca that I shot & edited as part of a design lecture through Cooper Hewitt’s DISEÑO series.

In 2019, we organized over 100 volunteers to contribute 1,000+ hours of labor to food projects around Puerto Rico with tools and seeds from the Agroteca. This volunteer labor was performed by local community members as well as institutional partners like Harvard University, Dartmouth College, and National Geographic. 

In 2021, we were invited to create an installation of the Agroteca as part of The Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico’s exhibit, El Momento del Yagrumo. 

In 2021, we became the first Puerto Rican organization to receive a Community Food Projects grant from the USDA, which has enabled us to begin developing a commercial processing kitchen that will increase crop sales for farmers, minimize food waste, and provide more access to local foods.

In 2022, we launched a program called Abono which directly redistributes money to local food projects who have demonstrated need.

Queer Readings (2019-present)

One-on-one conversations that offer guidance and insight through either 4 everyday objects the querent is carrying with them, or by drawing from The Slugqueen Oracle deck of cards I designed.

THE OPPORTUNITY (2017-19)

As I transitioned away from my traditional religious upbringing in favor of drag shows and tarot cards, there was still something I couldn’t quite replace from my Sundays at church.

The intimacy, vulnerability, and connection I had experienced through prayer with other church members was not something I could find in queer nightlife spaces, or through more individualized and esoteric spiritual practices. 

THE APPROACH (2019)

There were three major questions that guided my journey* to encounter more deep connections within queer community.

Social Events: ‘going out’ anywhere often leads to a highly extroverted, sensory-stimulating experience. Within a social environment, what if we could encounter a more intimate and reflective space where we’re invited to process our emotions, desires, and fears with another person rather than to escape or distract ourselves from them?

The ‘Sacred’ Canon: regardless of our upbringing, most of us carry some level of baggage, skepticism, or triggers around particular religious and spiritual traditions. What if we could find a powerful language of archetypes and symbols to draw from, sourced entirely from the personal experiences of an individual?

The Drag Queen: rather than being an untouchable diva who shines on stage, what if the drag queen could empower the person in front of her to become the ‘protagonist’ of the performance?

*For more of my story, check out my interview with The Creative Independent: “On Listening as Performance”

THE OUTCOMES (2019-PRESENT)

Over the course of 2019, I developed Queer Readings as one-on-one conversations that offer guidance and insight through either 4 everyday objects the querent is carrying with them, or by drawing cards from my original Slugqueen Oracle Deck.

In December 2019 I held my first tarot residency, giving readings for one week at NO BAR in The Standard, East Village. I wrote a followup editorial piece, Kiki’s Queer Guide to Spiritual Growth this Winter, with highlights and takeaways from that experience.

Shortly after lockdown began in 2020, I launched Kiki’s Snail Mail and sent out handwritten Queer Readings via physical mail to 30+ different recipients.

To date, I have given over 1,000 readings at events hosted by House of YES, Susanne Bartsch, Bushwig, The Standard Hotels, Kin Euphorics, and more. I even gave one to Lil Nas X at New York Fashion Week :)

Seres Exótikes (2022-Present)

An event series that celebrates unique and diverse styles of performance art

THE OPPORTUNITY (2021)

After admiring the art of pole dancing for several months via Instagram, I decided to try pole dance classes myself — and I haven’t turned back since.

Pole dance is becoming increasingly popular, especially among the queer community, yet the only spaces to see dancers perform in Puerto Rico are at straight and cis-gender strip clubs. 

As queer people, most of us have been shamed around our bodies and our desires, which is precisely why we need more communal spaces to visibilize and celebrate the movements of our bodies and the expressions of our desires. 

THE APPROACH (2022)

A fellow pole dancer and I wanted to produce an event where queer pole dancers like us could take the stage.

As our imaginations ran wild with what that could look like, we considered the many other types of queer performance artists in our community who also do not have a stage on which to share their incredible talents.

Our concept evolved beyond just one night of queer pole dancers, and into a series of events, Seres Exótikes [Exotic Beings],where unique and diverse types of performers can have a place to shine, and audiences can come to see consistently innovative and original work.

We pitched our proposal and budget to the owners of the biggest gay club in Puerto Rico, and successfully negotiated our first production.

THE OUTCOMES (2022-PRESENT)

Over 400 guests attended our first show, which featured 8 queer pole dancers of diverse gender expressions, body types, and experience levels.

Our shows have received press from Vice and El Vocero, one of Puerto Rico’s major mainstream news outlets.

Since then, we’ve continued to produce shows at other venues as well, featuring drag kings, songwriters, fire artists, aerialists, acrobats, and more. We became a recurring production at Puerto Rico’s biggest gay night club, and have continued to perform at other venues as well.