What is this place? 

Garden is a 24/7 virtual community center specifically designed for BIPOC folks who are practicing pandemic safety (i.e. wearing high filtration masks, testing for COVID, avoiding crowds, etc.). It came from the need for our folks to have spaces to meet new people and hold events just for us in ways that are safe and imaginative.

Who is allowed to be here?

As long as you are a BIPOC person that is also practicing pandemic safety you are welcome here. The space is open 24/7.

What can people do in here?

Feel free to wander around! There is office space where folks typically congregate to cowork/body double. There is a rotating set of indie films and comedies in the Movie Room. You can play musical instruments solo, or with a group in the Music/Stimming room.

There’s a growing list of Arcade games in the Arcade area from Snake, to Flappy Bird, to Battle Tetris. Card and board games are peppered throughout for spontaneous bouts of Spades, Uno, Top 4, Werewolf and more. There are spaces to do co-working, and hold meetings, a Tree House, Enchanted Library with a growing list of books and grants to sort through and other areas that are being built out.

Where can I find the Accessibility Information for Gather Town?

You can find accessibility information here.

How do I enable live captioning?

Instructions for live captioning are available by device below.

What do I do if I need assistance in this space?

If you ever need help in this space, please either message or find someone with a star emoji ⭐ next to their name and they will assist you with whatever you need.

Do you have / host events?

Yes! You can check out our list events here. If you have ideas for an event or would like to facilitate something here, please fill out our community application and send us an email at info@meetatgarden.com. We also can build private rooms for groups with long term hosting needs.

Can I invite people?

As long as the people you invite are BIPOC and practicing pandemic safety, feel free to invite and host meetups here! Make sure to send them our community application form so they can access the space!

Who runs this place?

This place is held by J Mase III, Al and Gata. They're usually floating around somewhere and are open for any questions if you are unsure about how to utilize the space.

J Mase III - Garden Apothecary (Admin)

J Mase III is an award winning Black Trans poet, author, educator & filmmaker. His work has been featured on MSNBC, Essence Live, Everyday Feminism, Black Girl Dangerous, Buzzfeed, Blavity, the Root, the Huffington Post, TED and more.

Winner of a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Non-Fiction and a Creative Capital Award, he is co-director of the forthcoming documentary, the Black Trans Prayer Book. A librettist for Untitled: A Trans Musical with his artistic collaborator Dane Figueroa Edidi, J Mase believes in a world rooted in community care. Learn more about J Mase III's work at jmaseiii.com and @jmaseiii on socials.

Al (she/her) - Garden Alchemist (Admin)

Al is a technologist with a passion for building spaces and tools for communities and designing accessible, secure and delightful ways for people to connect with each other online.

Her work is rooted in the belief that we should withdraw from platforms that use oppressive algorithms to banish our most precious thoughts, connections and people, while choosing to build more effective ways to communicate with each other.

Gata (she/they) - Garden Scribe (Admin)

Gata is a Queer Afro Caribeña Angry Feminista, c0viding baddie with a maskie based in Los Angeles, CA. In her free time, she loves to create reels & memes on social media, coworking and playing music in Garden, fundraising for mutual aid and making fun of people who don't wear a mask.

Gata also provides free workshops on how to file your taxes, how to sue your landlord, and other resources. For more info follow her @gata_the_baddie (all social media) and at her linktree.

Special shoutout to Creative Devs who designed our gorgeous Enchanted Library rooms and Art Gallery!

How can I support this space?

If you’d like to support this space existing please feel free to send some coins via our GiveButter campaign. Also, feel free to suggest events you’d like to run, or would want to see by emailing us at info@meetatgarden.com.