Aromantics Create(d) Pride
June 1st marked AUREA’s first anniversary as well as the first day of the annual month-long Pride celebrations. We wanted to thank our supporters by organizing Aromantics Create Pride: an event celebrating aromantic creators. We hoped that this event would help build strong intra-community relationships.
A total of twenty-two people participated in this event and interacted with each other’s works. The variety of works submitted, from aromantics around the world, was an absolute pleasure to see! Now that the event has come to an end, here is our full list of participants. Some creators included content warnings with their submissions, so we have included those with each entry.
ART
The Arting Ace
Original content
A colored illustration of a mermaid. Hosted on Twitter.
No content warnings
John Rando
Original content
A colored digital illustration of a mechanical heart. Hosted on Arocalypse.
No content warnings
Ruby
Original content
A traditional colored illustration of two aromantics celebrating Pride. Hosted on Instagram.
Content warning: physical affection
Aidin
Original content
A colored word-based graphic with digital illustrations. Hosted on Tapas.
No content warnings
Lily Moone
Fan content, fandom: My Hero Academia
A colored illustration of a character celebrating National Coming Out Day. Hosted on Instagram.
No content warnings
Goon
Original content, original character from a fan work, fandom: The Elder Scrolls
A colored illustration of an original character. Hosted on Twitter.
No content warnings
COMIC
Ramen
Original content
A colored comic about how the creator figured out they were aromantic. Hosted on Tapas.
Content warnings: physical affection, romance
HANDMADE ITEMS
Aspec of Stardust
Original content
Embroidery on canvas. Hosted on Wordpress.
Content warning: physical affection
Magni
Original content
Embroidered patches. Hosted on Tumblr.
No content warnings
PODCAST
Shade Oyemakinwa
Original content
The first episode in a poetic podcast series. Hosted on Radio Public.
No content warnings
POETRY
Puzzle Pieces
Original content
A metaphor-laden poem about puzzle pieces. Hosted on Google Docs.
Content warning: discrimination
Lucy Parr
Original content
A poem on the topic of love. Originally published in AZE’s aromantic issue. Hosted on the AZE Journal website.
No content warnings
Penel Norman
Original content
Three short poems commenting on amatonormativity. Hosted on Blogspot.
Content warnings: abuse, body parts, death, discrimination, mental health issues, romance, sex, Silvia Plath references
PROSE
Rosey-arts
Fan content, fandom: The Adventure Zone
A short story about found family. Hosted on Archive Of Our Own.
Content warnings: physical affection, memory loss, romance
David McCrea
Original content
A short story on the topic of love. Hosted on Google Docs.
Content warnings: deadnaming, discrimination, invalidation, physical affection, romance
Flighty Wren
Original content
A short story about the author’s experience as a queer member of the Mormon church. Hosted on Archive Of Our Own.
Content warnings: discrimination, religion
Thayer A. Serrenn
Original content
A short story about a young aromantic coming to terms with their identity. Hosted on Wix.
Content warnings: dehumanization and demonzation of aromantic people, discrimination, mental health issues
Autumn
Original content
A supernatural fantasy short story. Hosted on Dreamwidth.
Content warnings: death, discrimination, mental health issues
Scoop
Fan content, Greek mythology
A short story based on the Narcissus and Echo myths. Hosted on Archive Of Our Own.
Content warnings: death, gore/torture /violence, physical affection, romance, sex
SONGS
Strings Speak Mountains
Original content
A melodic instrumental piece with accompanying written lyrics. Hosted on Bandcamp.
Content warning: references to platonic relationships that could be construed as romantic
Touzoku-ou Bakura
Original content
A vocal piece with instrumental accompaniment. Hosted on Spotify.
Content warnings: death, mental health issues, physical affection, traumatic events
MrMapacheco
Original content
A vocal and instrumental piece. Hosted on Spotify.
No content warnings
This was a fun event to host, and the AUREA Team learned a lot throughout the process. We encourage our participants to continue connecting with each other and with other aromantic creators, and we also encourage readers to check them out.
If you want to get more involved with aromantic art and creation, there are a number of active community members who run recurring events as well as up and coming projects such as the Aro Zine that you can check out. The monthly Carnival of Aros event encourages discussions about aromanticism according to different themes, in whatever medium you choose. AroWriMo (Aromantic Writing Month) takes place every February, and Aggressively Arospec runs two recurring events revolving around both original and fan works. Aro Worlds, Allo Aro Worlds, and the Arospec Poetry Network also share creative works by aromantic artists of many kinds. Finally, the Aromantic and Asexual Characters Database and the Aspec Journal regularly welcome new additions.