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RAFAEL SOLDI

CO-FOUNDER: Strange Fire Collective
The Strange Fire Collective (2015–2023) was co-founded by Rafael Soldi, Hamidah Glasgow, Jess T. Dugan, and Zora J Murff as a platform that critically questions the dominant social hierarchy, increasing the visibility of meaningful work and creating dialogue and community through its programs. Strange Fire's core activity consisted of publishing weekly original, in-depth interviews, having produced 310 conversations with women, people of color, and queer and trans artists, writers, and curators over the course of 7 years. This archive serves as an expansive repository of content that better represents the diversity in the world around us and an effective teaching tool for educators and the community at large. During its run, Strange Fire also produced 11 exhibitions, 3 publications, and 13 community events and public forums. Additionally, the collective published thoughtful, in-depth, critical reviews of 39 books. More notably, in the last two years Strange Fire invested significant resources to create an archive of teaching tools aimed at assisting instructors in diversifying their curriculums and teaching practices. These teaching resources span issues of race, gender, disability, sexuality, and native perspectives, and are free and available to the public.

Soldi curated the exhibitions Momentous Gesture, Signal Boost, and Stacks: In this body of mine, and contributed various texts, including reflections about books by Sunil Gupta, Nona Faustine, and Alessandra Sanguinetti, among others.

The Strange Fire Collective archive was acquired by the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture and the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
EXHIBITIONS

Interior Life, Filter Space, Chicago, 2020 Interior Life, Filter Space, Chicago, 2020 An Active and Urgent Telling, Schaefer Art Gallery at Gustavus Adolphus College, 2021 Momentous Gesture, SOIL Gallery, Seattle, 2022 Momentous Gesture, SOIL Gallery, Seattle, 2022 In this body of mine, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, 2019 In this body of mine, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, 2019 In this body of mine, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, 2019 In this body of mine, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, 2019 Signal Boost, NAPOLEON, Philadelphia, 2018
Rafael Soldi's contributions to the collective included conversations with artists such as Bethany Collins, Tarrah Krajnak, Koyoltzintli Miranda-Rivadeneira, Cara Levine, Anthony Cudahy, Shikeith, Danny Giles, Seba Calfuqueo, Kyle Dunn, and Didier William; and curators/thinkers such as Elizabeth Ferrer (BRIC), Roxana Marcoci (MoMA), Joseph Pierce, Aldeide Delgado (WOPHA), and Ksenia Nouril (The Print Center).