As director of the Tabb Center, based in the Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, I develop cross-departmental, community-based research initiatives in collaboration with the ballroom and voguing scene, grassroots trans organizers, and Baltimore-based artists of color. Since 2020, I have launched a public humanities fellowship program, a grassroots trans oral history project, and a public humanities postdoctoral position in collaboration with the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute; organized an ongoing speaker series and oral history workshops; and taught courses such as Queer Oral History and Public Humanities & Social Justice.
“Plaster advocates that opening the collections—inviting artists and historically underrepresented communities to take up space in the Libraries with an intention toward racial, sexual, and gender justice—creates the opportunity to co-produce new forms of knowledge.”
“Since coming to Johns Hopkins, Plaster has turned his attention to Baltimore and launched programs that position artists, performers, curators, historians, and activists as partners in research and advocacy. ”
“How Public Humanities Programs Break Down Barriers,” JHU Hub, Dec 19, 2023
A profile of my community-engaged teaching, public humanities fellowship, and public-facing scholarship.
"Be(longing): Unveiling the Imprint of Black Women Hidden in Plain Sight"
I launched a Tabb Center public humanities fellowship in 2023. Our inaugural fellow, Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown, created an instalation inspired by archival materials associated with Ethel Ennis, Billie Holiday, and African American real photo postcards.
Curating Archives Speaker Series
My Spring 2023 Curating Archives speaker series explored the politics of historical memory and creative approaches to archival collections. Speakers included Jules Gill-Peterson, Chase Joynt, SHAN Wallace, Sandra Eder, and Jeanne Vaccaro.
Trans Cultural Production Speaker Series
In Spring 2024, Tabb Center postdoctoral fellow Jo Giardini organized a series highlighting cultural production by trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming artists, writers, historians, poets, and musicians.
Inheritance Baltimore Oral History Trainings
“Doing Oral History in Baltimore,” a series of three workshops in April 2022, supported individuals and institutions in recording, archiving, and interpreting under-documented histories in Baltimore, with a focus on the city’s Black history.
Trans Oral History
In the summer of 2022, Tabb Center undergraduate fellow Sophia Lola (JHU 2022) researched the impact of the 2015 Baltimore Uprising on Baltimore’s trans organizing. Lola’s recordings and transcripts are part of a growing Baltimore Queer Oral History collection archived by the Sheridan Libraries
Images from Framing Agnes screening and talk at the Baltimore Museum of Art, Inheritance Baltimore oral history trainings and presentations, Public Humanities Fellow Nicoletta Darita de la Brown visit with students, public workshop with trans archival materials, and campus visit by scholar Susan Stryker.