Cai Quirk is a trans and genderqueer photographer who focuses on the intersections of gender diversity and spirituality throughout history, its erasure, and contemporary reclamation.

Cai was recently the Minnie Jane Scholar and 4-month Artist in Residence at Pendle Hill Quaker Conference and Retreat Center. Their photographic work is included in the 2nd edition of the seminal book Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, an in recent exhibitions including at the Alice Wilds Gallery, Hunterdon Art Museum, Forsberg Gallery, the Beyond Artist Collective, and permanent displays at the Indiana University LGBTQ+ Cultural Center and Powell House Conference Center.

They hold two bachelor’s degrees from Indiana University: a BSoF in Photography, and a BM in Bassoon Performance, with photo professors James Osamu Nakagawa and Elizabeth Claffey, and bassoon professor William Ludwig.

A book of the project Transcendence came out this March with Skylark Editions. Orders are already available here. Generous support from the Indiana University Hutton Honors College and LGBTQ+ Cultural Center is supporting donating 100 copies to LGBTQ+ libraries and cultural centers around the country. Please consider helping us reach all 500 LGBTQ+ libraries by donating books.