Written by Shar Jossell
A multidisciplinary creator working across mixed media, installation, and fashion design, The Artist L. Haz is a member of GLAAD’s 2026 EMEI cohort, bringing a practice rooted in everyday beauty, community, and the transformative power of adornment.
The Artist L. Haz came to art through necessity. A former attorney, they describe losing their ability to walk under the weight of professional stress, and finding their way back through creativity. “The art started out as my mental health plan,” they say. “It completely changed my whole mental.” That origin shapes everything, including how fiercely they protect their creative space. “I do not give a rat’s rear end about those demands. At any time if the art doesn’t feel like it’s true to the cause of untangling the brain, I’ll back away, because I can never be put in a position where I don’t have it to help me.”
Their work spans watercolor and acrylic illustration, textile design, and costume work, all rendered by hand first. In 2024, The Artist L. Haz made their opera costuming debut, designing the gown for Principal Soprano Ellaina Lewis in the world premiere of the opera “Cassandra.” It is the kind of moment that clarified their mission. After the premiere, Lewis’ mother approached The Artist L. Haz about her love for a silk scarf the artist made from the same original painting. Honored that Lewis’s mother enjoyed the work, The Artist L. Haz placed a scarf around her neck on the spot. “I want Black people especially, to feel special,” they reflect. “You have these one or two things where you feel like it’s something from another realm that is gracing you. You feel adorned and you feel powerful in a very specific type of way.”
That commitment to accessibility and community runs through The Artist L. Haz’s broader philosophy. Their vision is rooted in solidarity, which they define not as grand gestures but as daily, shoulder-to-shoulder presence. “Solidarity is the everyday standing next to folks who are of different cultures and of different backgrounds and sacrificing something, whether that be time, whether that be food. It’s organizing, it’s showing love, and it’s the idea of one love, one blood, one people.” On visibility, they are equally grounded. “The purpose of visibility to me is so that you can feel regular. We’re all over here together and this is just who we are.”
The Artist L. Haz draws on dreams of set design and costuming that stretch back a decade, inspired by productions like “Living Single” and the legacy of costume designer Ruth Carter. With the GLAAD EMEI cohort, they are taking deliberate steps toward that vision, one extraordinary everyday moment at a time.
