Gemma Flora Ortwerth: Where Art Meets Activism
Hey! I’m Gemma Flora Ortwerth, a writer, artist, and graduate student based in Baltimore. My work lives at the intersection of creativity and care, blending scholarship, activism, and imagination to spark change. I am pursuing graduate studies at Capella University with a focus on trauma-informed and disability-centered practice. Academic study and creative expression are concurrent and equally vital to my mission.
I approach art as activism in many forms, whether through writing, digital media, or physical drawings and paintings. My published work includes Reparations, Not Rhetoric and The Seeker and the Seven Animals, with fiction forthcoming in Sinister Wisdom’s 50th Anniversary Issue. My story Drowned Angels was named Story of the Month by Flash Phantoms, and my political poem Can You Forgive Us? appeared in HankyCode in February 2026. My essays and visual work have reached wide audiences through platforms such as Medium and Tumblr.
My activism has included marching in Baltimore’s Pride Parade, marching in the No Kings protest, and in the early days of the current administration, writing and mailing over 100 individually crafted letters to state and federal officials, governors, military and judicial branches, and members of the press, signed only as Citizen 404. In October 2025, I was an invited speaker at AIGA Baltimore Design Week, where I spoke on art as resilience through neurodivergence, chronic illness, and gender transition. These experiences continue to shape my commitment to justice and collective liberation.
Highlights
- ∙ Author of Reparations, Not Rhetoric and The Seeker and the Seven Animals; fiction forthcoming in Sinister Wisdom
- ∙ Story of the Month award from Flash Phantoms for Drowned Angels
- ∙ Political poem Can You Forgive Us? published in HankyCode (February 2026)
- ∙ Invited speaker, AIGA Baltimore Design Week (October 2025)
- ∙ Creator of original art and prints rooted in queer beauty, body autonomy, and resistance
- ∙ Active participant in Baltimore-based activism, including Pride and the No Kings protest
- ∙ Citizen 404: over 100 letters mailed to government, military, judicial, and press institutions at the start of the current administration
- ∙ Graduate student at Capella University
What Guides Me
Creativity is more than expression. It is a way to build community, resist erasure, and imagine systemic change. My work is rooted in justice, dignity, resilience, and collective responsibility.
Let’s Connect
I welcome opportunities to collaborate, create, and contribute, whether through art, writing, or community engagement. If you are interested in working together, please reach out.
-Gemma Ortwerth
Gemma Ortwerth 