​Awesome Grant awarded to F-M’s only queer radio program

The Awesome Foundation supports ideas and initiatives in our area through thousand-dollar grants every month. This month they awarded $1,000, split between the host of Fargo’s only queer radio program, Nemo Siqueiros, and the “Multi-Ethnic Recording Project” on KPPP-LP.

Last year I had the privilege of talking to Nemo about his program “Finding me” and what got him into radio. That article can be found here: https://hpr1.com/index.php/feature/culture/fargo-moorhead-queer-radio/.

This year, I was excited to talk to him about this grant and what we can expect for the future of these programs!

High Plains Reader: You recently got an Awesome Foundation Grant to expand your programming, what do you see for the future of your show?

Nemo Siqueiros: What I see in the future of programming for “Finding Me” is an upgrade in our quality and better tools to empower our community. We’ll be purchasing recording equipment for the community to be able to use at our trainings or when getting in touch with people for their insights into intersectional queer identity.

I’m really excited because I’ll be covering some really important topics from April all the way into June; topics like how parents should react and support their children when they come out, or the relationship between the queer community and police.

HPR: We spoke a great deal last year about your radio program and what got you into radio. So, besides the Awesome Foundation Grant, what’s been going on since then? Are you still enjoying radio?

NS: I am still enjoying radio work at KPPP-LP! I’ve started to apply my art in the visual part of “Finding Me” for those who tune in to watch the Facebook livestreams. I’ve also started a Patreon that supports my art and this project for queer radio. If anyone would like sneak peeks into the special guests of creation of programming “Finding Me,” you can become a patron for as little as $1 atwww.patreon.com/anemonefish/, with higher tiers giving more content and rewards.

As for the other tasks I have at 88.1 FM, we just concluded a nearly yearlong story project about Kathleen Bennett which can easily be searched on the site atkpppfm.com and is covered by Cindy Gomez-Schempp, host of “A Mexican Crossing Lines.”

HPR: The Awesome Foundation Grant also was for the “Multi-Ethnic Recording Project.” Could you tell me what that project is and how you’re involved?

NS: The “Multi-Ethnic Recording Project” has folks share their stories and poems with us, then we clean it up while retaining as much of the original context as possible. I amplify the impact of a poem or story as needed, like the one performed by our intern Ruben Flores, called “Caminar.”

I pull the audience into the story with sound effects and music so that they are experiencing it as if they were there themselves. Sound effects and music aren’t always required if it doesn’t fit the poem or story, but folks were floored by the work and thought that the station put into it.

You can listen to “Caminar” at any time on our Facebook page if you haven’t caught it on the radio yet. We’re working on releasing more performances, stories and poems like that, and we just recorded a poem performed by my grandmother in Spanish, so Spanish speakers and listeners can listen to that soon.

HPR: What would you say for people who may be interested in getting involved with either “Finding Me” or “Multi-Ethnic Recording Project?"

NS: In the description of “Finding Me,” I tell my audience, “This is also a space for your voice, for your questions, for your art, for your fears.” I’ve had everyday people, parents, kids, writers, musicians, poets, and politicians on my program talking about what they’re doing or asking what they could be doing, while I offer my life and academic perspective of the queer identity on the intersectional level. Join the conversation online on Facebook or whenever I have a discussion time called #FindingWords.

Message me if you’d like to arrange an interview to promote your work with the queer community or as a queer person doing what you’re passionate about.

If you’re interested in sharing your stories, poetry and performances so you can also be heard and have an impact on someone’s life, please tell us and we’ll check it out.

You can give us a call at (701) 566-0917 and leave a three-minute message, or email the station managers and operators Cindy Gomez-Schempp and Duke Gomez-Schempp at cindy@kpppfm.com or duke@kpppfm.com.

We’re adding local color to your airwaves, including the local color you add to the community.

[Editor’s note: Faye Seidler is North Dakota Safe Zone Project Spokeswoman]

YOU SHOULD KNOW

kpppfm.com/finding-me

Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @NemoPotatoes.