about the ddc
The Dirty Dishes Collective is a curatorial, artistic, and publishing duo formed by dani neira and Cassia Powell. Inspired by the piles of dishes that remain after gathering, the DDC centers friendship, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing as queer methodologies. Emphasizing research-based practices together with community programming, their projects include exhibitions, residencies, workshops, publications, mobile zine libraries, and dinner parties.
ddc press publishes zines, books, and print ephemera with a focus on artist projects, queer narratives, and critical theory.
DDC was founded in 2022 on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) peoples, now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. As of 2024, the DDC is now based on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
who we are
dani neira
co-founder
dani neira is an interdisciplinary researcher working across artist publishing, sculpture, and curation. Weaving queer theory, cultural studies, and speculative fiction, their practice investigates affective alliances and mutable architectures—physical, digital, and otherwise—as slippery sites of potentiality.
dani is based on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ nations. They hold a BA in Art History and Visual Studies, and are currently a Master of Archival Studies and Library & Information Studies candidate at the University of British Columbia.
Cassia Powell (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist-researcher currently located in Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh territories (Vancouver, BC). Their practice explores queer digital folklore and the interstitial play between tactility and technology. They work with machinic forms of installation, primarily with quiltmaking and oil painting, as well as writing, publishing and curation.
Cassia is a BFA Visual Arts Honours graduate from the University of Victoria (2020).