The month of June represents Pride Month, a time to celebrate and honor the LGBTQ+ community. In 2016, two Michigan-based queer artists cofounded Ypsilanti Pride.
Over the years, this event has come to serve thousands in Southeast Michigan. In 2025, Ypsilanti Pride will take place June 6 from 5 to 10 p.m. in Depot Town.
Ypsi Pride is an evening celebrated with music, food, activities and local artisan booths. This year, Eastern Michigan University student Madison Cantrell will be vending and sharing their photography prints, cyanotype stickers and zines for the first time at Pride.
Cantrell is the editor in chief of Cellar Roots, Eastern Michigan University's Fine Arts Magazine, and former co-president of the Intermedia Gallery Group, the organization that arranges the student gallery space inside the Student Center. As an art and journalism double major, Cantrell is immersed in the arts community on EMU’s campus.
“I have a passion for artists and artists that are also students, how we are all working in this art world, and we are still learning and growing,” Cantrell said. “Being able to lead student artists as a student is really cool."
Cantrell uses film and digital photography, shooting in 35-millimeter, medium format and polaroids. As a student in the art department, Cantrell has access to the darkroom on campus to develop their work. Cantrell has grown up with photographers, inheriting cameras and knowledge from their grandfather and mother.
“When I think of my photos, I like to think about humans, nature and human nature,” Cantrell said.
Cantrell uses experimental methods of developing photos, including film soup, a process that involves heat, liquid and other chemicals to alter the original image during the developing process.
Cantrell shot all the images being sold from 2022-24, with hopes for the future of having a graduation show to showcase the last year of their work. Creating smaller prints rather than full-size original photos is less intimidating as a first-time vendor, Cantrell said.
The smaller prints allow for more affordable rates and more accessible art. For example, a zine is a small, self-published, low-circulated art book that uses images and/or text to portray a message. Cyanotype stickers are another way Cantrell is creating affordable art that can be put on everyday objects.
“I have always been scared to sell my art; I have wanted to hoard it all,” Cantrell said.
To vend at Pride or other art markets, artists must first pay vending and booth fees, which can deter many young queer artists like Cantrell.
Fortunately, Ypsilanti Pride offers scholarship opportunities for which vendors may apply. Cantrell received one of these scholarships, making vending more accessible without high costs.
“It’s very hard, especially for students, to pay those fees to be in those spaces," Cantrell said. "So it is very nice to be able to participate and not have to worry about that."
This summer, Cantrell is interning at Dzanc House Gallery, a hub of art and literature in the Ypsilanti area. Dzanc provides support to emerging and established artists and community members. Together they have collaborated by forming a community darkroom.
“Graduating in December [and] losing all those resources has made me think, 'Wow, I am not going to have access to this,'" Cantrell said. "This is what inspired me to work with Amanda May Moore at Dzanc House."
The darkroom will provide access to community members to develop black and white film photos. A main point of focus for Cantrell is having sustainable plant-based developers rather than harsh chemicals. To maintain suitability and low-cost options for artists, Cantrell and Dzanc are going to create monthly online photo exhibitions to share local work.
To see Cantrell's latest images and gallery appearances, find them on Instagram at @photomady.