Matthews scoured Facebook, searched within her friend groups and sent out messages to find out. She held the first meeting — a potluck at a friend's home — with around 15 women, which turned into a two-hour discussion about the personal experiences of being creative women of color. Soon, her call to arms resulted in the formation of a like-minded group of DJs, musicians, designers, videographers, photographers and performance artists. All were women of color from Baltimore, hence the name, Balti Gurls, or "BG" for short — an interchangeable acronym that stands for "black" and "brown" women, including trans women of color, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and other races and cultures.