15th Annual Juried Art Exhibition
William Way LGBT Community Center

2020 has been fraught with incredible challenges and loss. While this is something unique for many, the Queer community has been through moments like this before. And so we are uniquely equipped to address this moment. We have always redefined parameters of time and space. Our embrace of failure, resilience and resistance is our strength, creating possibilities for a new world of liberation and love.

The William Way LGBT Community Center enters the new year with their 15th Annual Juried Art Exhibition. Being asked to serve as juror was an honor that I was proud to accept. I was grateful to delve into the unfixed world of artists that create beyond delineations of conventional frameworks. This alternate, yet very real universe of magical makers transgressed boundaries, revealing their incomparable authentic selves. The breadth of work included the celebratory, interrogational, intimate, subversive and assertive. A fluidity streamed from the deeply rooted to the celestial. A language emerged, a knowing nod that communicated a commonality of survival, perseverance and fortitude. This multigenerational show explores themes ranging from identity politics, to mental health issues, desire and history. The overarching result is a fleshy delivery of Queer manifestation.

In Sharyl Cubero Aguilar’s video work, an ode to the way girls kiss at parties (like it’s always the last time), fleeting yet momentous experiences are shared with barely known lovers. The narration dances atop footage of a nightclub. We are transported to a church of queer youth through a pulsating beat and flashing strobes, providing a sacred togetherness. Kara Mshinda’s, Reign, celebrates the Queer Black Femme—an intersection of identities that are often underrepresented, diminished or erased. The subject stands amidst a frame of collaged words and images, with a crown hovering above her head. A shower of pigment encompasses her, yet never dampens her body or spirit. She is protected. Dove Nasir is part of a generation whose medical professionals treated homosexuality as a mental illness. In the self portrait, A Day At The Beach, Nasir is featured as the bathing beauty in a camp fictitious beach scene. Childlike playfulness is balanced by the sophistication of the tableau vivant. The artist seizes this contemporary moment to explore aspects of their gender identity that were long discouraged, giving way to a new joy and freedom.

These award-winning works create a conversation that include a wide breadth of the LGBTQIA+ community. The decisions weren’t easy. For all of those who submitted, I am grateful to have engaged your valuable and purposeful work. Your art allows for imaginations of a more vibrant tomorrow. 2021 is here, and the future is now.

With Respect & Gratitude,
Heather Raquel Phillips, Juror

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