Q+ Art Launch

Q+ Art is a major new initiative showcasing the work of artists who identify as LGBTQ+ and combines exhibitions, public programs, collection-building, and awards. The mission of Q+ Art is to support the creative endeavors of LGBTQ+-identified artists and to advance the presentation of all diverse voices.

To kick off Q+ Art for our members and the community, we are presenting a day of activities:

LECTURE - 1:00 P.M.

LGBTQ+ Art History

Representations of LGBTQIA+ life work forward and backward in time: they help us understand queer and trans pasts, and provide a place from which to imagine our futures. Stamatina Gregory, Head Curator of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, will lead a tour through moments in 20th and 21st-century queer art history, as envisioned by the research-based work of contemporary artists.

PANEL - 2:00 P.M.

The Q Word

Artists Deborah Bright, Troy Montes Michie, and Young Joon Kwak reflect on the term “queer” and on how queerness has informed their multidisciplinary practices. Moderated by curator David Evans Frantz, this conversation will ruminate on how these intergenerational artists consider and complicate embodiment, desire, and multiple histories through their work.

3:30 P.M.

Distinguished Keynote Award 2024

The Q+ Art Keynote Award is given to an established artist of exceptional talent, whose work has had a positive impact on LGBTQ+ representation in the arts and incorporates intersectional interests in other aspects of diversity. Kent Monkman is known for his thought-provoking interventions into Western European and American art history. An interdisciplinary Cree visual artist, he explores themes of colonization, sexuality, loss, and resilience—the complexities of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences.

4:30 P.M.

Soundscape Performance

Jeshua, a two-spirit multidisciplinary artist, will take audiences on a musical journey through sound and film.

5:30 P.M.

Exhibition Opening

To Move Towards the Limits of Living examines how LGBTQ+ artists have used diverse strategies to respond to experiences of exclusion and discover new possibility, casting light on subjects including the LGBTQ+ self, domestic space, and the broader social world.