The University of North Georgia is hosting an art exhibition to celebrate LGBT history month.
The event is sponsored by the TimeFrame UNG Art History Club and is co-curated by art majors Erin Weimer and Michael Greiner, president and vice-president of the Gender & Sexuality Alliance.
The UNG art galleries provide access to cultural diversity and experiences and cultivate respect and admiration of contemporary artistic expressions
The exhibition displays 17 pieces of artwork created by UNG students, who are members of the LGBT community and allies.
The artists used a variety of mediums such as fabric, photography, acrylic paint, and watercolors for their pieces.
Lauren Henderson, a senior cybersecurity major with a love for textile arts, used handwoven cotton for her exhibition artwork. She said, “the piece was woven using a code made by translating the phrase that the piece is titled into the pattern.” Henderson focused on making sure the piece was “something new and unrecognizable, a notable part of the more transgressive elements of the LGBTQ+ experience.”
UNG student Matèo Penado says “Queer joy isn’t always a big dramatic celebration. It can also be found in small tiny moments and at the drag show, in the corners of a bar, around the kitchen table, in the parking lot… I think the tinier intimate moments should be honored and given their time.”
The exhibition allows the transgender community to share their experiences firsthand through their artwork. Many UNG LGBT students turn to art as a medium to express their struggles and obstacles.
UNG student Jackson Moran says “The transgender experience is too often characterized by outsiders as solely miserable and painful. It can be that way, yes- but not always. It is questioned by many if we deserve to be happy or to be loved; being reduced to genitals, bodies, and terms rather than people with complex thoughts and emotions. So, we find love in each other. What others don’t understand, we embrace and hold with pride; as we are simply human.”
The exhibition is being held Oct. 17-31 on the Dahlonega campus in the Hansford Hall in room 203. The exhibition will be open to all from 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Fridays.
