This mural is my love letter to New Hampshire, my unexpected new home. In partnership with Queerlective, I set out to make a painted backdrop for a photo booth at Manchester and Concord Pride. First, I wanted to represent local artists, activists, and queer people in our community. This was a big deal to me because so often in our culture we only see the few big-name and nationally-renowned artists and public figures. I think this creates an impression that all the culture is happening in the biggest cities and that small towns are not populated by queer people. I grew up in the Midwest, and now I live here. I know that both locations have a vibrant queer culture and community. I also know from researching biology (check out the book Biological Exuberance) that queerness is everywhere in nature; we are natural as a sunset or freshwater stream. We are ubiquitous and eternal. We are magical, resilient, and—most of all—we are free. Sometimes the opposition and alienation of being such a minority population can make the bonds within more rural queer communities stronger than those in areas where there is less at stake. We know we must take care of each other.
Of course, the major cities of our world produce the most well-known art, and I included some big names that matter to me in the crowd, such as Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Marsha P. Johnson. These figures are of huge significance to us all, and for good reason. The first Pride was a riot in response to brutal violence and extortion police routinely perpetrated by raiding queer nightclubs. Marsha is mythologized to be the one that threw the first brick, and has become a powerful symbol of queer liberation and an important reminder of what is at stake. Trans people of color are the backbone of this movement, and it is important to note that the laws those police were employing to attack these bars were alarmingly similar to laws being put on the books now—supporting white and male supremacy and suppressing large racial, ethnic, and female groups by outlawing the queer outliers. There is some argument over who threw the brick, and what exactly happened. The point is this: We did not get here by begging and we are more powerful than we can even imagine.
When I moved to Concord in June of last year, I was terrified by what I perceived to be a hostile and alien culture. What I swiftly found out was that there was a strong, scrappy, empathetic, and welcoming artistic queer community surrounding me if I would just open my eyes to it. I was welcomed artistically by being invited to show my work in the electrifying and envelope-pushing “All My Friends Are In This Show” curated by Yasamin Safarzadeh for Kimball Jenkins. I am a working artist who has been actively showing work internationally for over a decade, and the experience I had working with Yasamin and Kimball Jenkins was nothing short of transcendent. I even have a tattoo from that night—we had a tattoo artist, and many of those participating in the show were invited to design flash sheets. I have been welcomed academically by the wonderful faculty and staff at UNH. I have also been welcomed socially by countless figures in our community. I have been to late-night guerilla art showings punctuated by noise-music performances, hiked some of the most beautiful trails I’ve ever seen, and was given such a priceless opportunity to meet and give back to my community with the interactive art display I designed for Queerlective.
These experiences led me to paint our community as I see it: vibrant & happy. Celebrating in front of the statehouse with the American flag proudly flying next to the trans flag because this is our country, too, and we aren’t going anywhere. The way I have been welcomed here has been magical. It’s cool to know art history and keep track of Drag Race like it’s football (I do), but it’s even more rewarding to really delve into your local art scene and hit up a local drag show. I’ve always been mesmerized by the spiritual experience of live performance: human beings experiencing our senses together, exchanging energy and loving one another in a real and electronic-free way. These connections cannot be reduced into zeros and ones, virtual worlds are no substitute for the meaningful spaces we create together here, and we would be wise to build each other up and continue working to strengthen our local communities. I was proud to include many dear friends, fellow artists, activists, and performers from our community. I will list some of them below—see if you can spot them in the painting! I hope you find as much joy viewing this work as I did making it, and I hope you support a local artist, performer, or community outreach program in your community. We need each other more now than ever, and we have so much right here at home.
But before you take up my Where’s-Waldo challenge, one last thing: It was essential, from my perspective, that this was a free interactive art experience and every photo taken in front of the backdrop has been made available on my website Bostonelements.com, where you can also see a selection of my art and a listing of my shows and publications. I am happy to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in this interactive experience on July 15th at Kimball Jenkins. I hope to see you there!
Manny Ramirez & Cecelia Ulibarri of Positive Street Art; Brenda Noiseux; Liz of Mosaic Art Collective; Savannah & Kira Morehouse; Atomic Beet; Laura & Sarah of Creative Guts Podcast; Amber Nicole Cannon, Educator and Activist; Obscura Freakshow; Yasamin Safarzadeh, Curator/Artist/Activist; Julianne Gadoury of Kimball Jenkins; Heather Hilton-Gault and her daughters Indiana & Georgie; Nathan Fredrickson; Journee LaFond; Randall Neilson; Chadwick Howard; Erin George Kelly of Waypoint; Bill Stelling; Kenny Frasch; Steven Kidder; Betty Carmela Circharo & her son, Julian; Cindy Rizza; Lisa Paige; and many more.
