The William Way LGBT Community Center is opening its doors this week for two separate exhibits — one that celebrates the vibrancy of LGBT communities of faith, and another that recognizes the individual contributions of several local LGBT artists.
On July 15, the center, 1315 Spruce St., unveiled its new archival exhibit, “Wrestling with Angels: Religion and Spirituality in the City of Sisterly and Brotherly Love,” which explores the intersection of religion and spirituality in Philadelphia. At 6 p.m. July 16, it will host an opening reception for an exhibit featuring winning artists of its annual Juried Art Competition.
“Wrestling With Angels”
The center launched its quarterly archival exhibit program last year and the first two installments focused on the LGBT activism and the people of color community, respectively.
With the third exhibit, the organization will draw attention to the struggle LGBT people have undergone to gain acceptance by faith communities, which have been successful in some realms and ongoing in others, said center archivist Bob Skiba.
“We think that this is an important and untold story,” Skiba said. “This is a neglected part of our community.”
He noted that the center has a particular connection to the LGBT faith community because of its Out and Faithful program, which encourages fellowship and discussion among LGBTs of all religious backgrounds.
Skiba said the LGBT community has historically had “three strikes” against it, the last of which is motivated by religious bias.
“Back in the ’50s, we had this medical issue, where we were simply called insane, sick. We fought hard to overcome that and, in the 1970s, the American Psychological Association decided that we weren’t,” he said. “And then we’ve been able to overcome civil laws, laws against sodomy. The final federal one to invalidate all state laws wasn’t passed until 2003, but it was passed. So the absolute last issue is this one of morality. Where religions are simply calling us immoral and evil, and this is something we’ve had a hard time overcoming.”
The research for this exhibit was rather challenging, Skiba said, as the topic is so far-reaching and the discussion on religion and the LGBT community continues into the present day.
“It was really amazingly complex,” he said. “Congregations vary from total rejection of same-sex relationships to total acceptance and everything in between. It’s really a hot issue right now because it’s causing problems in places like the Episcopal Church, where congregations are just dividing from the church over this issue.”
As Skiba noted, many faith communities embrace LGBT individuals, and he said the myriad LGBT-affirming churches in the Philadelphia area were “absolutely wonderful” in assisting with the creation of the exhibit.
The exhibit, compiled from photos, posters and other ephemera housed in the center’s John J. Wilcox Jr. GLBT Archive, highlights local events such as the church trial of lesbian minister Beth Stroud, who was stripped of her ministerial credentials by the United Methodist Church for coming out, and the growth and development of such agencies as the Philadelphia chapter of Dignity, a Catholic LGBT organization.
“We focus on some great events and look at different milestones that were reached,” Skiba said. “I’m always happy when we’re able to bring things out of the archives that have just been sitting in boxes and are able to share this history with our community.”
“Wrestling with Angels” will be on display through Sept. 24 in the center’s main lobby.
Juried art exhibit
Also this week, the center is launching a group art show featuring the winners from its fifth annual Juried Art Competition.
The contest drew 35 submissions from 20 artists, and prize juror Matthew Palczynski, a staff lecturer for Western Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, selected Kathy McLean, Elke Muller and Jeff Stroud as this year’s group-show winners. Grand-prize winner Alexander Conner will have his works exhibited at the center early next year.
The three artists are all featuring photographic pieces, which director of center services Candice Thompson said will create a cohesive presentation, although she said each artist’s work is distinctive.
“Kathy’s work is mostly portraiture, with a lot of black and white images and some erotic images of women. And that’s very different from Elke’s work, where she does some landscapes and some city shots. So you’ll see some really neat shots of Mexico she took, with some great vibrant colors. And then Jeff’s work is a mixed bag, which is nice. He’s got some really beautiful images, some detailed shots of flowers, and then he also profiles individuals so you’ll see some studio shots of gay couples kissing.”
Thompson noted the juried-art program provides LGBT artists exposure, as well as the chance to network.
“Our gallery isn’t the only one in the city that shows queer art, but ours is pretty special because we [also] focus on emerging artists,” she said. “We’re able to give a venue and an opportunity for artists to get their work out and have it be seen by many, many people.”
The Juried Art Exhibit will be on display through Aug. 27.
For more information about the exhibits, call (215) 732-2220.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].