The voices of local queer Latino youth will be amplified this month through a new art exhibit.
“Queer and Latinidad: A Collective Identity” opened Tuesday at A Seed on Diamond Gallery, 124 Diamond St., and will run through Oct. 29. The display is comprised of original photography works by and about the five members of the Youth Art & Activism Committee, a program of GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization.
YAAC, which launched last year, brings together the participants twice a week to address social-justice issues impacting queer Latino youth.
The art exhibit is a culmination of the youth’s yearlong work.
“They committed to YAAC for one year so this was their final project and it’s been completely youth-led,” said Fran Zavala Cortes, GALAEI’s bilingual youth coordinator “They came up with all the ideas themselves. They decided to use photography and to have black and white images. They created all the posters and many of the images were taken by the youth themselves.”
The exhibit includes five portraits of each of the members, as well as two group shots, showcasing YAAC’s reenactment of the Annual Reminder demonstrations, which saw its 50th anniversary this past summer.
The youth also decided to invite several other artists to participate. Works by Daniel De Jesus, Louie Ortiz, Luis Cortes and members of Taller Puertoriqueño’s Youth Artist Program are also included.
“Coincidentally, this was going up at the same time as National Latino Art Heritage Month,” Cortes said, “so they thought this was a great opportunity to invite other queer Latino artists to display.”
Seeing their own work displayed in the gallery, Cortes said, has been thrilling for the YAAC members.
“They’re super-excited about the whole experience,” Cortes said. “We gave them each a big 11-by-14 of their portraits and they just loved them. Seeing them up in the gallery means a lot to them. How many high-school students have the opportunity to say they were part of a group whose work is on exhibit? It’s a great moment for them.”
It’s also an important moment for the community to hear directly from its youth, Cortes said.
“So many times, the youth narrative is written and interpreted by adults. But we were very intentional with this to put youth in the forefront. This exhibit lets people see youth identity through their own perspectives.”
There will be a closing reception Oct. 29 that will feature youth performances and more.
For more information, visit www.galaei.org.
