Dallas filmmaker Israel Luna, along with co-creator Joseph Herrera, have debuted a new LGBTQ+ web series, The Gayborhood, set in Dallas’ famed LGBTQ+ neighborhood, Oak Lawn. This indie comedy-drama follows a group of coworkers at a studio run by a drag queen and features a cast of local talent, including longtime Luna collaborator Richard Curtin. […]
Category: Arts
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Inside Symphonii Smith-Kennedy’s art exhibit ‘Interwoven Layers’
Symphonii Smith-Kennedy is a 23-year-old Jamaican-American artist from South Florida, exploring themes of identity, race, and queerness through her painting. A graduate of New World School of the Arts, she creates art to reflect on her experiences as a Black queer woman and aims to build connections through her work. Symphonii’s debut solo show Interwoven […]
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Indigiqueer artist Tricia Rainwater digs deep into personal, cultural histories
In one of her Instagram posts, multimedia artist Tricia Rainwater stands inside a picnic shelter at Cadron Settlement Park in Cadron, Arkansas. She wears a red plaid dress and black laced-up boots, with some of her tattoos visible on her legs and left hand. Her long, dark hair frames her face, and large hoops hang […]
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Queer art in the age of AI: Challenges, ethics and the future
Although the debate around AI and its potential effects on creative fields is relatively recent, the technology at the center of the controversy has been around since the 1950s. There are two main forms of AI; predictive and the currently more controversial, generative. According to IBM, generative AI “refers to deep-learning models that can generate […]
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Queer Chicana artist Jaqui Almaguer uses traditional styles to highlight immigrant experiences
For many children, an introduction to art comes from museums or kindergarten art classes. For Jaqui Almaguer, it was Little Village graffiti. Almaguer, a 42-year-old self-taught Chicago-based artist, had a lifetime of experiences before committing to an art career full-time. Now, she’s putting her Chicana heritage and spiritual beliefs into her vibrant traditionally inspired painted […]
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From tuxedos to tattoos, Eleanor Medhurst’s “Unsuitable” traces a hidden history of lesbian fashion
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Blues singer Gladys Bentley was a dazzling star of the Harlem Renaissance, a period in the 1920s and ’30s when African American culture flourished in New York City. Bentley’s risqué performances intrigued audiences. So did the entertainer’s relationships with […]
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For artist Marcel Pardo Ariza, representation matters
It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon in San Francisco’s Mission District – a welcomed reprieve from the more-frequent chilly, overcast, windy and rainy conditions in the city this time of the year. The warmer weather translates to people being out and about, stopping by popular local establishments such as Bi-Rite Creamery and Market, Dog Eared Books, […]
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Review: Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘The Last Dream’
“The Last Dream” by Pedro Almodóvar (translated by Frank Wynne) is a collection of 12 short stories, including eight works of fiction, that were written over a span of 55 years. Considered a “fragmentary autobiography” by the author, this book demonstrates the Academy Award-winning film director’s literary prowess and versatility. His writing, like his filmmaking, […]
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Chicago queer artist Andy Bellomo highlights underrepresented queer experiences in her work
Andy Bellomo’s art practice sparked from a place often filled with controversy in the queer community—Christian church. Bellomo’s love of art blossomed while observing stained glass windows in churches she attended with a friend growing up in Boston. Now an educator and artist in Chicago, she focuses much of her creative work on queer people […]
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Lucid, with AI, aims to push the boundaries on streaming
Not many 28-year-olds can say they were a professional athlete, top of their class at an elite university, an investment bank analyst, and a global business development lead and now have their own company. But Indy Sanders, founder and CEO of the tech startup Lucid, can. “I don’t think there are any barriers within someone’s […]
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Trans artist Nonamey finds community, inspiration in Portland
San Francisco has the first-ever Transgender District, the Office of Trans Initiatives, a designated month to honor trans history, and the status as a sanctuary city for trans and gender-nonconforming people, but there’s another trans-embracing metropolis on the West Coast: Portland. It’s where multimedia artist Nonamey calls home. “It’s the city where I feel, in […]
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Ambitious arts initiative uncovers ‘treasures’ created by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC Chicagoans
Chicago has no shortage of cultural events—with 77 neighborhood areas and an innumerable amount of cultural communities, there’s something for everyone. Financial assistance from Chicago Cultural Treasures, now in the final year of its four-year initiative, has focused on funding BIPOC groups—including LGBTQ+-centered organizations—so they can continue as part of the city’s cultural tapestry. El […]
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‘Am I OK?’: Dakota Johnson stars in a film about coming out in your 30s
The long-awaited Dakota Johnson lesbian rom-com, “Am I OK?” finally premiered on Max two years after its festival premiere and it does so just in time for Pride Month. The cute film about coming out later in life is directed by the sapphic married couple Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro, the latter of whom makes […]
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Tribeca Film Festival 2024: Spotlight on LGBTQ+ films and TV shows in this year’s lineup
The Tribeca Film Festival has revealed its lineup for the 2024 festival, and there is considerable LGBTQ+ representation. Started in 2022 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, the film festival is one of the country’s most prestigious and provides opportunities for independent films to find distribution. This year’s lineup includes screenings of […]
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News is Good: TX Drag ban ruled unconstitutional, a lesbian Lifetime thriller and more
Our weekly column, News is Good, features positive news about the LGBTQ+ community. Too much of what we see in mainstream media coverage focuses on the challenges we face and not the celebrations. Here are a few things we’re excited about this week. Federal judge issues a permanent injunction against Texas drag ban. On Tuesday, U.S. […]
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Bisexual representation in literature: 20 books that celebrate diverse bi+ experiences
Bisexual Awareness Week is the perfect excuse to dive into these twenty books featuring bi+ characters and stories. However, there’s so much to love in this list that you’ll want to read these books all year long. From rakish bisexual lords to lovelorn accountants to real-life tales of exploration and discovery, there’s something for everyone. […]
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“The Unlikely Story of the Lesbians of First Friday” recalls a community of connection in the ’80s
In the early 1980s, a community could be hard to come by–especially for LGBTQ+ people living in rural areas and highly conservative parts of the country. For this reason, a group of lesbians living in Roanoke, Va. and surrounding areas began opening their doors to other lesbian and bisexual women. What started as strangers meeting […]
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Wildfang and Darcelle XV’s Drag-A-Thon earns a Guinness World Record
Portland, Oregon just made LGBTQ+ history and raised nearly $300,000 for charity simultaneously. Queer-owned apparel company Wildfang teamed up with legendary drag club Darcelle XV to put on Drag-A-Thon July 10-12, a record-breaking 48-hour continuous drag show benefitting Trevor Project and bringing attention to the “criminalization of drag in 15+ states across the U.S.” The show took place at the Darrell […]
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David Archuleta may have lost “The Masked Singer” but he’s winning life
David Archuleta is easily the sweetest of crooners. His warm, romantic, sweet voice has charmed a breadth of audiences for more than a decade, first as a top contender on season seven of “American Idol,” and most recently with his boyish face completely hidden on “The Masked Singer.” In both competitions, he beat out dozens […]
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What does Pride looks like in 2023?
Pride month is here along with events around the country to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. 2023 has been a year full of challenges for the community, with anti-queer and transgender legislation being passed in states like Texas and Florida. This legislation threatens to change everything from how we are able to raise our families to […]