On a cold day in February, dozens of people gathered inside Rooster’s Coffeehouse at Carleton University for a warm evening of art and performance for third annual Rainbow Exhibit. Organized by the Gender and Sexuality Resource Centre (GSRC), the exhibit’s “introspection” theme included visual art, music, poetry and presentations from local 2SLGBTQ+ artists, organizations and services.
Transgender Media Portal, Be Gay Do Art and The Grove were among the 2SLGBTQ+ organizations presenting to the crowd about their programs and upcoming events.
Val Hussain, the GSRC’s programming co-ordinator, said the Rainbow Exhibit is about building community and opportunities for artists of all levels to showcase their work.
“Whether they’re budding artists or already very talented, it doesn’t really matter … It’s more just your passion for it and if you want to be a part of it,” they said.
Jocelyn Deng, the GSRC’s administrative co-ordinator, said the “introspection” theme explores coming to terms with queer identity, despite internal fears of how discovering that identity could be dangerous.
“In a heteronormative society understanding that you don’t follow that, you don’t fit into those molds that they try to put you in as you grow up, it takes a lot of introspection and looking within yourself, and that’s not always easy to do,” Deng said.
“That doesn’t mean to be super individualistic, but I think understanding yourself helps you better connect with your community.”
Andy Zhuravel, a first-year health science student, created a double-sided painting of an anglerfish for the exhibit. On the front of the canvas, they painted themself inside the light part of an anglerfish.
Zhuravel said the introspection theme inspired them while painting, making them reflect on what shaped them into the person they are today.
“The anglerfish lives in the deep, it lives away from everything in life and everyone kind of sees it as a monster,” they said. “Sometimes growing up you feel like you’ve been raised by an environment that’s so cold and so cruel and you feel like you’re a child of this monster, but you want to be something more. You want to produce light.”
On the back of the canvas, Zhuravel painted someone holding the anglerfish with the title of the painting in blue letters Grow Up!
“It represents growing up and accepting the environment you’ve been raised in and learning to live with it,” they said.
Karina Leclair, a fifth-year sociology student, recited three poems and shared three art pieces at the exhibit. The first, titled Sun, Wine and Moon is about finding queer joy.
“We find queer joy through our art because it’s a way of showing what it looks like in a way that words can’t,” she said. “It’s important to share that with the community because then it enlivens the experience of queer joy because then people are getting to witness your queer joy, which is spreading more joy, in turn.”
Some of Leclair’s poetry explored darker themes like fear, anxiety and the taboo around queer love. She said it’s important to share these emotions to represent the unique challenges queer people experience.
“Representation is so important and makes us feel less alone,” she said. “To have queer joy, to have the good things, we also have to go through really hard things.”
Hussain said the Rainbow Exhibit is an important space for 2SLGBTQ+ artists to have a safe space to show their work and feel comfortable.
“One of the biggest reasons we want to have this space is because a lot of people don’t feel comfortable in everyday environments, especially given the political climate that we’re in right now,” Hussain said.
“Fear is built up of, ‘What if someone says something? What if someone does something?’ Which is even worse. Giving the space doesn’t fix the problem by any means, but it adds some level of comfort and safety which is needed in the time that we’re in.”
Tickets were sold on a sliding-scale basis with a $4 minimum. Proceeds went to the GSRC’s free gender affirming gear program, which offers clothing and supplies like binders, packers and trans tape to help people feel more visually aligned with their gender.
Hussain said about 30 tickets were sold for the event, raising about $250.
“The reason we got donations is just to ensure that we can keep providing it for free for future students because one person paying $4 can mean that another person gets a $60 item for free,” they said.
Deng said showcasing 2SLGBTQ+ art is important in the context of the history of censorship 2SLGBTQ+ people have experienced.
“Art is such a powerful tool for self-determination, assurance that you exist,” she said. “Art is a part of you. You’re asserting your existence, even in a world that wants you to disappear.”
Featured image by Grace Huntley/The Charlatan.
