Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and co-curators Joseph Abbati and KT Siebert have announced a call for submissions for an art exhibit in Wiener's San Francisco district office, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 14800. "Trans Aware" will be an exhibit by Bay Area trans artists and/or trans represented artwork, a news release from Abbati stated. The exhibit is expected to be installed for Trans Awareness Week next month, with a reception scheduled for Thursday, November 17. It will also highlight a trans awareness conference happening that day at the State Building.
Abbati noted that small to large artwork can be accommodated, including painting, photography, sculpture, video, drawing, and mixed media. Artwork will not be for sale but visitors interested in pieces will be encouraged to contact the artist directly or through a code that will be attached to the work, the release stated.
Submissions will be accepted through October 30. Artists will be notified by November 1, with artwork to be dropped off November 7-11. The exhibition will be up through December 31.
The Bay Area Reporter previously reported on Wiener's Pride Month exhibit featuring works by Abbati and other artists in 2019.
To apply, complete the form here.
National trans survey now open
The National Center for Transgender Equality's 2022 U.S. Trans Survey is now open and the agency encourages trans people to complete it.
"Every person who takes the survey helps us gather invaluable data about what it's like to be transgender in this country," stated Josie Caballero, NCTE's director of the survey, in an email announcement. "Taken together, our stories will show what is needed to support trans people in the United States."
The survey, which launched October 19, is being conducted by NCTE in partnership with the National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, the TransLatin@ Coalition, and the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance.
NCTE's last national trans survey was taken in 2015 and, as the website noted, "a lot has happened since then." For that survey, NCTE stated that more than 27,000 people responded. Organizers hope that more people will take the survey this year.
For more on the survey, click here.
Exhibit on Marsha P. Johnson in Oakland
The Queer Arts Healing Center in Oakland will present "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha: An Interactive Exhibit" that honors the late Black trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. The show opens Wednesday, October 26, and runs through Saturday, October 29, a news release stated.
The exhibit includes 21 original commissioned art pieces created by Kin Folkz such as video, found art, poetry, interactive mixed media, paintings, prints, and lithographs. The exhibit is divided into three sections spanning Johnson's birth, life, and the fight for recognition after her death in 1992.
The show's title, a riff on a line from an old "Brady Bunch" TV episode, aims to honor Johnson's tumultuously authentic life and unapologetic activism, the release stated. During the 1970s, Johnson shattered the cis-centered machinations of race, gender, and sexuality, the release noted, and she kicked down the hypocritical barriers faced by trans women of color within the women's liberation, Black power, and gay rights movements.
The Queer Healing Arts Center is located at 3411 Lakeshore Avenue. The exhibit will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets range from $15 for adults to $10 for seniors to $7 for youth and educators to $5 for children 12 and under. Masks are required for everyone over 2.
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
Registration open for Gay Games 11
The Federation of Gay Games has announced that registration is open for Gay Games 11, which takes place November 3-11, 2023 in both Hong Kong and Guadalajara, Mexico. These will be the first Gay Games to be hosted in both Asian and Latin America, a news release stated.
The upcoming Gay Games was postponed from 2022 due to the COVID pandemic. Guadalajara was brought on board as a co-host earlier this year to mitigate strict travel restrictions due to the pandemic, as the B.A.R. previously reported.
Registration for both sites went live October 8. People are encouraged to sign up as quickly as possible because FGG is working on a tighter timeframe, the organization stated.
According to FGG, the sports offered in each city will be clear on the website; in some cases sports will be offered in both cities.
"After challenging times that have marked and redefined us, it is time to meet again, to hug each other, and with pride celebrate our freedom," stated Monica Sanchez with Gay Games Guadalajara.
Gay Games Hong Kong co-chair Lisa Lam stated, "We are telling the world that Hong Kong is ready to rise to the challenge of hosting this international, multi-sports arts and culture event."
To register for Hong Kong, click here.
To register for Guadalajara, click here.
Cunningham receives award from hemophilia group
John Cunningham, a gay man who's CEO of the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, received the Inspiration Award from the National Hemophilia Foundation at its recent Red Tie Soiree gala.
The hemophilia group held its October 15 event at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, and it was the first time the organization held the gala on the West Coast, a news release noted.
Cunningham was recognized for his ongoing partnership and support of the many community members and families impacted by HIV/AIDS. Karen Fulton Holine, whose son, Jason, died of HIV/AIDS complications after receiving a blood transfusion, and Leah Ogden Adams, an advocate for community awareness, were honored with the Ambassador Award.
The National Hemophilia Foundation champions research, education, and advocacy for inheritable blood disorders and is dedicated to finding better treatments, preventative measures, and cures for them. It was founded by patients in 1948 and has a network of chapters across the country, as well as a cooperative agreement with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2016, the AIDS grove launched a phase of its Surviving AIDS campaign by helping to tell the story of how the hemophilia community was impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as the B.A.R. noted at the time.
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