Celebrating Pride: A Vibrant Showcase of LGBTQ+ Art and Culture
While many sectors of society are pulling back on LGBTQ+ celebration, support, and representation—such as retailers like Target and tech giants like Meta and Google—art venues across the country are stepping up to honor Pride Month this June. From exhibitions to community events, here’s a roundup of the exciting happenings that celebrate and uplift the LGBTQ+ community.
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art: A Month of Queer Events
New York’s Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, dedicated to LGBTQ+ art, is hosting a series of queer-oriented events throughout June. Kicking off on June 7, the museum will feature a lively street party complete with live music, a screen-printing session of historic protest posters, and a cyanotype workshop where attendees can create their own sun prints. The month-long exhibition includes Young Joon Kwak’s RESISTERHOOD and ficciones patógenas, a group show focusing on the sexual and gender diversity of indigenous peoples in the Americas.
Pride Block Party in Dallas
On June 20, the Dallas Arts District will host a vibrant Pride Block Party, featuring parallel offerings at local institutions like the Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas Museum of Art, and Nasher Sculpture Center. The Crow Museum will host a cut paper design studio, while the Dallas Museum of Art will offer sketching in the galleries, line dancing, film screenings, and more. The Nasher Sculpture Center will showcase musical performances and exhibitions by artists such as Otobong Nkanga.
To Move Toward the Limits of Living at Palm Springs Art Museum
The Palm Springs Art Museum presents To Move Toward the Limits of Living, an exhibition that highlights LGBTQ+ artists’ struggles against societal exclusion. This collection emphasizes the resilience of queer communities in the face of challenges like identity, marginality, and the AIDS epidemic. The exhibition aims to foster feelings of abundance and hope among queer individuals navigating a often threatening world.
Pride Month at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is offering a diverse array of activities for Pride Month, including a pop-up studio for making paper quilts led by local artist Katie Kaplan, a fashion festival where attendees can strut on a runway, and an audio tour focused on queering art. Additionally, there will be talks on historical queer creative networks, enriching the community’s understanding of LGBTQ+ contributions to art.
Celebrating at The Whitney
The Whitney Museum of American Art is hosting a variety of Pride events, including a community mural on June 8 and a Queer Teen Night on June 13, featuring art-making, performances, and exhibition tours. On June 18, the museum will host a dance dedicated to queer joy, honoring community leaders, alongside a performance from the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and queer walking tours.
Rainbow on the Eastside in Washington
The fifth annual Rainbow on the Eastside exhibition in Redmond, Washington, showcases the work of 15 LGBTQ+ artists, many of whom are returning from previous years. This year’s lineup includes non-binary Filipino American artists like Kai Baylon and digital artist Kayla Molloy. The exhibition will be on view throughout June at the Centro Cultural Mexicano’s two locations.
Pride at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are offering a rich tapestry of Pride events. The Andy Warhol Museum will host a queer youth prom and the first public screening of the film pride/prom. Meanwhile, the Carnegie Museum of Art will feature a summer solstice sanctuary, dance party, and a celebration of Latino artistry. The Carnegie Science Center will screen the drag classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, adding to the festive atmosphere.
City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago
Debuting at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago explores the vital role that Chicago artists and activists have played in the movement for queer equality since the mid-1980s. Featuring around 30 artists and collectives, the exhibition is intergenerational and includes archival materials that provide context for the artists’ work.
Pride at The Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is offering a variety of events throughout June, including LGBTQ+ picture book readings, expert presentations on gender and sexuality in the medieval era, and performances by Brooklyn classical ensemble ChamberQUEER and bassoonist Joy Guidry. These events aim to engage audiences in discussions about LGBTQ+ representation in art history.
The First Homosexuals Exhibition
The First Homosexuals is a groundbreaking exhibition that examines the evolution of gay and lesbian identity since the term "homosexual" was coined in 1869. Featuring 300 works by over 125 artists from 40 countries, the exhibition claims to showcase the earliest known representation of a homosexual couple in European art and the first modern trans representations. This extensive collection can be seen throughout Pride at 659 Wrightwood Gallery in Chicago.
These events and exhibitions not only celebrate the rich tapestry of LGBTQ+ art and culture but also serve as a reminder of the ongoing struggles and triumphs of the community. As art venues across the nation come together to honor Pride Month, they create spaces for dialogue, reflection, and celebration, ensuring that LGBTQ+ voices continue to be heard and valued.
