Queer Ancestors Project is a program sponsored by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and led by artist Katie Gilmartin. It is devoted to forging sturdy relationships between LGBTQI people and our ancestors. "Using history as a linchpin, they build community by providing young Queer and Trans people free interdisciplinary workshops in printmaking, writing, and Queer history. Public exhibitions and readings of their work provide a window on the past through which the larger community can glimpse our collective future." Biannually they rotate to a resistance theme, which is an interesting challenge. I was really excited to be accepted into this cohort because, lets be honest, our simple existence is an act resistance.
Below is a memo of my first thoughts, before our initial meet up for the 2024 Resists cohort.
Memo
resistance and queer trans history part of this sports shop is self directed
So, here's my first prep. issues I want to create resistance images around are definitely reproductive justice but I lean in a more satirical fashion so something about like political cartoons policy comics stuff that will go into papers seems be Meme-a-fide
femicide on all women, violence against women, all women
abortion rights reproductive freedom parental rights, children's rights, personhood, self determination
specific issues are voting voting on guns because of reproductive rights politicizing sexuality social justice, just like general racial justice
queer and trans. This is question number two, the queer and trans ancestors involved in the resistance. I'm interested in musicians and like musical artists who have been like politicize as activists learn about Billie Holiday is really like shaking me in an interesting way. So I'm interested in that. There's Billie Holiday, Ma Rainey. But what about like Prince Prince being his androgynous self? I mean, the story could be told about that. Even if he's not a queer man, my I don't know if he's queer not doing just not a queer man. He did a lot for the culture. So like, what I got this is ancestor project. So um that will be cool
like there are direct ancestors who are like my idols like Fannie Lou Hamer that I could draw about. I started to do going on there but it is. I know people who have passed away
Luther Vandross, Luther Vandross.
I gotta do my homework on the other musicians who have like, really gone there and who are also ancestors whose stories have been so
like, and I'll have two different styles and images, one of them just gonna be straight, straight Beauty and the other will be much more comical, satirical.
Looking like a comic? Yeah to research prompts. What does the world feel like to you? Right now the world feels like the world feels like
it feels like a plant that has overgrown as pot and is pushing against the roots are pushing and is cracking the pot
the world feels like... insecure
The only constant in the world is changed. So I'm not tripping on that but the world feels
like Everyone's searching for something and I don't know if other humans can give it to them. If feels spiritually adept bereft. Lacking it feels as in the US our lack of our culture or lack of value. For elders makes our storytelling suffer. And
I feel like there is not enough creativity being shown in the world. There's no no creativity. There's there's an overflow of, of creativity from from individuals from certain individuals and there's not enough creativity from the greater collective
what's got to change so you and those you love him blown that the change is white supremacy and capitalism. White supremacy and capitalism and patriarchy have created
like screamingly serious issues for many months because we're paying rich people back. We can't bloom because
we're stuck in our monkey minds. You can't bloom because we're so distracted that we don't connect with each other. Game blown because we don't think about the longevity. We think about it now. Is that a change
my individual seriousness that going on? Grateful, tired. What is the world you want to live in the world that you dream? I want to live in a world of reproductive freedom. And I live in a world where people never go hungry and they are well enough to not seek drugs.
In the world where where people have enough means for the basics, and there's always a place to go to support
a place to go to support that's not judgmental. Maybe that's why people stop liking church because it was too judgmental. I'm gonna live in a world where people are convicted and believing something that's greater than themselves for Good is greater than zero.
live in a world where we think of everything seven generations ahead
I dream of a world as without violence in predators
one where everyone has an outlet no one blows up because they don't have outlet. That's much like what the cultures of other countries do. But I want the world like that. Whose activism do you wish? I want to honor the activism of Bayard Rustin, Fannie Lou Hamer.
Billie Holiday, Prince, Sylvester
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Our programs are generously supported by the California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Queer Cultural Center, SOMArts, STRUT, and Chrysalis Studio.
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