GATHERING OF QUEER NATIONS
Founded by Brad Charles, GQN is an annual event featuring various Queer, Indigenous artists from across the Southwest region. As an alternate to the Gathering of Nations, this inclusive event is a collaborative collection of creative experiences and diverse storytelling. With intent to incite positive change, each gathering acts as a form of creative rebellion informed by politics and aesthetic.
#WeAreSacred
GQN IV | BELIEF
April 26 - May 24, 2019
For some time now I have been pondering the role and significance of belief, perspective, and history. At what point do these three facets of thought cross to create an experience, a moment in space and time? Conversations leading up to this exhibition focused on the belief in one's self, community, and destiny. In support of one another, let us acknowledge and celebrate the magic found within our shared consciousness; and in truth, our shared reality. Thus, BELIEF is a collective approach to positive change and expansive imagination that propels our narrative of love and art.
Martin Wannam, Oscar Orlando Fuentes, ruta a la Democracia, Escuintla. 11 de November del 2019, Guatemala, 2019, Archival Inkjet Print
Martin Wannam, Los Huecos Aun viven, 2019, Styrofoam Sculpture
Hawk Platero, Ode to Kinyaa'aanii (Towering House People), 2017, Aluminum Print
Hawk Platero, Identity Theft and Oblivion, 2017, Aluminum Print
left to right:
MK, Fiver Years Later, 2018, Archival Inkjet Print & Monolith
Eric-Paul Riege, _, 2019, Mixed Fiber Installation and Durational Performance
Grace Rosario Perkins, Our Love is Wild, 2018-19, Acrylic, spray paint, and sand on canvas
Ryan Dennison, 2019, Site-specific Polaroid archive installation complete with Polaroid camera, Navajo basket, and assortment of books regarding Diné photography.
Installation detail: Ryan Dennison
Installation detail: Ryan Dennsion
Durational performance detail: Eric-Paul Riege
Grace Rosario Perkins, Ochre in Water, 2019, Acrylic & spray paint on canvas
Hannah Manuelito, June from the Asdzaan series, 2018, Archival Inkjet Print
Nate Lemuel, My Walls of Age, 2019, Archival Inkjet Print
Nate Lemuel, Spring, Projection, Forward, 2019, Archival Inkjet Print
Rapheal Begay, Sovereignty, 2018, Archival Inkjet Print - BELIEF Catalog Cover
As an exhibition, The Art of Being was an opportunity to introduce and expand visual representations of Queer, Indigenous culture and underrepresented communities within Southwest contemporary art. In addition, it remains the projection, reflection, and activation of individual and communal identity grounded in creative expression and artistic existence. Limited only by one's imagination, the selected works occupy and activate space while advocating for personal forms of resiliency, diversity, and being.
Left to right:
Eric-Paul Reige, iKAAH diyogí, 2017, Wool Yarn from 1967 dyed and used in sandpainting weavings – gifted by Patty Savignac
Sky Duncan, Self Portrait (A Disco Song at Night Alone), 2018, Mixed Media on Masonite
Ryan Young, Blood Quantum is a Heteronormative Construct, 2017, Archival Inkjet Print
Adrian Standing Elk Pinecoose, Shí, 2018, Digital Graphic inlayed with 3D Printed Silver pendants
Grace Rosario Perkins, A ROSE/ OPEN Mask, 2017-2018, Acrylic, paper-mâché, wire armature & cut flowers
Cortney Metzger, untitled, 2018, terra-cotta ceramic
Hannah Manuelito, City Girl series, 2016, Archival Inkjet Print
Martin Wannam, Foundation Alter, 2018, Cinder blocks, candle wax, LED lights, glitter, & religious figurines
Nelson Morales, Word of Queen, 2014, Archival Inkjet Print
