For many LGBTQ people, books are the first place where we see pieces
of ourselves and our identities come alive, making books critical to
the process of identity formation. This fall Pop-Up Founding Director
Hugh Ryan and award winning queer author Sassafras Lowrey are
co-curating an exhibit at the New York Public Library Jefferson Market
Branch sponsored by the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History and Lambda
Literary Foundation highlighting the unique relationship between LGBTQ
people and literature. Books can be lifelines for LGBTQ people
isolated by geographic area or other life circumstances, and we seek
to break down the divide between the author and reader, to create
conversation through art exploring the role of the queer book within
our community. Responding to an international call for participation,
LGBTQ artists from the United States, Canada, and South Africa are
creating dioramas depicting books that contributed to their formation
of understanding themselves as LGBTQ people. This is a community
project bringing together diverse artists across age and experience.
Through the Queer Diorama Show we seek to increase conversation about
the important role books play in one’s queer coming of age. We will
be exploring queer readings of mainstream titles, as well as the pull
of explicitly queer texts. more info coming soon!
