ART AFTER STONEWALL

TWINKLE PANDA, PRINCE SHAKUR, EMMA LEVESQUESCHAEFER AND BOBBY T LUCK IN CONVERSATION

As part of its landmark exhibition Art after Stonewall, 1969–1989, the Museum commissioned and acquired for its permanent collection the collaborative audio installation Nocturne. The five Columbusbased artists involved in the project explore the bonds of queer community through interviews with friends and mentors, asking each of them to describe the moment when they first felt that they were part of something larger. The work takes the form of four speakers hanging from the ceiling, along with a transcript that visitors can take with them. Here, the artists discuss the significance of the work and the Art after Stonewall exhibition. The exhibition continues through October 4.

PS: What has been revealed to you about yourself while working on your piece for the Art after Stonewall exhibit?

ELS: I’m realizing that, when I hear these stories about becoming part of something larger, the transformational experiences of my peers and people I’ve not yet met, I feel nourished but also hungry for more. To hold these precious moments in all their awkward and sometimes painful moments of becoming is a gift and they bring with them the affirmation of queer life. And while trauma and dissonance show us that the world is imperfect, that with every step we must be protective and on guard, the deep compassion and joy of queer family makes us stronger, more empathetic, and able to fight for those we love. Now more than ever, I feel ready to put all of myself into the work I’m doing for the people I love and without them, my life could not be so full of joy.

TP: Why is it important to preserve oral Queer histories?

BTL: Queer people’s narrative is often co-opted by people not within the movement. We all know what happens when marginalized communities’ histories are given to their oppressors. Written accounts by the queer community are all well and good, but they can be largely inaccessible. A lot of queer people who need to see themselves reflected back would not find most queer theory texts approachable. There is something built in an oral telling that isn’t built in self-study. You can have context expanded upon, you can read body language, or in the case of recorded audio, vocal tone and inflection. It puts more emotion into the accounts given. The emotion behind these accounts creates a bridge between our ancestors and elders and ourselves, allowing us to see what work has been done, what needs more elbow grease, and what has fallen between the cracks of our elders’ carefully laid blueprints. THERE IS POWER IN VOICE. It’s important to not only draw on these oral tellings of our history from our elders and ancestors, but to also leave behind a trail of oral and audio breadcrumbs for the people who will come after us.

Q: How does the Art after Stonewall exhibit hold a mirror up to society about how the COVID pandemic is being handled by the government right now?

Photo by Luke Stettner

TP: Queer people have historically learned that the government, their biological families, and their employers treat them as disposable workers. Predominantly working-class, queer people of color are put in precarious conditions, and our lives are constantly under attack. Being a queer person of color, I’ve learned to live in a perpetual state of fear of extinction of my community. The AIDS crisis mirrors the COVID pandemic because the most marginalized members of society are quite literally left to die. We queer people have relied on our chosen families for mutual aid and support, to ensure our daily survival despite our oppressors trying to kill us. We can look to the queer ancestors and elders to provide a blueprint for how to fight our people and how to care for those we love even when no one is looking out for us. The Art after Stonewall exhibit provides an opportunity to preserve queer histories and create community support. Because during times of crises, when we experience distress and alienation, it is humbling and inspiring to know that we have a legacy of fighting for our humanity and survival. This exhibition and the Nocturne installation affirm for the local queer community that we have a duty to continue fighting for ourselves and continue caring for each other because we are all we have got.

PS: I think our piece Nocturne helped show the bare-bones importance of communication, of words, and of stories. During this pandemic and global unrest, the dynamics of many of our relationships are changing. As the world becomes scarier, it becomes more important to be each other’s family, to be vulnerable, and to define what we mean to each other. When we do this, we not only have better relationships, but also build our personal and collective power.